By Jeff Faraudo
#WCChoops columnist | ARCHIVES
Saint Mary’s knows Gonzaga better than any program in the country. And it didn’t make a bit of difference Monday night in the semifinals of the University Credit Union West Coast Conference Tournament.
The top-ranked Zags ran their season record to 25-0 with a no-doubt-about-it 78-55 victory over their chief conference rival at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Gonzaga will play Tuesday at 6 p.m. against the winner of the late semifinal between No. 2 seed BYU and No. 3 Pepperdine for the WCC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Gonzaga tied a program record with 29 victories, dating back to last season, and has reached the final night of the WCC tourney in 24 consecutive seasons, a standard no other team in any other conference can match.
Coach Mark Few believes the best is yet to come for his team.
“As we move toward the NCAA tournament, they all know it was taken away from them last year and it means the world to them,” he said, referring to the fact that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the NCAAs in 2020. “So I think we’ll get even an increased effort moving forward.”
Just two years ago, Saint Mary’s stunned a No. 1-ranked Zags team that brought an 18-game win streak into the WCC tournament title game. From the start on Monday night, this was not going to be that.
Even while the Gaels (14-9) did their best to control tempo, the nation’s highest-scoring team played with aggression and precision. Gonzaga shot 64 percent to sculpt a 44-26 halftime lead and was up by 30 points 7 minutes into the second half after
Corey Kispert converted a layup.
This was the fifth time in six years the two schools have met in the WCC Tournament, the first of those that didn’t take place in the championship game. And coach
Randy Bennett knew going in what the formula would have to be.
“We’re going to have to have an `A’ game to play them close and we didn’t. We shot the ball bad,” he said of a night where the Gaels made just 36 percent from the field, including 2 for 20 on 3-point tries.
“You’re not going to beat them 58-55. They’re going to get 75 points on the board. They’re a bad matchup for us that way. They’re the best offensive team in the country and I haven’t seen one that’s really close.”
All five Gonzaga starters scored in double digits, led by sophomore big man
Drew Timme, who made his first six shots and went on to post 28 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
“He’s been great all year. He was great last year in this tournament. He’s great in practice usually,” Few said. “That’s why he’s an All-American candidate and up for Player of the Year. I’m on his (tail) a lot. I probably don’t tell him enough how good he is.
“He’s a joy to coach. I think he’s getting on the defensive end and there’s still a lot more room for growth on the offensive end.”
Asked if it’s true he doesn’t get much praise from his coach, Timme replied, “I don’t think I’ve heard the one time. No, I’m kidding. He tells me that all the time, but he pushes me and that’s exactly why I came to this school. I want him to get the best version of myself that I can be.”
Reigning WCC Tournament Most Outstanding Player
Joel Ayayi added 16 points and eight rebounds,
Jalen Suggs had 15 points and seven rebounds,
Kispert scored 14 and Andrew Nembhard had 10.
“Defensively, that’s what we’ve prided ourselves on this year,” said Gaels senior
Tommy Kuhse. “They’re just a hard team to stop for 40 minutes.”
SUGGS ‘UNRAZZLED’ BY THE STAGE: This was the first postseason game of freshman point guard Suggs’ college career, which no doubt will be his only college season. Few almost chuckled when asked if Suggs will remain unaffected by anything that comes Gonzaga’s way the rest of this season.
“I don’t think there’s anything Jalen’s afraid of or worried about. He’s a high, high, high level competitor,” Few said. “I thought he played very, very well tonight. Saint Mary’s is hard to play against. They’re in that lane all the time and they’re physical, they really make you get to your second or third level of reads with your ball screens.
“He did a lot of good things. He’s really shown his growth through this year even though he started this year playing great. I don’t think any moment is going to razzle him.”
ZAGS BY THE NUMBERS: Here’s a few statistical superlatives related to Gonzaga:
— 1: The Zags need just one more victory, in the WCC title game, to become the first team to enter the NCAA Tournament with an unbeaten record since Kentucky in 2015
— 6: Wins over Saint Mary’s since the Gaels upset Gonzaga in the 2019 WCC tournament championship game
— 14: Consecutive 25-win seasons
— 22: Consecutive victories by double-digit margins, the longest streak ever by a team ranked No. 1 in the AP Top-25
— 46: WCC Tournament victories by coach
Mark Few’s teams against just five defeats
GAELS WOULD WELCOME AN NIT BID: Saint Mary’s run of 13 consecutive 20-win seasons comes to an end, but Bennett said the Gaels would accept an NIT bid if it comes their way. “100 percent,” he said.
STAT OF THE GAME: Saint Mary’s shot 2 for 20 from the 3-point arc, missing its final 11 attempts of the game
QUOTE OF THE GAME: “This is probably their best offensive team. I don’t know how you could have one better. They shoot 55 percent. Usually 50, 51 (percent) leads the country. Fifty-five percent is ridiculous.” — Saint Mary’s coach
Randy Bennett on how this Gonzaga team compares to the program’s best