Saint Mary's Upsets No. 9 Gonzaga

The victory for Saint Mary's was a landmark moment in their long and storied rivalry with Gonzaga, a series that has been largely one-sided in the modern era. While the two teams have been the dominant forces in the West Coast Conference for over two decades, Gonzaga has historically held the upper hand. This win, however, marked a significant achievement for the Gaels on their home court in Moraga, California. Before the upset, No. 9 Gonzaga boasted a strong 28-2 record and was projected to be a No. 3 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament, with a chance to even climb to a No. 2 seed. Saint Mary's, with a 26-4 record, was considered a No. 8 seed. The win provides a significant boost to the Gaels' tournament resume and could potentially elevate them to a No. 7 seed, a crucial improvement for first and second-round matchups. The game was the final regular-season contest for both teams, and with the win, Saint Mary's forced a split of the West Coast Conference regular-season title with Gonzaga. This was the fourth consecutive year that the Gaels have won at least a share of the conference title. The victory also extended Saint Mary's winning streak to seven games and their remarkable home winning streak to 26 games. While Augustas Marciulionis led the Gaels with 18 points, it was Mikey Lewis who stole the show with a spectacular performance, scoring 31 points, including seven three-pointers. For Gonzaga, Graham Ike led the scoring with 17 points before fouling out. Both teams will now head to the West Coast Conference tournament in Las Vegas, which runs from March 5-10. As the top two seeds, both Gonzaga and Saint Mary's will receive byes into the semifinals on March 9th. The outcome of the conference tournament will be the final factor in determining their seeding for the NCAA Tournament.