Gonzaga, San Francisco collide with second place, bye into WCC Tournament semifinals on the line

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Feb. 28—SAN FRANCISCO — It all comes down to this for Gonzaga in its 18th and final West Coast Conference game of the season:

—Beat San Francisco on Saturday, secure the No. 2 seed and corresponding bye into the WCC Tournament semifinals and bolster its NCAA Tournament credentials with another much-needed Quad 1 win.

—Or lose, fall to third place — which would be the lowest finish in coach Mark Few’s 26 seasons — and move closer to the March Madness bubble, not to mention facing the daunting task of three games in three days to win the conference tournament.

Yes, the regular-season finale is a big one at Chase Center.

“It’s huge, winner takes second place and that’s obviously another bye in the tournament,” said Gonzaga point guard Ryan Nembhard, who is five assists from becoming the 21st player in Division I history with 300 in a season.

Gonzaga (22-8, 13-4 WCC) rallied past Santa Clara 95-76 on Tuesday to improve to 2-6 in Quad 1 games. GU would be 3-6, but Baylor dropped from Q1 to Q2 after falling from No. 30 to No. 31 in the NET rankings. San Francisco (23-7, 13-4) qualifies as a Quad 1 road game at No. 60.

“We need it, just so we get that extra bye,” said GU forward Graham Ike, who scored 24 points in 20 foul-plagued minutes against Santa Clara. “It means a lot to us.”

Gonzaga trailed 42-34 when Ismaila Diagne’s dunk with 2:35 remaining in the first half started a 10-0 run, ending with GU’s first lead of the game with 34 seconds left in the half. The Zags, sparked by Diagne’s contributions at both ends of the court, outscored Santa Clara 51-34 in the second half.

“It’s so important, but it’s inspirational,” Ike said. “And it shows our potential, not even our potential, but who we are. That’s who we are right there. That’s Zag basketball. Continue to stay together with each other, continue to push out wins.”

The Dons are trying to add another breakthrough win after knocking off WCC champion Saint Mary’s 65-64 in early February for its first win over the Gaels…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/gonzaga-san-francisco-collide-second-030200422.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2025-03-01 03:02:00

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