Feb. 12—Once Gonzaga players returned to the locker room after pulling away for a 20-point win over Loyola Marymount last Thursday, it probably took only a minute or two for word to spread about another result in the West Coast Conference.
San Francisco 65, Saint Mary’s 64.
For all the issues, setbacks and head-scratching moments the Zags have endured through the first two months of conference play, many of their long-term goals are still within reach.
Rather, not completely out of reach.
When Gonzaga lost 62-58 at Saint Mary’s two weeks ago, it opened a three-game gap between the Zags and the Gaels at the top of the WCC standings, significantly diminishing GU’s chances of capturing a share of the regular-season conference title with eight games remaining.
USF’s home win over Saint Mary’s cracked the door open in a way it wasn’t previously, trimming the Gaels’ WCC lead to two games while simultaneously adding extra incentive to the final three weeks of Gonzaga’s regular season.
“We want to win conference if that’s available,” GU sophomore forward Braden Huff said after a 78-61 win at Pacific on Saturday. “If Saint Mary’s loses another one, we have a chance. That’s our goal.”
USF did Gonzaga a favor, but the Zags might want to hold off on sending gift baskets or flower bouquets for the time being.
USF (20-6, 10-3) is still in control of second place, a half-game ahead of Gonzaga (18-7, 9-3) and in position to do irreparable damage to GU’s chances of earning a top-two seed and triple bye at the WCC Tournament if it can win Thursday’s meeting between the teams at McCarthey Athletic Center .
The Dons know as well as anybody that’s easier said than done.
While other WCC teams have picked off Gonzaga in recent years, ending decade-long droughts in some cases, USF hasn’t pulled off the same feat.
The Dons have come up short in their past 30 attempts, losing 35 consecutive games in Spokane since 1989.
The Zags have survived some close calls in recent years, with two of the past six contests decided by five points or fewer. Thursday’s game will be the first of four down the stretch against top-four WCC teams that could test GU’s recent defensive adjustments and/or ability to execute in late-game scenarios.
“Good team. We played them obviously last year a couple times,” Gonzaga point guard Ryan Nembhard said. “They’ve got a lot of similar guys, so we always know it’s going to be a battle, tough group of guys and they’ll come in and try to give us their best, so it’ll be fun.”
USF, the last WCC program not named Gonzaga or Saint Mary’s to punch an NCAA Tournament ticket, returns a cast that earned All-WCC honors in 2023-24, and most notably brings back three key pieces from a backcourt that’s been producing as well as any in the conference.
The Dons run four deep at guard, with the WCC’s top scorer, senior Malik Thomas (19.2 points per game), pacing a group that includes All-WCC first-team selection Marcus Williams (14.4 ppg), freshman Tyrone Riley IV (9.6 ppg) and reigning freshman of the year Ryan Beasley (7.6 ppg) off the bench.
“I think they’re really, really good,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “Those two guards, Thomas and Willams, are old, they’re tough, they’re athletic, they score at all three levels. They’re just a tough, veteran team that guards really, really well and can just be really, really explosive at the offensive end.
“They added a pick-and-pop ‘5’ this year, which really opens up the floor more. He’s 7-feet tall and that makes it even harder to kind of get those guards under control.”
Carlton Linguard Jr. is the 7-foot, 225-pound center giving the Dons a different look in the frontcourt one year after relying on the scoring and rebounding production of Jonathan Mogbo, now a rookie with the Toronto Raptors. The UTSA transfer averages 8.5 points and 4.3 rebounds and has become increasingly more important for Chris Gerlufsen’s team since the Dons lost veteran forward Ndewedo Newbury to a leg injury in December.
USF has been the WCC’s second-best defense, yielding just 66.9 ppg, but the Dons haven’t faced a post tandem that’s comparable to Gonzaga’s Graham Ike and Huff. Ike scored 46 points and went 18 of 19 from the free-throw line last year in two regular-season meetings with USF. Huff is coming off 31 combined points against LMU and Pacific.
Gonzaga’s practices have been mostly defensive-oriented since the Bulldogs hit rock-bottom on that end of the floor, allowing three consecutive WCC teams to shoot 50% or better from the field two weeks ago.
The numbers have improved, with GU yielding just 59 ppg in its past four games, but Thursday’s test should be the first of four during a season-ending WCC gantlet that’ll determine the legitimacy of the Zags’ defensive progress.
“We knew we were better than how we were playing, especially down that stretch,” Huff said. “So just holding ourselves to a higher standard, whether that was there or not, because we’ve got big things ahead regardless.”
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