Can’t sleep on Gonzaga in March. The Zags have won their 23rd West Coast Conference Tournament title in program history, the first coming back in 1995. Utter domination from Gonzaga as of late with the 2025 run being the fifth championship in the last six seasons, the 11th since 2013.
This victory was paved with coach Mark Few’s decision to start sophomore forward Braden Huff (team-high 18 points on 8-for-16 field goals) over senior Ben Gregg. It was just Huff’s second start of his career and Gonzaga’s third different lineup against Saint Mary’s this season after losing to the Gaels in the two regular season matchups. The adjustment from the future Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach was up there with some of the best he’s made throughout his fantastic career.
Straight off the tip, Gonzaga came out the gate scorching hot. That’s something they haven’t done much of at all this season. Few spoke after the 85-76 semifinals victory over the San Francisco Dons about how he doesn’t want play to Saint Mary’s pace. Instead, get out in transition and speed up this game. That’s exactly what he got.
The Zags forced the Gaels to turn over the ball 18 times and pushed the offense for 20 points off said turnovers. Gonzaga took care off the ball in this one and only threw it away four times which is tied for the least they have allowed all season long.
Huff’s assertive offensive play and versatility as a playmaker stood out the most in this rivalry matchup. He kept possessions alive down the late stretch with his three offensive rebounds, two steals, and block. Huff’s not known for his defensive talent at all. It was the best all-around performance of his young career with the Zags, even threw a perfect feed to Gregg for the emphatic slam that almost brought the roof down in Las Vegas.
Alongside Graham Ike (11 points on 5-for-12 shooting, seven rebounds) in the Gonzaga frontcourt, the two played extremely well off one another. When Ike was inside the paint and being guarded one-by-one throughout this run in Las Vegas, it was game over for most defenders except one.
Saint Mary’s senior center Mitchell Saxen was the defensive anchor for coach Randy Bennett, finishing with 20 points on 8-for-13 field goals to go along with seven rebounds and two blocks in the loss. He wasn’t just acting as a rim protector but truly the focal point for the Saint Mary’s offense.
Ike was still named the West Coast Conference Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, deservedly so. He finished with averages of 19.0 points on a 50.6 field goal percentage, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks in the wins over the Dons and the Gaels.
Gonzaga’s defensive adjustments throughout the matchup with Saint Mary’s and the way they swarmed around the court stood out for all 40 minutes (12 steals which was the second-most this season). Few went with a zone-to-man defense to start out before switching fully to man-to-man once freshman phenom Mikey Lewis checked in. The Oakland, California native was a Zag killer in the first two matchups but that wasn’t the case when the lights were at their brightest. Lewis finished with five points on 2-for-10 field goals, 0-for-7 three-pointers.
Ryan Nembhard (10 points on 5-for-11 shooting, six assists, three steals) went to the bench with 1:09 left in the first half, the first time ever he has been off the floor against Saint Mary’s in his six career games against the Gaels (2-4 overall record). Almost immediately when he did so, a technical foul was called on Nembhard for standing up and chirping the referee from the bench at the end of that first half. That didn’t give high hopes for anyone heading into the halftime locker room. It was uncharacteristic for the country’s assist leader and limited his ability to be aggressive to start the second half.
Gonzaga guard Khalif Battle brought the energy back up coming out of the halftime locker room. He was fantastic when playing in transition against Saint Mary’s and swarmed both the Dons/Gaels on the defensive end. The grad transfer was named to the West Coast Conference’s All-Tournament Team after putting up 17.5 points and 4.0 steals in two games. When he’s taking smart shots and is consistent from the floor, this offense looks its most crisp. His impact on defense is an added bonus.
This game was far from perfect. Both teams struggled mightily shooting from deep, actually horrendous the entire time. Gonzaga went 1-for-15 on three-pointers, Saint Mary’s 0-for-16. It’s been a weak part to the game of the Zags all season.
Hard to believe that Gonzaga somehow pulled out this revenge victory over Saint Mary’s after losing the rebounding battle, 43-28. 14 of those for Gaels being offensive boards. That can’t happen in March if the Zags hope to extend their Sweet Sixteen streak to 10 straight trips.
This is one of the best rivalries in all of college basketball, especially come March. Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s always put on a show on the final stage in Las Vegas but the Zags have had history on their side. Gonzaga owns Saint Mary’s in the West Coast Conference championship game with an 11-4 overall winning record.
This season has been underwhelming to Gonzaga’s standards but after winning their last four games/nine of the last 10 entering the NCAA Tournament, this team now looks like a dangerous bunch. It feels rewarding to finally pull out a victory in a close game like that after dealing with the way too many losses in those similar type of situations during this campaign.
The Zags should be right around the No. 7/No. 6 seed for March Madness with a 4-6 record in Quad 1 opportunities and now a tournament title added to their resume. That is even more respectable given how talented from top-to-bottom the West Coast Conference was in 2024-25, one of the best in its historic history.
Thanks to the Kennel South for showing up once again at the Orleans Arena. Couldn’t have been done without their effort in the stands. Selection Sunday is set for March 15th at 3 p.m. PT on CBS.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho
