Ranking the 5 most memorable matchups between Gonzaga and Saint Mary's

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have not had many struggles in the past 25 years in the West Coast Conference. The Zags cleared their 23rd WCC regular season championship under Mark Few on Wednesday with a win over Portland, and have won the conference tournament 20 of the last 25 seasons.

The one team to truly give Gonzaga fits over the last quarter-century is Saint Mary's, and the battles between these two programs have made this one of the best rivalries in all of college basketball. The rivalry continues on Saturday when the Zags head to Moraga to take on the Gaels one last time as conference foes, before moving to the new look Pac-12 in 2026-27.

While Gonzaga already locked up the No. 1 seed in the WCC Tournament, a win by Saint Mary's would give them a share of the regular season title - their fourth in a row - and would help solidify their spot in the NCAA Tournament.

It's not at all uncommon for this matchup to carry significant stakes, with multiple games over the years that clinched a conference title, ended a massive winning streak, and in some cases were the sole reason a team even made the NCAA Tournament.

Gonzaga is 52-17 all-time against Saint Mary's in the Few era, but don't let the record fool you - this matchup has been far more even over the last half-decade, with the teams splitting the last 12 matchups an even 6-6.

With many, many games to choose from, we did our best to choose the five best matchups in this historic rivalry, going in chronological order:

1. SMC's first WCC Tournament win over Gonzaga

March 8, 2010 at the Orleans Arena (Las Vegas)

The first true villain of the Gonzaga-SMC rivalry, Omar Samhan, was born out of frustration over not being recruited by Gonzaga out of high school, spawned in Moraga by coach Randy Bennett, and established himself as enemy No. 1 in Spokane on March 8, 2010 when his Gaels defeated Gonzaga in the WCC championship, 81-62, to secure the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

"The last two years, we've been sitting there on Selection Sunday, hoping and waiting," Samhan said. "One year we were in, one year we weren't. This year, we wanted to make sure."

SMC's big man had nine points, seven rebounds, and six blocks in the contest, contributing to poor offensive nights for Rob Sacre (3-7) and Elias Harris (3-13) for Gonzaga.

The championship was SMC's first since 1997, and it pushed the Zags down to a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament - while also setting the stage for this rivalry to grow into one of the best in college sports.

2. Mickey McConnell game-winner

Jan. 27, 2011 at the McCarthey Athletic Center

The WCC Tournament loss fanned the flames of this rivalry, but this is a game that arguably took it to a new level. Gonzaga had won 10 of the previous 14 matchups against Saint Mary's, and even with Gonzaga's aforementioned loss the previous year, what SMC did on a late January night in 2011 was unthinkable at the time: they knocked off the Zags at home.

Jan 27, 2011; Spokane, WA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs center Robert Sacre (00) lowers his head while the Saint Mary's Gaels celebrate their 73-71 victory at the McCarthey Athletic Center. | James Snook-Imagn Images

Mickey McConnell's floater in the lane broke a 71-71 tie and gave SMC their first win in Spokane since 1995. It was Gonzaga's second home loss EVER at McCarthey, and their first three-game losing streak in the WCC since 1997.

While it's still rare for teams to beat Gonzaga in Spokane, it was truly unprecedented at the time. The Zags were 44-1 at the Kennel prior to SMC's win, and it truly set the tone for the hostility between these two programs over the next 15 years.

3. Gonzaga punches their ticket

March 8, 2016 at the Orleans Arena (Las Vegas)

By the time 2016 rolled around, Saint Mary's had established themselves as a consistent foe for Gonzaga. They won the WCC Tournament in 2010 and again in 2012, although Gonzaga had rattled off eight straight against the Gaels heading into their first regular season matchup in the 2015-16 season.

The Zags lost that matchup in Moraga, 70-67, and for the first time in the Mark Few era, they were swept by Saint Mary's after the Gaels knocked them off in Spokane a month later, 63-58.

March 8, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs hoist the championship trophy against the Saint Mary's Gaels after the game in the finals of the West Coast Conference tournament at Orleans Arena. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

With a 23-7 overall record, Gonzaga went into the WCC Tournament needing to win the championship to avoid potentially missing the big dance for the first time in coach Few's tenure. After blasting Portland and narrowly escaping BYU, Gonzaga knew Saint Mary's wanted nothing more than to beat the Zags, clinch a season sweep, and potentially send their rival home without a bid in the field of 68.

No such thing occurred, as Gonzaga's balanced scoring effort - led by 20 points from Eric McClellan and 17 from Kyle Wiltjer - helped the Zags withstand a hot shooting night from the Gaels to win, 85-75, and punch their ticket to March as a No. 11 seed. Gonzaga rode that momentum into upset wins over No. 6 Seton Hall and No. 3 Utah, before falling to No. 10 seed Syracuse in the Sweet 16.

Meanwhile, the Gaels were the ones left out of the NCAA Tournament, only adding more fuel to the fire of this rivalry.

4. Gaels win back and forth affair in Spokane

Jan. 18, 2018 at McCarthey Athletic Center

Gonzaga followed up their first-ever national championship appearance with a very quality squad in 2017-18, heading into a home matchup with Saint Mary's sitting 16-3 overall and a perfect 6-0 in league play. Meanwhile, the Gaels were also 6-0 in league play and riding a 12-game winning streak, looking to knock off Gonzaga at home and take over first place in the league.

SMC managed to do exactly that thanks to a monster performance from Jock Landale, who dropped 26 points on 12-15 shooting, along with 12 rebounds and the game-winning layup with 15 seconds to go. The game featured 22 lead changes and was one of the tightest, most electric battles of all-time between these two heavyweight programs.

Gonzaga did get Saint Mary's back with a win in Moraga, 78-65, and after the Gaels lost to BYU in the WCC semifinals they were somewhat shockingly left out of the NCAA Tournament, despite a 28-5 overall record.

5. Crunch time win in Moraga

March 2, 2024 at United Credit Union Arena (Moraga, CA)

The 2023-24 season, which began with such promise for Mark Few and Gonzaga, was in dire straights in early February. The Zags were 16-6 overall and 7-2 in league play after losing at home to Saint Mary's 64-62, thanks to a monster effort from sophomore Aidan Mahaney.

At this point, it once again looked like the Zags might need to win the WCC Tournament outright to avoid missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in Few's career. Instead, Gonzaga - buoyed by a massive road win over Kentucky on Feb. 10 - rattled off seven straight victories and went into the regular season finale against Saint Mary's looking for vengeance.

The Gaels were a perfect 15-0 in league play, hoping to do what Gonzaga had done a handful of times already - complete a perfect season in the WCC. Graham Ike and the Zags had other plans, however, as Gonzaga jumped all over the Gaels for a 44-28 halftime lead and ultimately coasted to a 70-57 victory, snapping SMC's 16-game winning streak and dashing their dreams of an undefeated season.

Ike scored 24 points in what was his seventh straight game scoring 20 or more (sound familiar?) while Ryan Nembhard dropped 20 with 10 assists. The Zags finished the season on an eight-game winning streak - including three Quad 1 wins - and even though they lost to SMC in the WCC championship, they still earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and beat McNeese and Kansas before a loss to No. 1 seed Purdue in the Sweet 16.

Saturday's tilt could be another addition to this list, especially with the Gaels fighting for a share of the regular-season title. The game is set to tipoff at 7:30 PM PT and will be broadcast on ESPN.