They obtained some measure of revenge for shedding to the Gaels in final 12 months’s title recreation, which ended Gonzaga’s run of 4 convention championships and 10 of 11. Gonzaga additionally prolonged its nationwide report to 18 consecutive 25-win seasons.
Saint Mary’s (28-5) had its seven-game successful streak stopped. The Gaels additionally had gained 17 of 18 video games.
Khalif Battle scored 14 factors for the Zags, Graham Ike added 11 and Ryan Nembhard had 10.
Mitchell Saxen led Saint Mary’s with 20 factors however scored solely six after halftime. Two-time WCC Participant of the 12 months Augustas Marciulionis completed with 12 factors.
Saint Mary’s was making an attempt to turn out to be the primary staff since San Diego in 1996-97 to beat Gonzaga thrice in a season. However Gonzaga entered the sport with the upper Kenpom ranking, ninth to twenty second for the Gaels, and was a 3.5-point favourite at BetMGM Sportsbook.
[Related: Mike DeCourcy latest bracket NCAA Tournament projections]
Takeaways
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs dedicated simply 4 turnovers whereas forcing 18 that included two shot-clock violations within the closing minutes.
Saint Mary’s: Dominating the boards is a key motive the Gaels gained the regular-season title, and their 43-28 benefit saved them aggressive.
Key second
Marciulionis’ layup with 15:09 left introduced Saint Mary’s inside some extent, however the Gaels went the following 7:36 and not using a subject objective as Gonzaga constructed a 48-42 lead.
Key stats
The groups mixed to shoot 1-of-31 on 3-pointers, with Saint Mary’s going 0-for-16.
Up subsequent
Each groups will discover out their NCAA Match seeds and locations on Sunday.
Reporting by The Related Press.
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