ESPN college basketball analyst Sean Farnham says he’s worked all but three of the men’s basketball matchups between Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga over the past decade. “Some of these rivalry games,” he said, “have been the most fun games I’ve ever called at ESPN.”
Farnham gets the assignment again Saturday night when the Zags visit the Gaels for an 8 p.m. tipoff in Moraga on ESPN. The game is a sellout, as it’s been every time the schools have met on either campus for more than 15 years.
"It’s become the premier rivalry in the West,” Farnham said with all confidence.
The numbers support his claim.
“You look at the last 10 years, they’ve faced each other more than any two teams in college basketball,” Farnham said. “You add in the fact that they both rank in the top four in total winning percentage in college basketball over that time.”
Not even Duke and North Carolina — age-old Tobacco Road rivals from the ACC — have clashed as often in recent years as Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga. The Gaels and Zags have met 28 times over 10 seasons — twice each year in the regular season and eight more times in the West Coast Conference Basketball Championship. Over the same span, Duke and UNC have crossed paths 24 times.
But this rivalry is fueled by quality as much as quantity. Here are the five winningest Division I programs in the country, dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season and updated through Tuesday:
1. Gonzaga: .864 (293-46)
2. Houston: .809 (267-63)
3. Kansas .794 (270-70)
4. Saint Mary’s .769 (247-74)
5. Duke .766 (256-78)
There are so many other factors that contribute to the importance of the matchups.
“The games have always had added significance based on the positioning of where they’re at in the conference race. Usually, it determines who wins the WCC,” Farnham noted. “It’s also a big seeding game for the NCAA Tournament.”
The arrival of Washington State and Oregon State as two-year affiliate members has given the league a boost. At the same time, San Francisco and Santa Clara have become far more competitive on a consistent basis, all of it contributing to the conference boasting five programs ranked among the top 70 in the NCAA’s current NET computer rankings.
“But this game still is the game of record,” Farnham said, “the game that everybody will be focusing on.”
The Zags (16-6, 7-2) on Tuesday avenged a loss at Oregon State and have won two in a row after losing back-to-back WCC games for the first time since 2014. That leaves them two games back in the loss column of the Gaels (18-3, 8-0), who visit Santa Clara on Wednesday night before turning their attention to Gonzaga.
Saint Mary’s (18-3, 8-0) opened WCC play with six one-sided victories over teams lodged in the lower half of the standings. SMC’s stretch of eight straight matchups against contending teams began last week with a statement home victory over USF before a come-from-behind 80-75 win over Washington State, which stretched their NCAA-leading road winning streak to 14 games.
“They showed some toughness and resiliency coming back the way they did against Washington State over the weekend,” Farnham said. “They have really excelled so far in conference play.”
The Gaels and Zags have split their past eight meetings, but head coach Mark Few’s squad has fashioned a 20-8 edge in the 28 meetings over the past decade.
Farnham said it’s impossible to deny Gonzaga has had a talent edge most years. Saint Mary’s has sent players to the NBA but has not spawned lottery picks such as the Zags did with Chet Holmgren and Jalen Suggs. Their elite personnel has helped Gonzaga become the only team in the nation to have reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament the past nine years.
The constants in the rivalry, of course, are the head coaches — Few (731-149 in 26 seasons) and Randy Bennett (551-215 in 24 seasons).
“Both of these two coaches have stayed loyal to their schools. They have stayed committed to who they are. They recruit to their identity,” Farnham said. “That’s what has allowed them to consistently have sustained success.”
Farnham said the two programs get credit for having pushed each other to greater heights.
“I don’t think there’s Saint Mary’s without Gonzaga and I don’t think there’s Gonzaga without Saint Mary’s,” he said. “Meaning that you needed someone in this conference (beyond Gonzaga) to say we’re going to commit to wanting to be really good in basketball. And Saint Mary’s did.
“The fact that the Gaels have had some success and won some of these games, especially as of late, it’s even more of a testament to the fact that there’s a commitment to be really good at basketball. Because you can’t just beat Gonzaga. You’ve got to have a lot of things going right to beat the Bulldogs in most years.”
From a style point of view, there rarely are surprises when these teams tip off.
The Zags, who rank second nationally in scoring (89.6 points per game), will try to push the tempo. Saint Mary’s has its own identity. The Gaels have allowed just 55.9 points per game through eight WCC outings, they run offense at a pace that’s among the slowest in the country and they rank third nationally in rebound margin (plus-11.1).
“Saint Mary’s got back to being Saint Mary’s by the way that they defend and the way they can control tempo. And they’re one of the best rebounding teams in the country,” Farnham said.
Saturday’s game will be the usual matchup of wills.
The duel at point guard will be, as Farnham calls it, “exceptionally elite.” Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard leads the nation in assists (9.9) and is second in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.52). Augustas Marciulionis, his Saint Mary’s senior counterpart, is the reigning WCC Player of the Year and provides the Gaels with a tenacious floor leader.
“I think the difference in the game is going to be which frontcourt is more productive,” Farnham said. “And productivity can be looked at in multiple ways. It can be point production, which probably would favor Gonzaga a little bit. But the most important statistic of the game will probably be offensive rebounds.”
The Zags will brace themselves for a Gaels team that ranks eighth nationally in offensive rebounds at 14.7 per game. Senior center Mitchell Saxen, the 2024 WCC Defensive Player of the Year, leads the country, securing 4.48 offensive rebounds each night.
“Those extra possessions wear on you more against Saint Mary’s maybe than any other team in the country that offensive rebounds the ball as they do,” Farnham said. “The reason for that is they’re going to force you to play into the late shot clock again.”
The Gaels have plucked 309 offensive rebounds this season. If each of those leads to another 20-second possession by the Gaels, that ends up being an additional 103 minutes opponents have played defense.
“They’re going to get the rebound and you’re like, `Great, I just ran through 17 screens,’ “ Farnham said. “Now you’re going to have to sit in the stance for another 20 seconds.”