FSU men's basketball's conference schedule takes a western swing with a week long road trip to California ahead of the Seminoles.

The Oregon State women’s basketball team went cold down the stretch but was able to hang on for a 74-72 overtime win Thursday night at Santa Clara.A.J. Marotte

Oregon State sits at No. 59, behind Gonzaga (No. 10) and St. Mary's (No. 33), but ahead of Santa Clara (No. 66), Washington State (No. 75) and San Francisco (No. 77). The rest of the conference is outside the top 150.

Washington State guard Tara Wallack scored 12 points Saturday in the Cougars' 69-61 home loss to Gonzaga. Washington State could have taken over sole possession of first place in the West Coast Conference with a win but instead are in a five-way tie atop the standings.

In the first meeting of Gonzaga and Washington State since the Cougs joined the WCC, it was an intense game with a lot of respect between coaches and players.

Defending WCC champion Saint Mary’s, which is 2-0 in Quad 1 but 1-3 in Quad 2, has the second strongest resume in the conference. The Gaels are generally projected as a double-digit seed or among the first 4-8 teams on the outside looking in. Oregon State has the third highest NET (59) but is 0-4 in Quad 1.

The ACC chunked out the schedule in this first year of national expansion, so that teams travel to play both Stanford and California in one swing. Virginia will be one of the first two teams to test its approach to the travel, a real guinea pig. Virginia Tech also jetted to the Pacific, its schedule mirroring Virginia’s.

Jan. 13—After opening with four West Coast Conference wins as heavy favorites, Gonzaga is in the midst of the résumé-enriching or résumé-ravaging portion of its conference schedule.

Significant movement took place in the logjam at the top of the West Coast Conference women's basketball standings last weekend. A week ago six teams were knotted at the top of the WCC. A week later just two remained deadlocked — Gonzaga and Washington State.

Speaking of the Big Dance, the Tar Heels are still included in projections. College basketball analyst Andy Katz, whose name you might recognize from his Power 37 rankings, has UNC as a 9-seed in projections he released on Tuesday, January 21.

The Beavers, 14-6 overall with 11 regular-season games remaining, still have goals of a high West Coast Conference finish and a possible NCAA Tournament berth.

The ACC is seeking a review of legal matters made in the conference's appeal of decisions made in Leon County.