Spokane, Wash. – Gonzaga’s nation-leading 35-game home winning streak almost ended here Monday night against Saint Mary’s – and that was a good thing.
Good, because the Bulldogs needed the work. Good, because the 14-game West Coast Conference schedule isn’t always the best preparation for the NCAA Tournament, though Zags players and coaches will argue that point. Saint Mary’s didn’t flinch in pushing the No. 5 Bulldogs to the limit before falling 62-61 on a controversial foul call and questionable clockwork that allowed forward Sean Mallon to take the game-winning free throws.
But while Saint Mary’s was steamed, the Bulldogs were thankful.
“It actually prepares you for the tournament,” guard Erroll Knight said. “That’s what it felt like. A tense game, and usually those games are determined in the last couple of minutes.
“I think we did a great job of showing composure and sticking with the plan, and hitting free throws to win it.”
Saint Mary’s has pushed Gonzaga twice, and there have been other West Coast Conference games that have tested the Bulldogs’ late-game wherewithal. It has been a nice marriage of competitive enough conference games and a nonconference slate designed to keep Gonzaga’s RPI high and give the team a look at the talent it will face in March.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few shakes his head at the notion the West Coast Conference can’t get his team ready for the NCAA Tournament.
“I think it’s funny, because the conference presents a lot of different challenges than when we go play out of league and we go play the UConns and the Michigan States and everybody we’ve played,” Few said. “This conference has, instead of a 6-10, jump-to-the-top-of-the-box (power forward) that’s 240 and can’t shoot outside of 5 feet, this conference has a kid like (Saint Mary’s forward Daniel) Kickert, who’s 6-10, who scores a lot from three and is really crafty off the bounce. That’s a hard matchup for a big guy.
“And then skilled guards: If you leave them open, it’s automatic. They look at some of the kids in our league and they’re not maybe top 25 or top 50 recruits – other than some of our kids – and what is happening is what we do to the UConns and Michigan States these guys are doing to us. They come in and they play their tails off, and they’re well-coached and well-disciplined and they’ve got skilled guys that can hurt you in different ways.”
And if Bulldogs star Adam Morrison should have an off night? Gonzaga got a look at that as well. The future NBA lottery pick shot just 7-for-20 against the Gaels, finishing with 20 points. But others such as J.P. Batista (21 points, 11 rebounds) picked up the slack.
“We still have tons of great players on this team, guys that can make shots,” Knight said. “Our team is growing and learning. We’re learning how to score off the other team’s mistakes.”
Still, of most concern to Few as tournament time approaches is his team’s penchant for letting opponents hang around.
“We really haven’t put people away,” Few said. “We’ve had a lot of grinders that go deep into the second half.”
High praise for Bouldin
One of the most significant – yet least talked about – high school signings in the state was ThunderRidge’s Matt Bouldin going to Gonzaga. That’s despite the fact Bouldin is headed to a current national top-five program, which doesn’t happen that often in Colorado.
Bouldin is proving the signing is no fluke. He leads the state in scoring at 25.0 points per game despite battling through ankle injuries. Even bigger is what Few thinks of Bouldin’s future in Spokane.
“He’ll be a cornerstone person in our program,” Few said. “I’m as excited as you can possibly be because he has all of the characteristics of all of the great Gonzaga guards that we’ve had over the years. He’s a terrific person. He’s a leader. He’s a winner. He’s got a great feel for the game and he can score. So he can hurt you with the pass and hurt you with his shooting and he can hurt you even with his scoring.
“Probably the guy that had the most impact on our program while he was here was Blake Stepp, and that’s what he did. It wasn’t just his scoring. He’d get 10 rebounds some nights, he’d get 12 assists, he could guard another good player on the other team. He was a leader.”
Footnotes
An observation from the SEC this week: Count the Volunteers in as a team with an outside shot at a No. 1 seed. Tennessee’s solid play, high RPI and rising ranking help it. Plus, Florida’s second loss to South Carolina on Wednesday pretty much ended the Gators’ bid for a top seed. … Think the folks in Washington aren’t still steamed at the Super Bowl referees? During Gonzaga’s win over Saint Mary’s, the crowd chanted “Super Bowl refs! Super Bowl refs!” nearly every time a controversial call was made against the Zags. … Baylor is showing why a nonconference schedule is important. The Bears, who were banned from nonconference play this season by the NCAA, are improving rapidly since they started playing conference games Jan. 11. After dropping six in a row, Baylor has won two of its past three, including a 90-64 blowout of Missouri. … Speaking of Missouri, which has played atrocious basketball most of this season, you have to think we’re witnessing the final games of coach Quin Snyder’s tenure there.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
