Gonzaga @ Saint Mary's preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 12, 2019 ) St. Mary's 60, Gonzaga 47

Second-ranked Gonzaga knows it is in for a battle when it visits Saint Mary's on Saturday in West Coast Conference play. The Bulldogs are seeking their 17th consecutive victory, while the Gaels are looking to post another epic upset like the 60-47 win over Gonzaga in last season's WCC tourney that came with a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Saint Mary's had never beaten a top-ranked program until last season's memorable takedown of the Bulldogs and a repeat would further bolster this season's already strong postseason resume. The Gaels have won five of their last six games, including Thursday's 66-60 road triumph over San Diego, to reach the 20-win mark for the 13th consecutive season. Gonzaga registered an 85-67 home win over Loyola Marymount on Thursday to stretch its WCC-record regular-season winning streak to 37 even though it was outrebounded 31-25 by the Lions. Senior forward Killian Tillie (ankle) is a game-time decision, according to Bulldogs coach Mark Few, after missing the past two games and eight total this season.

TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT GONZAGA (24-1, 10-0 WCC): Freshman forward Drew Timme scored 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting and collected eight rebounds versus Loyola Marymount and he is averaging 18 points while starting the past two games in place of Tillie. "Drew's doing a great job of delivering inside," Few told reporters after Thursday's victory. "That's probably three games in row where he's done a nice job, and he's getting better defensively, so that's a really good sign for us. We need another interior defender to help shore that up, especially when Killian's not healthy." Sophomore forward Filip Petrusev scored 21 points for his third straight time topping 20 as well as increasing his team-best scoring average to 17.2.

ABOUT SAINT MARY'S (20-5, 7-3): Senior point guard Jordan Ford averages 21 points per game and he recorded 19 points and six assists against San Diego despite not making a 3-pointer for just the third time this season. Junior power forward Malik Fitts (16.9 points, 7.8 rebounds) had a stellar outing with 17 points and a career-best 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season and he is averaging 24.3 points over the last three contests. Senior guard Tanner Krebs (10.5 average) had 10 points against the Toreros in his return from a one-game absence due to an undisclosed injury.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Gonzaga has won 15 of the past 19 meetings.

2. Bulldogs senior G Admon Gilder scored 17 points versus Loyola Marymount for his ninth straight double-digit outing.

3. The Gaels were leading the nation in 3-point shooting prior to Thursday's game, then went just 1-of-15 to drop their percentage to 41.7.

PREDICTION: Gonzaga 72, Saint Mary's 67