#8 Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. #15 St. Mary’s Gaels – WCC Finals – TV, Odds, and More
Ed Stein
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PNWS presents what you need to know for Tuesday’s West Coast Conference Finals matchup between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and St. Mary’s Gaels.
The #8 Gonzaga Bulldogs 2022-23 WCC season ends with the Tournament Final. Tuesday’s game against 15th-ranked St. Mary’s is for the conference’s automatic March Madness bid.
Gonzaga Bulldogs Head Coach Mark Few makes his 24 straight WCC Finals appearance.
Who: #8 Gonzaga Bulldogs (27-5 overall, 14-2 in WCC) vs. #16 St. Mary’s Gaels (26-6, 14-2).
Where: Orleans Arena – Las Vegas, NV.
When: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 – 6:00 PM PST.
TV: ESPN. Announcers: Dave Flemming and Sean Farnham
Line: Gonzaga -2.5. Over/Under: 138.5 (Draft Kings).
Injuries: Gonzaga – Out: Kaden Perry (back). St. Mary’s – None.
Outlook
It’s the 2022-23 rubber match between the Gaels and Bulldogs. Saint Mary’s won the first game on February 4 in Moraga, 78-70. Gonzaga took the rematch at home 77-68 three weeks later.
As was the case in the first two games, the WCC Finals will be a game of contrasting styles.
St. Mary’s has an outstanding defensive team. They allow a very stingy 59.6 points per game, which is 5th best in the country. Only 6 times has an opponent scored over 65 points against the Gaels this season (two were by Gonzaga).
Two major components fuel their defense. First is forcing bad shots. Opponents only shoot 45.2% on 2-pointers (19th) and 31.9% from behind the arc (9th) against them.
The second is rebounding. St. Mary’s outrebounds opponents by an average of 8.6 boards per game. Bulldogs center Drew Timme will need some help from his supporting cast, especially Anton Watson, who had a monster game in the semis against San Francisco (20 points and 7 rebounds).
The Gonzaga Bulldogs, on the other hand, come into the game leading the nation in scoring at 87.8 points per game. They’ve also made the most baskets per game, lead the country in field goal percentage (52.7), and are 15th at converting from 3-point range (38.3%).
One thing that may help the Zags is Timme’s interior passing. St. Mary’s is a tough team inside. As the Gaels collapse on him, if he can get the ball out of double teams to an open shooter like Julian Strather or Rasir Bolton, the defense will have to lay off him a bit. At that point, Timme will make the Gaels pay.
Another big key for Gonzaga is to play in control. St. Mary’s won’t allow as many fast break opportunities as the opportunistic Zags usually get. GU can’t afford to squander those chances with sloppiness in transition.
St. Mary’s three-headed backcourt of Aiden Mahaney, Logan Johnson, and Alex Ducas can put up points. True freshman Mahaney is the player Gonzaga has to watch for. In the first game, he scored 18 points, but the Zags clamped down on him in the second, limiting him to 9 points on 30% shooting
Enjoy the game.