MORAGA, Calif. – Gonzaga versus Saint Mary’s is and will forever remain one of the most sacred and renowned of the West Coast college basketball rivalries.
It’s so sacred that thanks to the basketball gods, it’s now nearing a permanent stasis, forever locked behind the walls of neutral-site November or once every so often in the preseason doldrums.
This epic rivalry has one final chapter in its regular-season history, as the twin titans of the West Coast Conference duel in Moraga, California, for a fantastic duel for lifetime bragging rights.
Gonzaga presents a team powering into the WCC tournament as the No. 1 seed in its final run before the inevitable Pac-12 move over the upcoming offseason, trampling over the entire conference (minus the plucky ninth-place Portland Pilots one time) and entering with the likely conference player of the year and All-American Graham Ike.
The Zags own the 10th-best defensive rebounding numbers in the country. Impressive, but not to the Gaels.
They rank 3rd overall and are safely in the top 15 in offensive rebounds, as opposed to Gonzaga’s 42nd ranking after the loss of o-board beast Braden Huff, who again remains sidelined.
Gonzaga’s path to beating Saint Mary’s won’t come through either aforementioned players, but rather the defensive mastermind Jalen Warley.
The former Florida State standout, Warley, keeps nursing a thigh injury that kept him out of the Portland thrashing (some rightful revenge). His last great game was a 33-minute marathon masterclass against the Gaels’ star and challenger to WCC Player of the Year, Paulius Murauskas.
Warley completely neutralized the Lithuanian star, continuing his cold streak against GU and allowing Warley himself to shoot efficiently (5-7) and pick up plenty of rebounds (seven).
UPDATE: Warley’s status for tonight is downgraded to OUT. Gonzaga will need even more help against the elite Saint Mary’s bigs.
Gonzaga’s Emmanuel Innocenti can pick up any defensive slack against smaller players like Joshua Dent and Mikey Lewis. The Italian clamped down hard on Portland star Joel Foxwell, preventing another upset, and his elite perimeter defending skills will be much-needed in the ever-hostile environment at the University Union Credit Pavilion.
Gonzaga doesn’t need the win for a better WCC seed, and it likely wouldn’t hurt all that much to lose for the sake of the NCAA Tournament.
They simply want it. They crave it.
Gonzaga hasn’t swept Saint Mary’s since 2021. Why not beat the biggest rivals in the last on-campus shot to upset?
Gonzaga likely won’t have the answer, just as they didn’t in the Spokane win last month.
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