#5/#3 Gonzaga Bulldogs at Saint Mary's Gaels
McKeon Pavilion, Moraga, California.
Gonzaga is 23-2 on the season, 10-0 in WCC play and currently on a six game winning streak.
Saint Mary's is 21-4 on the season, 10-1 in WCC play and currently on a nine game winning streak.
TV: ESPN2 and ESPN Australia.
Radio: KGA 1510 AM in the greater Spokane area, KMAS 1030 AM in the Puget Sound area, KALE 930 AM in the Lower Columbia Basin and 1490 AM in the Walla Walla area.
Online: Live video from WatchESPN, Live audio from KGA.
Here we go again. Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary's for first place in the West Coast Conference. I'm not sure these two teams can play each other anymore without first place being on the line.
This year Gonzaga has risen to elite status, garnered talk of runs to the final four or beyond in the NCAA tournament, earned a top five ranking in both major polls, been called "Mark Few's best team ever" and so on and so on. Despite that it's still entirely possible that the Zags don't win the WCC regular season title outright. This year Saint Mary's got off to a rough start, lost a few games they really shouldn't have, won a couple they came within a second of losing and have had a seat reserved for them on the bubble since December. That said, they're still within 40 minutes of sitting alone atop the West Coast Conference.
It hasn't been a long lived rivalry. Over the past 10 years the Zags hold a 19-6 advantage over the Gaels in head to head match ups. Over the past five that advantage dwindles to just 8-4. Over the past eight games though, each team has won four. They've alternated victory and defeat for the past five. They've met in the past four WCC Tournament Finals.
That's the history. What about the now?
These two squads have elite offenses this season. Gonzaga has, as far as I am concerned, the best offense in the nation. Saint Mary's isn't far behind. With Matthew Dellavedova running the show, Stephen Holt on the wing, the emergence of Beau Levesque (last week's WCC Player of the Week), and Brad Waldow down low, they play some of the most efficient and high scoring ball of any team this year. I won't get into the Zags offense because I just dedicated a whole article to that two days ago, click the link a few sentences back for my take.
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| Zags and Gaels and where they rank nationally. Click for full size. |
While they are very evenly matched offensively it's on the defensive end that the differences are visible. Gonzaga holds teams to 32.7% from long range while the Gaels only manage 37.8%, that's 318th in the nation. Gonzaga has held WCC foes to a conference best 38.1% shooting from the field. Saint Mary's does just 43.1%, third in the conference. The Zags force more turnovers and commit less fouls. Saint Mary's rebounds better and blocks more shots (though exclusively in WCC play Gonzaga has blocked more shots).
The match-ups will be phenomenal as well. Matthew Dellavedova and Kevin Pangos at the point. Dellavedova will likely be guarded by Gary Bell Jr. rather than Pangos however, as Bell is a far better on ball defender. Dellavedova has the advantage in that one due to his size. 6'4'', and experience, a senior and Olympian.
While the guard match up will be much hyped as both teams sport exceptional guards it is the match up of Brad Waldow and Kelly Olynyk in the post that will probably be the one to decide the game. Last season it was Rob Jones and Robert Sacre going at it (except late in the game in Vegas when Sacre was on Dellavedova). Jones was a double-double machine for the Gaels. Sacre, the soul of last year's Zags, is now playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. While the Zags' loss was an NBA draft pick and the Gaels' wasn't, it was the Gaels that suffered while the Zags are better off. Waldow, and his comrade Mitchell Young, aren't anywhere near the level Jones was at last year. Olynyk spent last season battling Sacre every day in practice and now he's playing better than Sacre ever did (remember, Sacre's in the NBA now). The Gaels simply can't match up with any of the Zags' front court players nor can they match the depth.
So what about out on the wing? Beau Levesque and Stephen Holt are a formidable duo for the Gaels. Levesque, as I mentioned was just, WCC player of the Week. Last month in Spokane it was Holt who led the Gaels back from 19 down at the start of the second half. While they ultimately came up short Holt turned a blow out into the nail biter that typifies this rivalry.
On the wing for the Zags, I have no idea. There have been four players start for the Zags at the three spot, Guy Landry Edi early in the year picked up 13 starts, Mike Hart has had 10, Drew Barham has come on lately and picked up one start and Kyle Dranginis has had one of his own. Hart's the defensive stopper that could frustrate the Gaels strong scorers. Barham can provide firepower from deep to match Holt and Levesque. Dranginis and Edi are athletic slashers. Honestly I won't have any idea who's gonna start until I see the line up and I won't know who's gonna get the minutes until they're getting the minutes as the game is progressing.
This rivalry, and this game in particular, are getting a lot of hype. ESPN has been big on promoting it and that probably has nothing to do with their huge TV deal with the WCC (it shouldn't anyways because it's worth promoting). As of right now, some hours before tip time, the home page on ESPN.com has links to two stories, front and center, one to their preview of the game and the other about Kelly Olynyk and Kevin Pangos. Their college basketball home page features even more, with a photo of Olynyk and Pangos dominating what would be "above the fold" if it was a newspaper. That along with the two already mentioned articled and a few others about the Zags.
This has become a rivalry that isn't simply worth watching anymore, it is being watched.
On the day of love it's worth taking a bit of a side road for a moment to talk about relationships. These two programs should love each other. Saint Mary's should love Gonzaga because without the Zags' rise to national power, the Gaels never would have become what they are today. They became what they are, the reigning WCC champions and perennial NCAA Tournament bubble team, because they decided to be the team that would challenge Gonzaga. Gonzaga should love Saint Mary's because without the Gaels success there probably isn't enough in the WCC to entice BYU a few years back. Without that, the Zags run through January and February unchallenged, their RPI plummets (it still does by the way) and they reach Selection Sunday without picking up a good win since the committee threw out last year's calendar.
That's not how it is and, from an entertainment perspective, thank goodness!
People often complain of the toll that time takes on the passion of a relationship. The early stages of a relationship are wild and intense. Now, college hoops rivalries may be more akin to fine wine style when it comes to aging than romantic relationships but, these two teams still go at it with the fervor of a young couple. Which they should, Saint Mary's hasn't been relevant for all that long after all, and they haven't been able to best the Zags for even less time than that. My point? What they lack in history they more than make up for in intensity. Imagine having a personal rival who pinches you once a day every day and has done so since you can remember. Now imagine some one walking up to you and punching you in the face for seemingly no reason. The level of rage for the latter would be far greater than for the former. That's this relationship, and it's pretty great that we get to see it play out on Valentine's Day.
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