Saint Mary's and Gonzaga first met in a West Coast Conference Tournament championship game in 2004. Since then, they've played on this stage 13 additional times, most recently Tuesday night when both entered already assured of making the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
So were the stakes super high?
No, the stakes were not super high. Seeding was the lone thing at stake as it pertains to the NCAA Tournament. Regardless, adding a trophy to the trophy case at the expense of a rival is always worth doing, and Saint Mary's did exactly that following a 69-60 victory over the Zags that provided Randy Bennett with his fourth WCC Tournament championship.
"We beat a good team — a program we've got a ton of respect for," Bennett said. "They've helped us become the program that we are because we were punching up there for a long time and trying to do what they were doing and be as good as they were."
In this season, mission accomplished. Saint Mary's won the WCC regular-season title by a game, won the WCC Tournament convincingly and will enter the NCAA Tournament ranked ahead of Gonzaga in the NET. The Gaels are No. 25 in Wednesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Purdue remains No. 1 for the 22nd consecutive day. Gonzaga is No. 26.
Among the drags on Saint Mary's body of work are two Quadrant 3 losses suffered before Christmas — the first to Weber State on Nov. 12, the second to Missouri State on Dec. 23. That'll likely prevent the Gaels from being a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament. But, for what it's worth, since losing to Missouri State, Saint Mary's is 18-1 and performing like the eighth most-efficient team in the country, according to BartTorvik.com. So if you're looking for a team to advance in your NCAA Tournament bracket that will probably be under-seeded on Selection Sunday, the Gaels might be a good candidate.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds in Sunday's 78-70 win over Wisconsin. The Boilermakers are the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 8-3 |
| 2 |  | Alex Karaban finished with 16 points and two steals in Saturday's 74-60 win at Providence. The Huskies are the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament. | -- | 8-3 |
| 3 |  | Jamal Shead finished with 13 points and eight assists in Saturday's 76-46 win over Kansas. The Cougars are the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 6-3 |
| 4 |  | Cormac Ryan finished with 31 points and two rebounds in Saturday's 84-79 win at Duke. The Tar Heels are the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament. | -- | 6-5 |
| 5 |  | Santiago Vescovi was 0 of 5 from the field in Saturday's 85-81 loss to Kentucky. The Vols are the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 11-0 |
| 6 |  | Milan Momcilovic was 0 of 2 from the field in Saturday's 65-58 loss at Kansas State. The Cyclones are the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 9-1 |
| 7 |  | Baylor Scheierman finished with 18 points and six assists in Saturday's 69-67 win at Villanova. The Bluejays are the No. 2 seed in the Big East Tournament. | -- | 7-4 |
| 8 |  | Caleb Love was 1 of 10 from the field in Saturday's 78-65 loss at USC. The Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament. | -- | 4-5 |
| 9 |  | RayJ Dennis had four turnovers in Saturday's 78-68 loss at Texas Tech. The Bears are the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 7-3 |
| 10 |  | Oso Ighodaro finished with 24 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 86-80 win at Xavier. The Golden Eagles are the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament. | -- | 9-2 |
| 11 |  | Great Osobor finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 87-85 win over New Mexico. The Aggies are the No. 1 seed in the Mountain West Tournament. | -- | 10-1 |
| 12 |  | Jeremy Roach was 3 of 12 from the field in Saturday's 84-79 loss to Duke. The Blue Devils are the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament. | -- | 9-2 |
| 13 |  | Denver Jones finished with 21 points and three assists in Saturday's 92-78 win over Georgia. The Tigers are the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 10-1 |
| 14 |  | Spencer Johnson finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 85-71 win over Oklahoma State. The Cougars are the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 8-2 |
| 15 |  | Johnny Furphy was 2 of 9 from the field in Saturday's 76-46 loss at Houston. The Jayhawks are the No. 6 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 8-2 |
| 16 |  | Terrence Shannon Jr. finished with 25 points and three rebounds in Sunday's 73-61 win at Iowa. The Illini are the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 7-3 |
| 17 |  | Reed Sheppard finished with 27 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 85-81 win at Tennessee. The Wildcats are the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 10-1 |
| 18 |  | DaRon Holmes II finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 91-86 win over VCU. The Flyers are the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. | -- | 10-2 |
| 19 |  | Jarod Lucas finished with 26 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 75-65 win over UNLV. The Wolf Pack are the No. 2 seed in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. | -- | 8-3 |
| 20 |  | B.J. Mack finished with 25 points and two blocks in Saturday's 93-89 win at Mississippi State. The Gamecocks are the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 8-3 |
| 21 |  | Mark Sears finished with 22 points and six assists in Saturday's 92-88 in over Arkansas. The Crimson Tide are the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 8-2 |
| 22 |  | Jaylen Wells was 3 of 13 from the field in Thursday's 74-68 loss to Washington. The Cougars are the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament. | 1 | 9-2 |
| 23 |  | Roddie Anderson III finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Friday's 79-77 win at San Diego State. The Broncos are the No. 3 seed in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. | 1 | 8-3 |
| 24 |  | Pop Isaacs finished with 20 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 78-68 win over Baylor. The Red Raiders are the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. | 1 | 8-2 |
| 25 |  | Aidan Mahaney finished with 23 points and two rebounds in Tuesday's 69-60 win over Gonzaga. The Gaels' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | NR | 9-2 |
| 26 |  | Gonzaga only got four points from its bench in Wednesday's 69-60 loss to Saint Mary's. The Zags' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 4 | 7-3 |
