WCC Basketball Fans

Scores

Monday, December 19

Utah 72, Portland 67
Saint Mary’s 74, Kennesaw State 51

Tuesday, December 20

BYU 93, Buffalo 78
Gonzaga 71, Butler 55
Saint Mary’s 77, Eastern Washington 61

Wednesday, December 21

Morgan State 69, Loyola Marymount 45

Houston Baptist 72, Santa Clara 71

Thursday, December 22

Baylor 72, Saint Mary’s 59

South Alabama 68, San Diego 62

Holy Cross 88, San Francisco 83

BYU 89, UC Santa Barbara 75

Nevada 78, Portland 60

Washington State 67, Pepperdine 56

Gonzaga 70, Air Force 60

Friday, December 23

Saint Mary’s 77, Missouri State 61

If the past weekend offered any indication of how the West Coast Conference regular season is going to turn out, it is that the Gonzaga Bulldogs are finding their legs. The Zags lost in Spokane to Michigan State earlier in December and looked to be teetering a bit. It’s still unclear as to how prolific this team will be under coach Mark Few, but the past week certainly solidified the Zags’ standing in the college basketball realm. GU produced two victories over non-cupcake opponents. The Thursday win over Air Force was a rather ho-hum affair, but last Tuesday’s 16-point smackdown of Butler could very well carry some mileage for the program. Gonzaga’s size and length bothered Butler throughout that contest. Robert Sacre and the Zags’ other big men were too much for Butler, which has not been as imposing as it was in the previous two seasons but still carried a reputation into Tuesday’s tilt. Butler had beaten Purdue the previous Saturday in Indianapolis to resurrect the good vibes which accompanied the program’s dizzying runs to two straight NCAA national championship games. Gonzaga faced a very confident BU bunch when tip-off time arrived. The Zags’ ability to so comprehensively dismiss Butler – in a game that was never terribly close over the final seven minutes – could really allow Few’s forces to gain momentum just before the WCC season begins.

Elsewhere in the league, Saint Mary’s missed its big chance to improve its NCAA Tournament resume. The Gaels lost to Baylor, the same program that knocked coach Randy Bennett’s bunch out of the 2010 NCAA Tournament in the Sweet Sixteen. Baylor is simply a balanced and loaded team at all five positions, and the Bears’ weapons were too much for an SMC squad which is not as talented as it used to be. Saint Mary’s did beat Missouri State on Friday, but that’s an NIT-level win, not an NCAA one.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer