Thursday hoops spotlight: Gonzaga at Saint Mary’s

Gonzaga (14-4) at Saint Mary’s (15-2)

11 p.m. ET, ESPNU

These long-time West Coast Conference rivals square off for first place in the league as usual. What isn’t so usual is they’ve both been tagged once already in WCC play. The Gales dropped a 67-64 decision at Pepperdine a couple of weeks ago, and the Bulldogs lost by a point to Brigham Young at home last Thursday.

Even though neither team is invincible, it’s still reasonable to assume one of them will capture the conference title when all is said and done. Gonzaga is still looking ofr consistent guard play, and the Bulldogs took a big hit on the defensive end when C Przemek Karnowski underwent season-ending back surgery in December. But Domantas Sabonis has done well with an increased workload, averaging 17.8 points and 10.9 rebounds to complement high-scoring wingman Kyle Wiltjer’s 22.4 points per game.

The Gaels are paced by sophomore PG Emmett Naar, who carries on a recent Saint Mary’s tradition of importing talent from Down Under. The Sydney native is putting up 13.8 points and 6.4 assists per game. His countryman Dane Pineau, who hails from Melbourne, contributes 11.1 points and 8.1 boards per game but might have his hands full in the post.

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