Saint Mary’s faces No. 1 Gonzaga in WCC semifinals

Gonzaga coach Mark Few is built more like a distance runner than a former basketball player, so perhaps it was fitting he compared what his top-ranked Bulldogs have accomplished thus far to someone running in a miler.

“It’s hard to be the frontrunner and lead the mile all four laps,” Few said. “Everybody’s gunning for you.”

That’s nothing new for the Bulldogs (24-0), who will face Saint Mary’s tonight in the West Coast Conference semifinals at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

The Gaels (14-8) have been a familiar foe for Gonzaga in the WCC tournament. The teams have often matched up in the title game, with the Bulldogs winning eight titles and Saint Mary’s three since the tourney moved to Las Vegas in 2009.

Fourth-seeded Saint Mary’s defeated No. 5-seed Loyola Marymount 52-47 Saturday night in the quarterfinals, with Logan Johnson scoring 25 points and Tommy Kuhse adding 12.

Both teams shot less than 40% from the field and they combined to make just 5 of 31 3-point attempts.

“We knew we were going to have to really guard and rebound,” Gaels coach Randy Bennett said. “We’re a little grindy, so our games can get grindy and so can some other teams in our league, and Loyola would be

one of them that can make it hard to score.”

Gonzaga swept the Gaels during the regular season, winning 73-59 in Moraga and 87-65 in Spokane.

The Bulldogs average an NCAA Division I-leading 92.7 points per game, more than seven points better than anyone else. They’re led by guard Corey Kispert (19.5 points per game), forward Drew Timme (18.9 points, 7.1 rebounds) and guard Jalen Suggs (13.9 points, 4.5 assists), who are all among the 15 finalists for the Wooden Award, which goes to the national player of the year.

Gonzaga earned a bye into the WCC semifinals and have had nine days off entering today’s game.

“This is just a time for us to continually get better behind closed doors and put the work in,” said Suggs, a freshman.