WCC Basketball Fans

Scores

Monday, January 9

Saint Mary’s 87, San Francisco 72

Thursday, January 12

Saint Mary’s 83, Gonzaga 62

Loyola Marymount 68, Pepperdine 58

San Francisco 104, Portland 70

San Diego 75, Santa Clara 62

Saturday, January 14

San Francisco 78, Pepperdine 63

Saint Mary’s 69, Portland 61

Gonzaga 62, Loyola Marymount 58

BYU 95, Santa Clara 78

It’s becoming harder and harder to contest the claim that Randy Bennett is one of the most underrated coaches in major college basketball. The bench boss of the Saint Mary’s Gaels, who flirted with the Utah job last offseason before staying in Moraga, California, continues to prove that he’s one of the more skilled craftsmen in his profession. The job that Bennett is doing with this year’s Saint Mary’s club is serving to show America just how resourceful he can be.

When Brigham Young moved to the West Coast Conference from the Mountain West, one of the foremost questions on the minds of WCC hoops observers was going to be if Saint Mary’s could maintain its place at the top of the league. Gonzaga has been the lead dog in the WCC over time, with Saint Mary’s joining the Zags in a fierce competition for league bragging rights. SMC hasn’t been quite as consistent as Gonzaga, but did carve out its own independent reputation and identity as a team that could carry its own weight. When Saint Mary’s reached the Sweet 16 in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Bennett’s star reached its highest point, but after missing the 2011 NCAAs in a somewhat controversial snub, people wondered if the momentum of Bennett’s tenure had run out. Bennett considered other jobs in the offseason, but when he stayed with the Gaels, there were worries that his career wouldn’t be the same… for the wrong reasons. Perhaps his players wouldn’t spill the tank as much for him this season. Perhaps BYU, fresh off its Sweet 16 run in last year’s Big Dance, would crowd out Saint Mary’s and develop its own rivalry with Gonzaga, relegating SMC to third place, and a distant third place at that. BYU’s arrival was a challenge to Gonzaga, but it was a threat to Saint Mary’s. Gonzaga has established a national recruiting profile, while Saint Mary’s – for all its successes in recent years – is still more of a regional team with a pipeline to Australia… not other places in the United States. Brigham Young’s stability in a new-look WCC wasn’t questioned; neither was Gonzaga’s. It was Saint Mary’s which had to find answers this season.

Clearly, Bennett has been up to the task.

Saint Mary’s whacked BYU at home two weeks ago, and this past week, the Gaels hosted Gonzaga to see if their BYU blowout was just one good night at the office or a sign of genuine prowess. Now, after thumping Gonzaga at McKeon Pavilion, SMC has proven to itself and to the rest of the WCC that it’s here to stay. Twin victories – impressive ones, too – over the other big dogs in the conference will calm any fears about the Gaels’ place in this corner of the college basketball world. Bennett has proven that he can win in a deeper and tougher WCC.

Saint Mary’s beat Gonzaga this past Thursday for two reasons: Matthew Dellavedova and Rob Jones. Dellavedova, a veteran guard from Australia, knocked down five threes en route to 26 points, giving the Gaels the scoring punch they required. Jones starred at the defensive end and in other aspects of Thursday’s throwdown. He stuffed Gonzaga’s main pivot player, Robert Sacre, limiting Sacre to just four points on 1-of-7 shooting. Jones scored only two points, but he proved that you can dominate a game without scoring. He collected 11 rebounds and handed out eight assists to give cohesion and conviction to Saint Mary’s throughout the evening in Moraga. Bennett clearly sold Jones on the idea of playing defense to win, and that’s exactly what Jones did in his stellar performance against Sacre.

Randy Bennett and Saint Mary’s have won their two big home games in the WCC season. It’s now up to Gonzaga and BYU to beat SMC at home later in the season.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer