30 second game guide
Bring’em Out: Saint Mary’s College 21-3 (8-1 WCC) vs. No. 16/11 (AP/Coaches polls) Gonzaga 19-4 (7-1 WCC) Thursday at the McCarthey Athletic Center at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
Watch for: Who wants to win the WCC, more. Gonzaga’s streak of nine straight conference titles may cause a little complacency. The Gaels continue to lust after the Bulldogs’ “rags-to-riches” story, seeing themselves as the next small school to make it big. Thursday will be a perfect opportunity in the national spotlight to prove that point. Don’t expect the Zags to scoot over and share the stage, willingly.
Fear: Saint Mary’s mental toughness. The Gaels are the only team in the West Coast Conference that can rival Gonzaga’s confidence. For this reason, Saint Mary’s is dangerous and is a legitimate threat to take down the Bulldogs, even in GU’s gym. The only way for the Zags to stymie that confidence, is to jump on the Gaels early and continue to pour it on.
Respect: Omar Samhan. If you saw the first meeting between these two back on January 14th (GU won 89-82), you know what this 6’11”, 265 lbs big man is capable of. Samhan scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Gonzaga’s Elias Harris countered with 31 points and 13 rebounds of his own, but Samhan was the one to carry his team down the stretch and nearly was able to pull off the upset single-handedly. Respect is too weak of a word to describe how Gonzaga should approach Omar Samhan, who has 15 blocks in his last two games.
Random Stuff: Saint Mary’s is the WCC school to post two victories over the Zags in the past three seasons. The Gaels are just outside the top-25 in both major polls. This game will more than likely decide who comes out on top in the West Coast Conference.
