West Coast Conference Championship Game #21 Gaels vs Bulldogs
I am sure that the St. Mary’s Gaels were hoping to face anybody other than Gonzaga in the finals of the West Coast Conference Tournament.
West Coast Conference Championship Game
#21 St. Mary’s Gaels (26-5) vs Gonzaga Bulldogs (25-5)
Monday March 5
Orleans Arena – Las Vegad, NV
9:00PM
Moneyline: Gonzaga -147, St. Mary’s +125
Spread: Gonzaga -2.5
O/U: 134
St. Mary’s
I think their place in March Madness is probably secure, but if not, they will now have to beat their nemesis in Gonzaga, a team that has eliminated them from the conference tourney two of the past three seasons. This could be one of the most entertaining conference tourney games we will see all week. Should be.
The Gaels are a very good team. They rank in the top 55 in both scoring and points allowed and have a heady point guard who makes big shots in Matthew Dellavedova.
He and shortish power forward Rob Jones form a nice inside/outside duo with Jones averaging 14 and 10.
Both have lots of experience but they don’t really scare you the way that other players do. It seems like the Gaels always come up short when it matters the most doesn’t it.
This team hasn’t been the same since a surprise loss to Loyola Marymount. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Gonzaga
It looks like the Zags might be doing it again. I think it is fair to say that this team has been a little disappointing during the regular season but as we head to the conference championship game tonight they just might be figuring out how to play best with each other.
Mark Few appears to be doing another masterful job blending together players of all different experience levels and this team appears poised to bust some brackets this month.
Before the season started I thought guard Kevin Pangos would be a nice addition to the Bulldogs but over the course of the year the freshman has proven to be their most important player, leading the team in scoring and nearly single handedly downing BYU in the semi-finals.
For this team to really wreak havoc he needs support from the experienced front court players. Hopefully seeing the Gaels in front of them will wake up Elias Harris and Robery Sacre who have been having sleepy seasons.
Spread Pick: Gonzaga _2.5
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Gonzaga 81 – St. Mary’s 74
