After a shocking upset in the WCC semifinals against Saint Mary’s, BYU is just one win away from going to the NCAA Tournament. They just have to beat the sixth ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs to do so.
TV schedule: Tuesday, March 6, 9:00 p.m. ET. ESPN
Arena: Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
When BYU was down by 20 points at home to Gonzaga in the WCC regular season finale, there were few people – even Cougar fans themselves who had hopes of this team making the NCAA Tournament.
It gave them their worst record in conference play, and a three seed with a tough bracket to advance in. They would have to go through a San Diego team who beat them once, a Saint Mary’s squad who had five straight wins, and finally likely a Gonzaga program who made the Orleans their second home.
But with the odds against them, star Cougars Yoeli Childs and Elijah Bryant have come up with their best college games. Bryant had 27 points in both wins over the Toreros and Gaels, while Childs just dropped a career-high 33 points and thoroughly outplaying the WCC Player of the Year Jock Landale.
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But the role players were key to the wins as well. Dalton Nixon provided another frontcourt presence, while Jashire Hardnett and McKay Cannon were great perimeter defenders. But it’ll take a team effort and then some to pull off a win in the title game.
After starting off slow in the quarterfinals against LMU, Gonzaga ran San Francisco off the court by shooting around 80% for most off the first half. They led by Killian Tillie, who went for 26 points on 10/11 shooting. He’s already nailed 10 three-pointers, and will look to break the WCC record in this next game.
He did have some help in the 88-60 win, with Rui Hachimura (17 points) and Zach Norvell Jr. (14 points) chipping in. The Zags have won 12 games in a row, and is playing their best basketball of the season.
While it seems like a complete mismatch, BYU was in both games against the Zags earlier in the year. The game was tied with a couple of minutes to go in Spokane, and a one possession game at the end of the first half in Provo, before Gonzaga running away in the final 15 minutes.
For BYU to win, they’ll be making history in the process. The Zags have yet to lose in the Orleans Arena, having won 17 straight WCC Tournament games. They’re also 4-0 against Dave Rose and BYU in the tournament.
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There are two questions to ask for the upset to occur. 1) Can Bryant have a good enough game to keep the team in it. And 2) will they have an answer for Hachimura, who BYU has no one to guard with. Unless they find an answer to that, it’ll be another WCC title for the Zags.
Prediction: Gonzaga 76 – BYU 66