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Bulldogs, Gaels have something to prove

It's a cut-and-paste post with unedited versions of my GU-Saint Mary's preview, more on the game on our Four Corners basketball page and a short notebook item on Gaels' center Omar Samhan.

Read on.

First, the preview...

By Jim Meehan

Staff writer

The wait is finally over.

Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s collide tonight in one of the most highly anticipated West Coast Conference men’s basketball games of the season. Both bring national rankings, winning streaks, similar stats, up-tempo offenses, marquee players and a bit of a chip on their shoulder to the showdown for first place in the WCC at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

“We’ve been talking about it for a long time,” Saint Mary’s center Omar Samhan said earlier this week in a telephone interview. “We can’t wait to go up there and have some fun.”

The 22nd-ranked Gaels have the longest winning streak in the nation (15), but lack an attention-grabbing win thanks to a modest non-conference schedule. The 20th-ranked Bulldogs have bounced back from a three-week December swoon, but the players are well aware that some are predicting this is the year GU’s rule of the WCC ends.

Asked if he believes Gonzaga is the underdog, forward Josh Heytvelt said, “I think it could go either way. I think some people think Saint Mary’s is a lot better than us due to their record, but I think we’ve played a lot tougher teams in the preseason. I’m not saying who is better right now, but the team that comes out and plays harder is going to win.”

Gonzaga (14-4, 5-0 WCC) has dominated the conference for more than a decade, but Saint Mary’s (18-1, 5-0) has made inroads of late. Since the 2003-04 season, the Bulldogs are 69-6 in conference games; the Gaels 53-22. The other six WCC teams are below .500.

Samhan considers wins at Oregon (6-14 overall, winless in the Pac-10) and against San Diego State (13-5) on a neutral court as his team’s biggest victories this season. The combined record of the Gaels’ 12 Division I non-conference opponents is 113-118 with a Bracketbusters game still to come Feb. 21. Gonzaga, which has dates remaining with Memphis and South Carolina Upstate, has faced 11 different D-I opponents who are a combined 122-90.

According to collegerpi.com, Saint Mary’s strength of schedule ranks 246th while Gonzaga’s is 95th. However, in RPI, the Bulldogs are No. 51 and the Gaels No. 52.

Saint Mary’s is led by the big three of point guard Patty Mills, who played for his native Australia in the Beijing Olympics and scored 20 points against the U.S.; forward Diamon Simpson, the school’s all-time rebounding and blocks leader; and Samhan, who averages 13.9 points and 9.8 rebounds. One of those three has led the Gaels in scoring in every game this season, with Simpson and Ian O’Leary sharing high-point honors against Loyola Marymount.

Gonzaga’s scoring is spread out more evenly with six players averaging between 8.9 and 14.7 points. Those six – Heytvelt, Jeremy Pargo, Matt Bouldin, Micah Downs, Steven Gray and Austin Daye – have led GU in scoring at least once.

“They have a pretty good core group of 3-4 guys,” Downs said. “Our 4, 5, 6, 7 guys have the advantage over their 4, 5, 6, 7 guys. We go a little deeper I think.”

Samhan said both teams are improved from a year ago, when they split games, each winning on their home floor.

“It’s important because it’s on their home court and you’re supposed to win at home, but we are ranked ahead of them (in the ESPN/USA Today poll) and you’re supposed to win if that’s the case,” he said. “Somebody is going to be upset Friday morning.”

 

--More from Four Corners...

Gonzaga: 14-4, 5-0 WCC

Coming up: Tonight vs. Saint Mary’s, 8 p.m.; Saturday vs. San Diego, 3 p.m.

Outlook: The Gaels haven’t won in Spokane since 1995, but they’re 6-0 on the road this season. Gonzaga is 58-3 at the McCarthey Athletic Center with just one loss to a WCC foe (Santa Clara in 2007). The stats are virtually identical (SMC averages 77 points, allows 62.6; Gonzaga averages 79.6, allows 61.8). The Gaels rank sixth in rebounding margin (plus 8.5) and have the nation’s top rebounding duo in Diamon Simpson and Omar Samhan (20.7). Gonzaga has climbed to No. 2 nationally in field-goal percentage defense (36.1). The Gaels’ only loss was to UTEP when they shot just 36 percent from the field, including 3 of 24 on 3-pointers. GU is in the midst of a tough two-week WCC stretch against Saint Mary’s, San Diego, Portland and the return date with the Gaels in Moraga Feb. 12.

 

Lastly, Samhan speaks...

 

By Jim Meehan

Staff writer

And now a word or two from Saint Mary’s center Omar Samhan, who has never been shy about exercising his right to free speech.

“I always say we’re lucky to have each other,” Samhan said of the Saint Mary’s-Gonzaga rivalry, which renews tonight at 8. “We don’t like Gonzaga and they don’t like us, but it makes it much more fun for the fans and the league.”

Samhan said he can’t wait to be reunited with the 6,000 who fill McCarthey Athletic Center.

“They hate me. I get e-mails from all their fans. They tell me how overrated we are, they don’t like how I play,” Samhan said. “Their students are crazy and fun and hilarious. I truly say they like me. Spokane is like a home away from home for me.”

It was a phone interview so it was hard to tell how far Samhan’s tongue was planted in his cheek, but the effusive center clearly enjoys the give-and-take. Same goes on the court.

“Josh (Heytvelt, GU forward) doesn’t want to talk on the court,” Samhan said. “I don’t know why he’s so serious. If Josh doesn’t want to talk to me, I’ll find somebody else to talk to.”

Said Heytvelt: “I don’t think I get along with anybody I play against. I’m just fine with guys off the court, but as soon as I step inside the lines it’s completely different.”

Samhan’s take on the game? “It’s going to be up and down because we get out and run, high scoring, exactly what the fans want. They get to see me play. Everything they could want in Spokane.”

 

 



Jim Meehan
Jim Meehan joined The Spokesman-Review in 1990. Jim is currently a reporter for the Sports Desk and covers Gonzaga University basketball, Spokane Empire football, college volleyball and golf.

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