Zags hoping to keep NCAA streak alive
<p>Gonzaga's bench celebrates late in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Saint Mary's, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012, in Spokane, Wash. Gonzaga beat Saint Mary's 73 to 59. (AP Photo/Jed Conklin)</p>
SPOKANE - Gonzaga's run of 11 consecutive West Coast Conference regular season titles may be over, but the Bulldogs still have a streak of 13 straight NCAA tournament appearances to protect.
Gonzaga (24-5, 13-3) takes a first step on Saturday when it plays in the semifinals of the WCC tournament in Las Vegas. The Bulldogs have a bye into the semis by virtue of finishing second to Saint Mary's in the regular season.
The Bulldogs will face either BYU, San Diego or Pepperdine in the semis. The championship game is Monday.
"We're playing pretty good, but obviously there are a lot of good teams going down there in the conference tournament this year," said Mark Few, who has never failed to take Gonzaga to the NCAAs as head coach.
Unlike past years, when Gonzaga was often considered the prohibitive favorite to win the WCC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, this year the Bulldogs face strong challenges from Saint Mary's, BYU, Loyola Marymount and San Francisco.
"There are probably four or five of them you can say have a shot at it," Few said.
Gonzaga has had a good season, although the Bulldogs have bounced in and out of the Top 25 several times. Their losses were to No. 5 Michigan State at home, and at Illinois, Saint Mary's, BYU and San Francisco.
With an RPI in the low 20s, the Bulldogs stand a good chance of being invited to the NCAAs even if they don't win the conference tournament. But they would prefer not to leave the survival of their streak to the whims of NCAA selectors.
"We want to go down and protect our championship from last year," Few said.
Few has tinkered with his lineup this season, but now seems set on starting senior post Robert Sacre, junior forward Elias Harris and freshmen guards Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. Junior college transfer Guy Landry Edi has recently secured the fifth starting spot.
Their postseason hopes rest heavily on the play of the 7-foot Sacre and 6-foot-7 Harris.
Sacre is averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds per game, and is second in team history in blocked shots. He has not dominated many games his senior year but remains the team leader and a media favorite. Sacre this week was named the WCC defensive player of the year.
"Rob's one of the all-time historical figures in this program," Few said. 'I'll never coach another guy like him, which is a unique personality."
Sacre is tied for the WCC lead with 25 blocked shots, while helping Gonzaga lead the league in scoring defense (61.9 points allowed).
Harris, who is averaging 13 points and 8 rebounds per game, has played very well in the closing weeks, and was selected Tuesday for the all-conference team.
Pangos was picked as WCC newcomer of the year, and was the only freshman named to the all-conference team. He averaged 12.8 points and 3.2 assists during conference play, while leading the league with 36 3-pointers.
Gonzaga's streak of 11 consecutive regular season conference titles had been the second-longest in Division 1 history, after the 13 won by UCLA from 1967-79. Gonzaga has finished first or second in the WCC regular season for 15 straight seasons.
Gonzaga has a few streaks going in addition to the 13 NCAA appearances. The Bulldogs have appeared in 14 consecutive WCC tournament title games and have won three straight WCC tournament titles.