Little is separating Gonzaga from their WCC title and a number one overall seed, just a pesky team from Moraga who has tournament dreams on their minds and an upset in their hearts.
The stage has been set for Gonzaga to finally get their revenge on a conference rival who has enjoyed 11 years of dominance, including a title defeat over the bulldogs just last year. Things are much different for Gonzaga; they boast the third best field goal percentage in the country at 50.3% much in part to star Forward Kelly Olynyk - who bares a resemblance to Conan the Barbarian. His ability to stretch a defense by stepping out beyond the elbow to knock down jumpers has been a nuisance for opposing teams. Couple that with the fact he can post you down low with his back to the basket and he's practically a nightmare. Gonzaga will need his best tonight, so if he can give his average 17.3 points and 7 rebounds the bulldogs will be in fine shape.
Don't take Saint Mary's too lightly though. The Gaels nearly beat the Bulldogs on their home-court in an 83-78 defeat that showed Saint Mary's they can compete with the nation's best. Having a 47.8% from the field is nothing to scoff at, especially if you're trying to match up with their transition offense and fast passing. The Gaels just seem to always find the open player and it'll be important to get Brad Waldow involved in the scoring early to get his stroke going.
Some may be looking at this matchup as a warm-up for Gonzaga, but I assure you the Bulldogs aren't. If the game stays tight at the half, it'll probably be decided within the final three minutes with the victory going to whoever gets the stop and knocks down their jumpers.
Prediction: I actually like Saint Mary's for the upset, but if Olynyk shows up big in this game then Gonzaga keeps their No.1 ranking.
Tipoff is at 9PM EST.
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