Saint Mary’s Vs. Gonzaga

Tipoff: Gonzaga (19-7) takes on the Gaels (12-14) in the West Coast Conference Tournament opener at noon at Santa Clara’s Toso Pavilion.

At a glance The Bulldogs were WCC co-champions, but come into this tournament as the No. 2 seed after a loss to Santa Clara last Saturday and must face a team that is far tougher than its No. 7 seed would suggest. The Gaels pushed the Bulldogs into overtime last week and then scored an impressive road win over Portland. The Gaels feature a balanced attack with strong perimeter shooting from guard David Sivulich (28 points in the game in Spokane) and a powerful inside game with center Jumoke Horton and freshman Brad Millard. Gonzaga is paced by the inside-outside combination of center Paul Rogers and guard Kyle Dixon, each named recently to the all-conference team.

Key players: Gonzaga - Rogers, 16.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg; Dixon, 5.6 apg. SMC Sivulich, 15.9 ppg; Horton, 7.9 rpg; Kamran Sufi, 5.8 apg.

Radio/TV: KJRB (790 AM) with Dick Wright 15 minutes before tip-off. TV: Prime Sports Northwest

, DataTimes