In this weekly WCC notes column, I share my insights on the four teams in our coverage footprint: Gonzaga, Oregon State, Saint Mary’s, and Washington State.
The Gaels, Zags, and Beavers won last week, but the Cougars went winless.
In matchups among them this week, Saint Mary’s plays Gonzaga, and the Bulldogs play Oregon State. Washington State faces San Francisco.
Here’s a rundown of the four teams heading into Week 13.
Saint Mary’s Gaels (8-0, 18-3)
Saint Mary’s continues to be America’s most underrated team. At this point, this just feels disrespectful.
The Gaels are ranked 23rd in the NET Rankings but unranked in the AP Poll, probably because they have played zero Quad 1 games.
This past week, the Gaels made a nice second-half comeback against Washington State and posted an impressive blowout victory over San Francisco.
Saint Mary’s trailed by as much as 10 points in the second half against the Cougars before the Lithuanian duo of Augustas Marciulionis and Paulius Murauskas dominated.
They found the spirit of The Grateful Dead. Marciulionis ran the offensive fluently while Murauskas hit multiple clutch shots.
Paulius finished the contest with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while his countryman finished with 17 and seven assists.
Against the Dons, Murauskas scored 24 points, marking his best two-game stretch of the season.
The Gaels have two tough matchups this week at Santa Clara, then hosting Gonzaga.
Notes:
– Randy Bennett is the 6th longest-tenured active D1 coach. (In his 24th season as Head Coach of Saint Mary’s)
– Augustas Marciulionis leads the team in scoring with 13.9 points per game.
– The Gaels are 5-3 against Quad 2 teams.
Gonzaga Bulldogs (6-2, 15-6)
Gonzaga had a fairly uneventful week, routing Portland by 43 points in their only matchup of the week.
The game was essentially a must-win for the Bulldogs, who entered this contest having lost back-to-back conference games for the first time in nearly a decade.
The Zags were led by Ben Gregg, who scored 24 points and six rebounds in the blowout.
If Gregg can continue to ball, he’ll be a pivotal complement next to Graham Ike. GU lacks an offensive identity in clutch moments, and a fearsome post duo could alleviate pressure off of any individual player.
A competent twin-tower combo combined with the passing of Ryan Nembhard would create a wide variety of shots. It would allow Gonzaga to force more double teams because most teams aren’t capable of defending two elite big men.
The Bulldogs’ schedule gets more challenging this week, with a rematch against Oregon State followed by a tilt against their biggest conference foe, Saint Mary’s.
If GU wins both contests, they’ll return to a solid place.
Notes:
– Gonzaga is unranked for the first time since March 14, 2016.
– Ryan Nembhard is 0.1 assists away from averaging a double-double on the season.
– Mark Few is the 5th longest-tenured active D1 coach (25th season as the Head Coach of Gonzaga).
Oregon State Beavers (6-3, 16-6)
Oregon State took care of business at home this week with two victories, one of which came against a quality opponent in Santa Clara.
The Beavers currently rank 54th in the NET rankings, but they’re slowly on an upward trend.
OSU won a game against the Broncos after securing control early in the second half. The Beavs built a 13-point lead in the second half, but Santa Clara cut the lead to one point with under eight minutes remaining.
Oregon State immediately responded with their own 6-0 run to give them some space.
Michael Rataj paced the Beavs with a few shots down the stretch, which led to a 14-point triumph for OSU. Rataj finished with 30 points and six rebounds in the game.
On Thursday, The Beavs trailed by two points early in the second half against Pepperdine but went on a big run, securing a 13-point lead with the same amount of minutes on the clock. OSU went on to win by 20.
Oregon State has a matchup against Gonzaga this week, and the world is stacked against them.
Notes:
– Oregon State has won nine straight games at Gill Coliseum.
– Nate Kingz and Parsa Fallah are tied as Oregon State’s second-leading scorers at 12.2 points per game.
– Michael Rataj is tied for 21st in the nation with eight double-doubles.
Washington State Cougars (5-4, 15-7)
Washington State finally came back to reality this past week. Except for their loss to Pacific, the Cougars have been overperforming all season.
WSU’s injuries proved too much to overcome in the final stretch against Saint Mary’s and the whole evening in Santa Clara. The Cougs played well against the Gaels but couldn’t get a stop in crunch time.
Saint Mary’s repeatedly scored down the stretch whenever WSU pulled close.
Ethan Price hit two huge three-pointers at the end of the game to pull Washington State within a trey, but Price’s final game-tying attempt was blocked, ending the Cougs’ comeback bid.
On Thursday, the Cougars stayed moderately close in the first half but got swallowed in the final twenty in an ugly loss.
WSU did get Rihards Vavers back from injury, which helps a little with depth. But the key is Isaiah Watts, and Washington State likely won’t beat any top teams until he returns.
WSU gets a revenge match against Pacific, followed by San Francisco on Saturday.
Notes:
– LeJuan Watts got a triple-double in the Cougars loss to Santa Clara (20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists).
– Washington State is 0-4 in Quad 1 games this season.
– WSU’s leading scorer, Cedric Coward, is out for the season, averaging 17.7 points per game.
Be the first to comment