3 ranked college basketball teams on upset alert this week, Nov. 6-12

No. 23 Saint Mary's (vs. New Mexico, Nov. 9)

The WCC is a small conference that has plenty of land mines in conference play, requiring its teams to make standout schedules in non-conference play to separate themselves in March. This is certainly how Gonzaga has operated over the years and Randy Bennett has scheduled aggressively for Saint Mary's, which was pegged as the conference's pre-season favorite over the Bulldogs.

The Gaels are laden with experience and will want to stack up as many wins as possible in non-conference play to enhance their resume, which includes Thursday's home date against New Mexico. The Lobos, coached by Rick Pitino's son Richard, got off to a fast start a year ago by going unbeaten into January and were picked third in the Mountain West's preseason poll.

Saint Mary's won't be challenged in their home opener against D-II Stanislaus State, meaning the Gaels' first real taste of competition will be in the New Mexico game. The Lobos are a deep team and added a key transfer in former Iona big man Nelly Junior Joseph, who played for Richard's father with the East Coast Gaels, and will certainly be up for a huge statement game.

Testing yourself in non-conference is a tremendous idea for a school like Saint Mary's, which has little to lose and everything to gain from playing a team like New Mexico. The fact that they're playing a cream puff before this game is problematic, however, and could put the Gaels on upset alert if they don't have to deal with any real adversity before playing a tournament-worthy team.