Photo by: SMC Athletics / Piper Westrom
MBB | Facts and Figures: Post Santa Clara and Pre Gonzaga
1/31/2025 12:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Steve Kroner
Setting up Saturday night's highly anticipated matchup between Gonzaga and Saint Mary's and a look back at the Gaels' impressive victory at Santa Clara on Wednesday evening …
Not many people can appreciate how strong of a program Randy Bennett has built in Moraga better than Mark Few can.
Few began his stint as Gonzaga's head coach in the 1999-2000 season, two years before Bennett took over the Gaels' program. The Zags have been the dominant program in the WCC for the past quarter century and Saint Mary's typically has provided the top competition for the Zags over the past two decades.
The teams have split their past eight meetings, with the Gaels prevailing in two of the three matchups last season, including a 69-60 decision in the WCC Tournament championship game in Las Vegas in March.
Gonzaga (16-6, 7-2) faces Saint Mary's (19-3, 9-0) for the first time this season at UCU Pavilion on Saturday night. The Gaels' success in 2024-25 comes as no surprise to Few.
"It's just a huge challenge" to face Saint Mary's, Few said after the Zags hammered Oregon State 98-60 on Tuesday night. "It's just kind of rinse, lather, repeat. It's just the same. …
"They know who they are and they don't beat themselves, It's a great recipe and Randy's figured it out. I think people are figuring it out (that) he's one of the best coaches in college basketball and he's built a heck of program. It should be a great crowd, great game."
Traditionally, the Gonzaga-SMC matchups have come on Saturdays, with each team having played two nights earlier. This time, the Zags have three off days to prepare for SMC and the Gaels have two off days to get set for Gonzaga.
"It would have been a tough game either way, but it's definitely better to have two days before you play a game," Bennett said after the Gaels throttled the Broncos 67-54 on Wednesday. "To have a little extra day to get refreshed and a little more prepared (is good). Gonzaga's a tough one-day scout, really tough, because they're so efficient offensively.
"So, yeah, I'm glad we have an extra day."
Gonzaga ranks second in the nation in points per game at 89.6. Saint Mary's ranks seventh in the nation in fewest points allowed per game at 61.
"You can't turn it over and you can't give 'em transition" baskets, Bennett said regarding the keys to containing the Zags. He added that "you have to guard everything. They have a very good inside attack and they will bring that. … You can't give 'em easy baskets."
Gonzaga forward/center Graham Ike ranks fourth in the WCC in points per game at 17.3 and leads the conference in field-goal percentage at 60.3. Saint Mary's center Mitchell Saxen figures to spend much of the game trying to contain Ike.
As for what the Gaels need to do in general to handle Gonzaga, Saxen said, "Just compartmentalize. Everybody's going to hype it up as a big game, but at the end of the day, it gets down to doing what we call our musts, and that's playing hard for 40 minutes, knowing our job, doing our job just over and over again.
"That's why we've been able to beat them sometimes in the past, but it doesn't make it any easier the next time around. They've got a ton of good players."
Zags-Gaels notes: Though neither Gonzaga nor Saint Mary's is ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, each team ranks in the top 21 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET). As of Friday morning, the Zags were at 11 and the Gaels were at 21. … Saint Mary's was third in the country in rebounding margin at plus-11.2, behind only Illinois (11.8) and Milwaukee (11.3). … Gonzaga ranked third in the nation in field-goal percentage at 50.2. … Saint Mary's forward Paulius Murauskas tops the WCC in rebounds per game (8.9) and is tied with Gonzaga guard Ryan Nembhard for the lead in double doubles with nine. … Saxen has blocked 30 shots and has made 33 steals this season. He's the lone WCC player with at least 30 blocks and 30 steals.
30 straight: With 3:14 left in the first half at the Leavey Center on Wednesday night, center Christoph Tilly scored inside to give Santa Clara a 24-22 lead over SMC. Tilly accounted for the Broncos' next two points on a layup with 9:57 remaining in the second half.
Yes, the Broncos went more than 13 minutes of game time without a point. Meanwhile, the Gaels scored the final four points of the first half and the first 26 after the break.
"That's impressive," Saxen said in a classic understatement. "I think it really shows how detailed we are in our scouting reports. We're not giving up anything easy.
"We know the other team's tendencies probably better than they know them themselves – and that's a credit to our assistant coaches breaking down all the film, how Coach B simplifies things for us, just the detail we put in in preparation for each game."
15 straight: After winning all nine of their true road games last season, the Gaels have gone 6-0 in such games this season. The 15-game road winning streak is the longest current one in the nation.
"It's impressive for this group of guys," Bennett said after being asked where that road win streak ranks among his career accomplishments. "It's kind of what the things we try to hang our hat on in our program: being tough, being consistent, having composure. I feel real good about that because I know it's hard to do. …
"I'm proud for these guys that they've been able to do that."
Setting up Saturday night's highly anticipated matchup between Gonzaga and Saint Mary's and a look back at the Gaels' impressive victory at Santa Clara on Wednesday evening …
Not many people can appreciate how strong of a program Randy Bennett has built in Moraga better than Mark Few can.
Few began his stint as Gonzaga's head coach in the 1999-2000 season, two years before Bennett took over the Gaels' program. The Zags have been the dominant program in the WCC for the past quarter century and Saint Mary's typically has provided the top competition for the Zags over the past two decades.
The teams have split their past eight meetings, with the Gaels prevailing in two of the three matchups last season, including a 69-60 decision in the WCC Tournament championship game in Las Vegas in March.
Gonzaga (16-6, 7-2) faces Saint Mary's (19-3, 9-0) for the first time this season at UCU Pavilion on Saturday night. The Gaels' success in 2024-25 comes as no surprise to Few.
"It's just a huge challenge" to face Saint Mary's, Few said after the Zags hammered Oregon State 98-60 on Tuesday night. "It's just kind of rinse, lather, repeat. It's just the same. …
"They know who they are and they don't beat themselves, It's a great recipe and Randy's figured it out. I think people are figuring it out (that) he's one of the best coaches in college basketball and he's built a heck of program. It should be a great crowd, great game."
Traditionally, the Gonzaga-SMC matchups have come on Saturdays, with each team having played two nights earlier. This time, the Zags have three off days to prepare for SMC and the Gaels have two off days to get set for Gonzaga.
"It would have been a tough game either way, but it's definitely better to have two days before you play a game," Bennett said after the Gaels throttled the Broncos 67-54 on Wednesday. "To have a little extra day to get refreshed and a little more prepared (is good). Gonzaga's a tough one-day scout, really tough, because they're so efficient offensively.
"So, yeah, I'm glad we have an extra day."
Gonzaga ranks second in the nation in points per game at 89.6. Saint Mary's ranks seventh in the nation in fewest points allowed per game at 61.
"You can't turn it over and you can't give 'em transition" baskets, Bennett said regarding the keys to containing the Zags. He added that "you have to guard everything. They have a very good inside attack and they will bring that. … You can't give 'em easy baskets."
Gonzaga forward/center Graham Ike ranks fourth in the WCC in points per game at 17.3 and leads the conference in field-goal percentage at 60.3. Saint Mary's center Mitchell Saxen figures to spend much of the game trying to contain Ike.
As for what the Gaels need to do in general to handle Gonzaga, Saxen said, "Just compartmentalize. Everybody's going to hype it up as a big game, but at the end of the day, it gets down to doing what we call our musts, and that's playing hard for 40 minutes, knowing our job, doing our job just over and over again.
"That's why we've been able to beat them sometimes in the past, but it doesn't make it any easier the next time around. They've got a ton of good players."
Zags-Gaels notes: Though neither Gonzaga nor Saint Mary's is ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, each team ranks in the top 21 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET). As of Friday morning, the Zags were at 11 and the Gaels were at 21. … Saint Mary's was third in the country in rebounding margin at plus-11.2, behind only Illinois (11.8) and Milwaukee (11.3). … Gonzaga ranked third in the nation in field-goal percentage at 50.2. … Saint Mary's forward Paulius Murauskas tops the WCC in rebounds per game (8.9) and is tied with Gonzaga guard Ryan Nembhard for the lead in double doubles with nine. … Saxen has blocked 30 shots and has made 33 steals this season. He's the lone WCC player with at least 30 blocks and 30 steals.
30 straight: With 3:14 left in the first half at the Leavey Center on Wednesday night, center Christoph Tilly scored inside to give Santa Clara a 24-22 lead over SMC. Tilly accounted for the Broncos' next two points on a layup with 9:57 remaining in the second half.
Yes, the Broncos went more than 13 minutes of game time without a point. Meanwhile, the Gaels scored the final four points of the first half and the first 26 after the break.
"That's impressive," Saxen said in a classic understatement. "I think it really shows how detailed we are in our scouting reports. We're not giving up anything easy.
"We know the other team's tendencies probably better than they know them themselves – and that's a credit to our assistant coaches breaking down all the film, how Coach B simplifies things for us, just the detail we put in in preparation for each game."
15 straight: After winning all nine of their true road games last season, the Gaels have gone 6-0 in such games this season. The 15-game road winning streak is the longest current one in the nation.
"It's impressive for this group of guys," Bennett said after being asked where that road win streak ranks among his career accomplishments. "It's kind of what the things we try to hang our hat on in our program: being tough, being consistent, having composure. I feel real good about that because I know it's hard to do. …
"I'm proud for these guys that they've been able to do that."
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