No. 12 Gonzaga readies for showdown against No. 18 Saint Mary’s
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It’s difficult to remember the last time Gonzaga entered a West Coast Conference matchup as the underdog.
That will be the case on Saturday, when the No. 12 Zags (19-4, 8-1 WCC) visit No. 18 Saint Mary’s (20-4, 9-0) in Moraga, California. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m. PST.
KenPom gives Saint Mary’s a 68% chance of winning, as the Gaels sit atop the WCC standings without a loss in league play. Gonzaga is in second place, with its only conference loss coming against Loyola Marymount on Jan. 19.
The last time the Zags visited McKeon Pavilion, they fell 67-57 in the 2021-22 regular-season finale.
“That place is gonna be packed,” said Gonzaga forward Drew Timme. “It’s a great environment. It’s a great rivalry and it’s gonna be a bruiser for sure. If we don't come with our A game they will, so we're gonna have to come ready to throw some punches.”
The Gaels retained several key players from last season, but are headlined by a newcomer who’s taken the WCC by storm.
Saint Mary’s freshman guard Aidan Mahaney has been named WCC Freshman of the Week eight times this season. He was last given the award on Monday after hitting a go-ahead fadeaway jump shot with 0.3 seconds left to give the Gaels a 57-56 win over BYU in Provo, Utah.
Mahaney, who attended high school two miles away from the Saint Mary’s campus, is averaging a team-high 14.8 points per game and is shooting 43.4% on 129 attempts from 3-point range.
His ability to create shots in a halfcourt setting has made him a good fit in head coach Randy Bennett’s snail-paced offense that ranks 358th in adjusted tempo by KenPom.
“They play like the old dudes in pickup,” said Gonzaga forward Anton Watson. “They use the shot clock and just pass it until they get a good shot, so we definitely gotta lock into our defense.”
This pace of play is a stark contrast to Gonzaga, which is No. 41 in adjusted tempo and has the highest-scoring offense in college basketball at 86.4 points per game.
The Zags are led in scoring by Drew Timme, who’s averaging 21.1 points per game on 60.4% shooting. He’s also putting up 7.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and one block in 32.7 minutes per game.
The All-American forward had 15 points and 10 rebounds in Gonzaga’s 88-70 win over Santa Clara on Thursday.
Four minutes into the second half, Timme threw down a two-handed dunk in transition to reach 2,000 points. He is the third Zag to achieve this milestone, joining Jim McPhee (2,015 points) and Frank Burgess (2,196).
Timme needs eight points on Saturday to pass McPhee, but his only concern right now is winning.
“Like I’ve been saying all year, it’s super cool, but as long as we win that puts a smile on my face,” Timme said.
