Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary’s: TV channel, time for regular-season finale

Mark Few and Gonzaga head to Moraga on Saturday to take on Randy Bennett and Saint Mary's one final time as conference foes, a fitting end to the Bulldogs' historic 47-year tenure in the West Coast Conference.

While the Zags hold a 52-17 edge over the Gaels in the coach Few era, this is no doubt the toughest conference foe Gonzaga has had in the last quarter-century. SMC is one of the very few teams to beat Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament - and the two squads have split the last 12 matchups, with Saint Mary's winning three of the last four in Moraga.

Gonzaga has already locked up the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, but a win over Saint Mary's on Saturday would give the Zags the outright title in the WCC and would end a three-year streak of SMC winning at least a share of the regular season.

As if that wasn't motivation enough for coach Few's team, a win also helps Gonzaga stay in the conversation as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, as it would give them a 29-2 overall record and a 7-1 mark in Quad 1 games heading into the conference tournament - a very tough resume for the Selection Committee to pass on.

Gonzaga won the first matchup between these two programs, 73-65, back on Jan. 31 behind a heroic performance from Graham Ike, who returned after a three-game absence to drop 30 points on the Gaels. Ike will be Gonzaga's primary source of offense again on Saturday, but the x-factor for this team will be defensive specialist Emmanuel Innocenti, who will draw the task of locking down SMC's star guard Joshua Dent. Dent dropped 16 points with four assists in Spokane, and the freshman guard is averaging 13.3 points, 5.8 assists, and 1.6 steals in a conference-leading 36 minutes per game - while also shooting 39.3% from three and a ridiculous 92.7% from the free throw line.

Gonzaga wing Jalen Warley will be a big factor as well, if he plays. The 6'7 senior did not play in Wednesday's 41-point win over Portland due to a thigh injury that has plagued him since early February. In the last matchup with the Gaels, Warley played 33 minutes and scored 10 points on 5-7 shooting, but his biggest impact was defensively on Paulius Murauskas, who had 15 points on 5-14 shooting in one of his weaker performances of the year.

If Warley is able to suit up and play big minutes for Gonzaga, he could turn the tide in favor of the Zags, but if not, Murauskas and the Gaels will have an easier time getting open looks without the versatile defender on the floor.

Below is a look at how to watch Saturday's matchup between Gonzaga and Saint Mary's:

How to watch Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary's

Date: Saturday, Feb. 28

Game time: 7:30 p.m. PT

Where: UCU Pavilion (Moraga, CA)

How to watch: ESPN

How to listen: 96.1 FM (local) and Varsity Sports App