“It should be an awesome environment”: Gonzaga’s WCC title hopes depend on outcome vs. Gaels

The only thing missing from the Gonzaga-Saint Mary’s showdown on Saturday? Hmm, can’t really think of anything at the moment.

The latest installment of the West Coast Conference rivalry checks all the hype boxes. ESPN’s “College GameDay” sets the stage with its two-hour morning show from 7-9 at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

One of the most highly anticipated games at the Kennel in years tips at 7 p.m. with Gonzaga in the rare position of needing a victory to claim a share of the WCC championship.

The 12th-ranked Zags (24-5, 13-2 WCC) have ruled the conference with 19 solo titles and two shared with the Gaels in the past 22 years. No. 15 Saint Mary’s (25-5, 14-1) broke through for an outright title in 2012 in addition to shared titles in 2011 and 2016.

Throw in that the outcome could potentially influence WCC postseason awards voting and conference and NCAA Tournament seeding and it has all the makings of a memorable matchup.

“It should be an awesome, awesome environment all day (at the Kennel),” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

The Zags have been in chase mode since falling to Loyola Marymount at home and to Saint Mary’s 78-70 in overtime in Moraga, California. The Gaels cracked the title door open for Gonzaga by falling to LMU in overtime on Feb. 9.

Gonzaga led most of the way in the first meeting, but freshman guard Aidan Mahaney delivered in crunch time, scoring or assisting on 19 of 21 points in one stretch to spark the Gaels’ comeback victory.

“We know it’s a great opponent coming in here,” said Few, who is 54-13 against Saint Mary’s in his 24 seasons. “We had a great game with them down there, we just didn’t finish it off. We know it’ll be really physical and they’re not going to beat themselves. We’re going to have to come in and beat them.”

If Gonzaga wins, the top seed in the WCC Tournament will be determined by the NCAA’s NET rankings. Saint Mary’s has the upper hand at No. 7 with the Zags at No. 10. Both teams have clinched byes into the tourney semifinals in Las Vegas.

The Zags’ run of 10 consecutive conference championships is the longest active streak in the nation. They’re also one win from their 16th straight 25-win season, which would be a Division I record.

The Gaels last swept the regular-season series against GU in 2016. Prior to that, Gonzaga hadn’t been swept by a WCC foe since San Diego in 1997.

The Zags are No. 1 nationally in scoring (87.8) and field-goal percentage (52.6). Saint Mary’s prefers a slow tempo, ranking 359 out of 363 teams in KenPom’s adjusted tempo.

The Gaels are elite on defense, yielding 58.7 points, fourth nationally. They’re No. 22 nationally in field-goal percentage defense (40.3) and sixth in rebound margin (plus 8.1).

“Every game from here on out is a really difficult game, starting with Saturday,” Gaels coach Randy Bennett said. “The semis of the WCC Tournament is not going to be easy, either. And then after that, you should be playing against really good teams for the whole deal.

“But that’s where you want to be. That’s where you want to get to. The game Saturday will be a really good challenge, tough challenge.”

This will be just the second time both teams have been in the top 15. No. 12 Gonzaga beat No. 11 Saint Mary’s 78-65 in Moraga in 2018. The Zags are 8-2 when both teams are ranked.

“This isn’t the first big game they’ve played in,” Few said of his players. “Come on, Drew (Timme) has played in a national championship game. They know what they’ve got to do.”

All five Gaels starters average at least 30 minutes per game. Mahaney (14.8 points), guard Logan Johnson (14.3) and forwards Alex Ducas (12.3) and Mitchell Saxen (12.2) combine for nearly 75% of the SMC’s 72.0 points per game.

Timme, 57 points behind Gonzaga all-time scoring leader Frank Burgess, leads GU in scoring (21.3) and rebounding (7.5). Julian Strawther averages 15.6 points and Anton Watson and Rasir Bolton each contribute 11.0.