NCAA Tournament bound: Gonzaga beats Saint Mary’s to clinch automatic bid

Gonzaga handles nemesis Gaels 58-51 to reach NCAA Tournament for the 26th straight time

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Khalif Battle (99) and guard Nolan Hickman (11). / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the 26th straight time. Just as important, the Zags are looking every bit like the team the college basketball world has been accustomed to watching the last quarter-century.

With the front line of Braden Huff, Graham Ike and Khalif Battle holding their own against physical Saint Mary’s, the second-seeded Zags beat the rival and top-seeded Gaels 58-51 in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game Tuesday night at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas to claim the WCC’s automatic entry to March Madness.

After a regular season that was more difficult than normal, the Zags re-exerted their dominance in the WCC over a Gaels team that had won the last three meetings, including last year’s conference tourney title game and then a regular-season sweep.

Huff, a sophomore, earned a rare start and responded with 18 points. Battle scored 14, Ike 11 and Ryan Nembhard 10 for the Zags (25-8). Although Saint Mary’s (28-5) outrebounded Gonzaga 43-28, the Bulldogs’ defense forced 18 turnovers that led to 20 points.

The Zags were feeling it after Nembhard’s layup gave them a 56-49 lead with 50 seconds to go. The celebration was on after Hickman fed Battle for an alley-oop slam dunk with 36 seconds left. Confetti rained down after the final buzzer rained down and the Zags cut down the nets.

Here are three takeaways from Gonzaga’s win in Las Vegas:

The big picture

Gonzaga was in the unusual position of being on the NCAA Tournament bubble 2 ½ weeks ago after a glum 74-67 home loss to Saint Mary’s on Senior Night at the Kennel on Feb. 22. But they responded with two dominating Quad 1 wins in the Bay Area, against Santa Clara and San Francisco, and then beat the Dons for the 33rd straight time in the tourney semifinals on Monday night. 

The Zags beat the Gaels for the third time in the last four tournament championship games. They avenged a 69-60 loss to the Gaels in last year’s championship game that ended a run of four straight titles.

Gonzaga posted its 18th straight 25-win season, extending its national record.

Flip the script

The Zags were plenty motivated for this one and kept the Gaels from becoming the first team to beat them three times in a season since the San Diego Toreros did it in 1996-97. 

Gonzaga never had a lead in that Feb. 22 home loss that gave the regular-season title to the Gaels. Saint Mary’s never had a lead on Tuesday night. The Zags started fast behind Ike, Huff and Battle, running out to a 16-5 lead in the first 5 ½ minutes and pushing it to 20-7 on a dunk by Gregg.

Saint Mary’s closed to 33-31 at halftime and tied it at 33 on Mitchell Saxen’s dunk, but could never overtake the Zags. Saxen scored a game-high 20 points while Augustas Marciulionis had 12.

Honors

Ike was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and Battled was named to the all-tournament team.

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

• Gonzaga’s Ben Gregg puts Saint Mary’s star on a poster with vicious dunk

• Gonzaga moves up in latest NCAA Tournament projections

• What Gonzaga's Mark Few said after WCC semifinal win vs. San Francisco

• What Gonzaga's Graham Ike, Khalif Battle said after WCC semifinal win vs. San Francisco

• Gonzaga's Michael Ajayi throws down monster dunk in WCC Tournament semifinal vs. San Francisco

• Gonzaga outlasts San Francisco, advances to WCC championship game vs. Saint Mary's: 3 takeaways

• Could Gonzaga coach be candidate for Big 12 job?

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