The east coast bias is primarily a function of time zones. A 7 pm game in San Francisco tips at 10 pm in Washington DC, and if it happens to be a work night, then let's face it – not a lot of east coast eyeballs are going to be on those west coast games.
The downside is that the west coast, and specifically the West Coast Conference, is playing some great hoops these past few years. Gonzaga and St. Mary's are playing at a high level, and BYU is trying to challenge them both.
Aside from the teams, there are special players out west as well, and it all starts with St. Mary's point guard Matthew Dellavedova. The Gaels (22-5, 11-2) only have four regular season games left, so there aren't that many opportunities to watch him play.
When you do tune in, understand that you're watching St. Mary's history every time that Delly suits up.
A 4-year starter, Delly is stamping his name all over the record book.
GAMES PLAYED
Delly tied Diamon Simpson for 2nd all time with last night's game vs Loyola Marymount. He'll tie Omar Samhan in the first game of the WCC Tourney, and anything after that will just be adding to the record.
GAMES STARTED
Dellavedova already has the record for starts, and each one just adds to it. By the end of the season he'll be seven ahead of Daniel Kickert, with the WCC Tourney and either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT still to go.
ASSISTS
Another record that he owns, only he's so far ahead of everyone else you have to wonder if this is one of those records which will never be broken. About the only thing which remains is the single season record for assists. He's currently 39 behind the all time leader (Nick Pappageorge), and is averaging 6.4 per game. At that pace he needs 6.1 games to break the record, and if he stays healthy he's guaranteed a minimum of six more games.
STEALS
This is one where he's not going to get there. He's averaging 1.2 steals per game, but needs 32 to catch the all time leader. It hardly matters though, as Stephen Holt (a junior) is on his heels and will go down as the all time steals leader if he stays healthy.
FREE THROWS MADE
Delly has made 3.6 free thows a game this season, and is 35 FTs behind the all time leader (Diamon Simpson). To get there at that pace, St. Mary's would need to make the WCC Tourney finals and then play at least two more games, which is very doable.
3-PT FIELD GOALS MADE
Another record where he has far surpassed 2nd place. He's made between 36% and 40% in all four seasons.
POINTS SCORED
This is the big one, and the one which is getting the most attention. He's chasing Daniel Kickert and needs 67 points to catch him. At 15.8 per game, he has a decent chance of becoming the all time leading scorer on senior night vs Santa Clara, which will be his final game ever at McKeon Pavilion.
