Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s meet in first WCC clash
Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s have dominated the West Coast Conference, combining to win 17 straight regular-season championships and 17 of 19 conference tournament titles.
The Zags broke through after sweeping both titles last season, making an unprecedented run to the Final Four.
The Gaels were the preseason favorite this year after returning nearly everyone from a team that won 29 games and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Round 1 of their annual two-game road to the WCC title comes Thursday at The Kennel in Spokane.
“Obviously it’s two of the top teams in league and it’s going to be much anticipated,” Gonzaga guard Silas Melson said after the Zags beat San Francisco 75-65 on Saturday.
Gonzaga (16-3, 6-0 WCC) lost four key players from last year’s national runner-up, but returning starters Johnathan Williams and Josh Perkins have made sure there’s been no letdown in the Inland Northwest.
Gonzaga had an earlyseason loss to Florida, another to current No. 1 Villanova and a somewhat surprising setback to San Diego State in its nonconference finale. Since the WCC season started, the Zags have reeled off one lopsided win after another, none under 10 points.
Saint Mary’s, led by preseason All-American Jock Landale, had consecutive losses to Washington State and Georgia in late November, but have since won 12 straight. The Gaels (17-2, 6-0) rolled over Pepperdine 91-67 on Saturday to set up the showdown between the WCC’s top two teams.
Worth watching, this one.
Big East battle
The Big East has big games every week. The biggest of this week: No. 11 Xavier at No. 19 Seton Hall.
The Musketeers (16-3, 4-2 Big East) reached No. 5 in the Jan. 1 AP Top 25 but dropped five spots after consecutive losses to Providence and Villanova. Xavier bounced back with a 22-point win over Creighton on Saturday to remain a game behind Villanova and Seton Hall in the Big East.
The Pirates dropped six spots in this week’s poll after losing to Marquette and beating Georgetown last week.
Xavier plays St. John’s today and Seton Hall is at Creighton before they meet at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday.