Opening act set in WCC men’s tournament

Given 14 chances during the regular season, they whiffed 14 times.

But the other seven teams in the West Coast Conference continue to hope league bully Gonzaga might yet prove mortal at some point during this year’s conference tournament, which starts tonight in the Bulldogs’ McCarthey Athletic Center.

The three teams best equipped to deal with the fifth-ranked and top-seeded Zags would seem to be third-seeded Saint Mary’s and fifth-seeded San Diego, which both boast tough, physical front lines, and fourth-seeded San Francisco, the most athletic team in the league, which threw a major scare into GU in its own building on Monday before falling 75-72.

Adding to the tempered optimism of Bulldogs coach Mark Few’s seven WCC counterparts is the fact the Zags, despite having run the table against conference foes for the second time in three seasons, displayed a yearlong penchant for playing to the level of their opposition, which resulted in several frantic finishes.

Still, no one is expecting the Bulldogs, winners of 16 straight, to roll over – especially in their own arena, where they have gone 26-0 over the past two seasons to run their nation’s-best home-court winning streak to 38 games.

“When you go through league and don’t lose a game, that’s very impressive,” San Diego coach Brad Holland said. “Gonzaga gets pretty much everybody’s best effort, so for them to go through league 14-0, I couldn’t be more impressed.

“They shouldn’t feel bad about not dominating. Teams prepare very well for them. They get excited to play Gonzaga. And our league has gotten better over the year.”

Holland’s Toreros lost to the Zags at home, 64-63, earlier this year on a late 3-pointer by Erroll Knight, but come into the tournament on a four-game skid.

“It’s been very frustrating to experience that, when we were winning our share of games but now can’t seem to find one,” admitted Holland, whose team was 10-3 at one point this season. “This is not the way you envision going into a conference tournament. I’m used to our teams playing well at the end of the season, and we are not.”

Saint Mary’s, on the other hand, has won six in a row since losing to GU, 62-61, in McCarthey early last month.

“Obviously, the two teams that are playing very well right now are Saint Mary’s and USF,” Holland said. “Saint Mary’s has really come on strong, and I think they match up very well with Gonzaga. They’ve got really good guard play and they’ve got a good inside attack, so they’re balanced.

“I like their matchup with Gonzaga.”

So does Portland coach Michael Holton, who thinks the Gaels – along with Santa Clara and USD – are the biggest threats to the Bulldogs, who are hosting the tournament for the first time in its 20-year history.

“I think Saint Mary’s front line matches up well,” Holton said. “Santa Clara has some size, too, and you’ve got to be able to body (J.P.) Batista and keep him from getting his head under the rim.

“I’d say those two have the best shot – and San Diego plays them physical and matches up, as well.”

Ask Few, and he will tell you any team that makes it to Sunday’s semifinals – where his Zags and No. 2 seed Loyola Marymount are waiting, courtesy of byes awarded to the league’s top two finishers – has a chance to upset the Bulldogs.

“Obviously, everybody’s played us tough,” Few said. “We’ve shown that we can play with any team in the country, but we’ve also shown a propensity of being able to lose to any team, as well.

“We’ve been like that all year long, and I don’t see it changing this weekend.”