Gonzaga’s next encounter with former Saint Mary’s guard Aidan Mahaney will look much different than the previous six

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Dec. 10—In facing No. 18 UConn on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, No. 8 Gonzaga will encounter a team that’s accounted for two of the program’s 14 losses the last two seasons, as well as a transfer guard who’s been on the winning side as much as he has the losing side in six career meetings with Mark Few and the Bulldogs.

If Aidan Mahaney hadn’t already joined the growing list of Saint Mary’s villains loathed by Gonzaga fans, the audacious, offensive-minded guard was well on his way after scoring 43 points in two wins over the Bulldogs last season. The first of those gave the Gaels a two-game lead atop the WCC standings, eventually helping them capture a regular-season conference championship, while a 23-point outing from Mahaney in the second gave Saint Mary’s a WCC Tournament championship.

The primary colors on Mahaney’s jersey haven’t changed, but virtually everything else has since the guard entered the transfer portal, committing to two-time reigning national champion UConn after also taking recruiting visits to Kentucky, Creighton and Virginia.

Mahaney, who averaged 35.8 minutes and never played fewer than 32 while compiling a 3-3 record against Gonzaga, hasn’t totaled more than 24 minutes in a game for UConn this season and was replaced in Dan Hurley’s starting lineup after struggling in each of his first five games.

Barring a lineup change, the junior who’s averaged 4.9 points and 1.9 assists in 15.7 minutes per game is slated to open on the bench when UConn (7-2) and Gonzaga (6-3) meet up at 5 p.m. PT on Saturday in New York City.

“Obviously not the most desirable start to my career here,” Mahaney said after a recent win over Baylor. “But we’re starting to get things in the right direction and coach has done a really good job of kind of supporting me through some of these early struggles and so have the guys.”

Mahaney started in 60 of 69 games at Saint Mary’s, becoming the Gaels’ primary offensive option early in his freshman season, earning consecutive All-WCC…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gonzagas-next-encounter-former-saint-030300499.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2024-12-11 03:03:00

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