CBB: West Coast Conference Classic (11:00 PM ET – ESPN)

Talk about your rare events in college basketball, what about a Top 25 matchup between two teams from a mid-major conference. No. 20 Gonzaga will play No. 22 Saint Mary’s on Thursday night, with the winner taking over first place in the West Coast Confere


2009-01-29

Talk about your rare events in college basketball, what about a Top 25 matchup between two teams from a mid-major conference. No. 20 Gonzaga will play No. 22 Saint Mary’s on Thursday night, with the winner taking over first place in the West Coast Conference. It’s the first game of the season between two ranked conference opponents from a non-BCS league. Get all the key info for this late night showdown by visiting the BETTING TRENDS and GAME MATCHUP pages.

The game is so highly anticipated that some Gonzaga students have been camped outside the McCarthey Athletic Center in subzero wind chill factors since Sunday in the quest for good seats. “This is definitely the biggest game of the season,” Gonzaga’s Josh Heytvelt said.

To say these teams have been dominating in WCC play would be understating the facts. Gonzaga (14-4, 9-7 ATS) has won five conference games by 28 points per game. St. Mary’s (18-1, 10-5 ATS) isn’t far behind in the total domination category, thumping opponents by 22.2 points per game.

Gonzaga owns a six game winning streak, helped by an 89-79 overtime win at Tennessee, which helped restore the Bulldogs confidence after they had lost three in a row. Gonzaga is 7-0 ATS in home games after two or more consecutive Overs over the last three seasons.

Saint Mary’s is off to the best start in its history and has a school record 15-game winning streak that is tops in the nation. The Gaels only blemish is loss to UTEP in late November and they are 6-0 ATS in road games after playing a pair of games as favorite this season.

The players are revved up for this encounter. “Saint Mary’s is the other team in this league this year,” Gonzaga guard Micah Downs said. “A lot of people are saying they are the best team in the WCC,” Downs added. “Lots of people are saying we are the underdogs going into this game. That’s not a bad place to be.”

Gonzaga coach Mark Few and St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett are trying to keep things in perspective for their players since they will meet again in Moraga, Calif., and conceivably a third time in the WCC tournament. Coach Few did leave one aspect open, “If we have an intention to win the league championship, we’ve got to take care of business.”

This matchup is loaded with quality, both as teams and individuals. Gonzaga’s potent offense averages 79.6 PPG and has four players who routinely score in double figures, led by Josh Heytvelt’s 14.7 points per game. Austin Daye is the team’s top rebounder at 7.1 PG and throws down 13.8 points. Matt Bouldin adds 13.1 points and Steven Gray chips in 10.6. Don’t neglect reigning WCC player of the year, Jeremy Pargo, who averages a league best 5.9 assists per game, while adding 9.2 points.

Sportsbook.com has the Zags as 8.5-point favorites on the home court and they are 11-4 ATS in that role most recently.

St. Mary’s is led by Patrick Mills, who is averaging 18.7 points per game and is as consistent a player as there is in the country. Mills has scored in double figures in all 19 games this season. He is complimented by Diamon Simpson, who is averaging 12.8 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Simpson and center Omar Samhan are rugged rebounders, dominating the glass. The Gaels are 5-0 ATS in last five road contests.

The last meeting between the teams was also a Top 25 showdown, which was the first in conference history. Gonzaga took down the Gaels 88-76 as seven point home favorites. Gonzaga has won 21 of the last 24 games in the series (15-9 ATS), including the last 13 in Spokane dating to 1995. The favorite has taken five of last seven against the spread.

The winner assumes first place in the standings and can pump their chest out, until they meet the next time. ESPN2 has this exceptional matchup starting at 11 Eastern.

StatFox Power Line – Gonzaga by 11

CBB: West Coast Conference Classic (11:00 PM ET – ESPN) News

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