Santa Clara-Gonzaga Preview

3/9/2008 12:49 AM

By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA
STATS Senior Writer

Wins over Santa Clara have given Gonzaga West Coast Conference regular-season and tournament titles. This time, a matchup with the Broncos is merely the next step in the Bulldogs' quest for yet another championship.

After routing Santa Clara to earn the WCC's top seed, No. 22 Gonzaga begins its pursuit of a fifth straight league tournament title when the teams face off Sunday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego.

Gonzaga (24-6) beat No. 4 seed Santa Clara (15-15) 88-54 on Monday night to clinch its eighth straight WCC regular-season title and secure this tournament's top seed and a bye until the semifinals. Last season, the Bulldogs beat the Broncos 77-68 in the conference tournament's title game.

Gonzaga, which has won seven straight, appears poised to capture another title. To advance to Monday night's championship game, the Bulldogs will have to beat the Broncos for the third time this season and second time in a week.

Having won eight straight WCC tournament games and 16 of its last 17 against Santa Clara, Gonzaga has every reason to be confident. The Bulldogs haven't lost since Feb. 4, when they fell 89-85 in overtime to then-No. 25 Saint Mary's.

"We are playing our best basketball right now," said Gonzaga's Mark Few, named the WCC's coach of the year for the seventh time.

Everything was working for the Zags on Monday, as they shot 47.8 percent (33-for-69) from the field, including 13-of-26 from beyond the arc. Freshman Steven Gray was 6-for-7 from 3-point range and scored a career-high 18 points for the Bulldogs.

"He's had practices like that where he doesn't miss," Few said of Gray.

Gray had 16 points in Gonzaga's first matchup with Santa Clara, leading the Bulldogs to an 87-82 overtime win on Feb. 2. He is shooting 45.3 percent (29-for-64) from 3-point range on the season.

Jeremy Pargo, Gray's backcourt mate, was named WCC player of the year Tuesday, marking the eighth straight season a Gonzaga player has earned that distinction.

Pargo averaged 11.8 points per game, but it was his all-around play that made him the conference's top player. He led the WCC with 6.5 assists per game while averaging 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals.

Pargo averaged 11.0 points and 7.0 assists in two games versus the Broncos this season.

Mitch Henke led Santa Clara with 13 points in Monday's matchup with Gonzaga, and he matched that total in the Broncos' 51-50 win over San Francisco on Saturday in the second round of the league tournament. John Bryant finished with a game-high 27 points and 17 rebounds, and made two free throws with 3 seconds left to secure the win for Santa Clara.

Bryant, who leads the Broncos with 18.2 points per game, was held to 10 on 4-of-11 shooting versus Gonzaga on Monday, but had 22 points in the teams' previous matchup.

On Saturday, the 6-foot-10 center helped Santa Clara win for the first time in three games. The Broncos went just 6-8 against WCC foes in the regular season.

Gonzaga is 5-1 all-time against Santa Clara in the WCC tournament, and leads the all-time series 36-29. The winner will face either second-seeded Saint Mary's or No. 3 seed San Diego in the title game Monday night.