Gonzaga @ Saint Mary's preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 9, 2019 ) St. Mary's 46, Gonzaga 94

Top-ranked Gonzaga attempts to complete an unbeaten record in West Coast Conference play when it visits Saint Mary's on Saturday night. The Bulldogs are 15-0 in the WCC as part of a 19-game winning streak that ranks as the best in the nation.

Gonzaga typically receives a battle from the Gaels, but that wasn't the case in the first meeting when it steamrolled Saint Mary's 94-46 on Feb. 9 in Spokane. The 48-point margin of defeat was the fourth worst in Gaels' history and the first time they lost by 30 or more points during coach Randy Bennett's 18 seasons. Saint Mary's enters the rematch with a five-game winning streak after defeating Portland 65-48 on Thursday to clinch second place in the WCC. Gonzaga is coming off Thursday's 86-66 road victory over Pacific as junior forward Rui Hachimura scored 27 points for his 19th outing of 20 or more points this season to raise his team-best scoring average to 20.7.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT GONZAGA (28-2, 15-0 WCC): Junior power forward Brandon Clarke had 21 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots against Pacific and felt the defensive effort was the key reason for routing the Tigers for the second time this season. "We just really worked on our defense a lot, our focus on the scouting report every game and having that overall focus," Clarke told reporters after his third straight double-double. "People say that defense is the best offense so I really feel like that's true when I can block shots." Sophomore shooting guard Zach Norvell Jr. (16.0 average) has been a strong outside compliment to Hachimura and Clarke by draining a team-leading 85 3-pointers.

ABOUT SAINT MARY'S (20-10, 11-4): Junior guard Jordan Ford leads the Gaels with a 21.5 scoring average but he had only eight on 3-of-12 shooting in the first meeting. Sophomore forward Malik Fitts recorded 17 points and eight rebounds in the win over Portland and he is contributing 15.9 points and a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game. Senior center Jordan Hunter had a career-best six blocked shots and also collected 10 rebounds against the Pilots as he continues to bring a strong defensive presence.

TIP-INS

1. Gonzaga held Saint Mary's to 25.9-percent shooting from the field in the first meeting.

2. The Gaels have reached the 20-win mark for the 12th straight season.

3. Bulldogs reserve senior G Geno Crandall had 10 points versus Pacific for his fourth double-digit outing of the season.

PREDICTION: Gonzaga 82, Saint Mary's 57