Rather, a pair of teams that have resided in the Associated Press Top 25 poll the past two months, No. 7 Gonzaga and No. 19 Saint Mary's, are expected to battle it out for the regular-season crown.
"Well, I think the league is as good as it has ever been," BYU coach Dave Rose said, noting how Gonzaga is 12-0 for the first time in its history as a Division I school, and SMC has every starter back from a team that won 29 games last year and tied the Zags for the regular-season title.
The inexperienced and inconsistent Cougars (9-4) were everyone's pick to finish third in their sixth season in the league and perhaps push the Zags and Gaels at the top, but that was before they lost two starters, Elon transfer Elijah Bryant and senior forward Kyle Davis.