Gonzaga falls flat in both WCC Championship Games

Gonzaga basketball has a track record in Las Vegas that would make any gambler jealous. But as we learned on Tuesday, even the luckiest can’t win them all.

With both the men's and women's team in the WCC Tournament Finals, the day had a chance to be a jackpot day... but it wasn't in the cards.

The troubles started when the women’s team suffered its first defeat since November at the hands of 3-seed Portland, a team Gonzaga had defeated by 50 points in the regular season finale just two weeks ago. In the nightcap, the men’s team was stymied by top-seeded Saint Mary’s, a team Gonzaga had easily beat just 10 days prior.

While the women’s team lost in major upset fashion, if any team was going to beat them in Vegas it was going to be these Pilots. They were picked second in the league’s preseason poll, so the expectation was for them to be here. Moreover, Portland beat Gonzaga in last season’s WCC tournament final as well.

On the men’s side, Saint Mary’s was picked to win the league in the preseason, which they’ve now done in both the regular season and tournament. Plus, it’s Saint Mary’s — the only foil to the Zags' conference supremacy. Since the WCC Tournament moved to Las Vegas 16 seasons ago, Gonzaga’s been dominant with 12 wins, but each of those four losses have come to in the title game to these Gaels.

It wasn’t the result either team wanted, but if they were going to lose, this would be the best way to do it.

Down the line, the losses might end up being a blessing in disguise.

For the men, whose early season struggles and unimpressive resume put them firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble, with many wondering if they would need to win the tournament’s auto-bid if they wanted to hear their name called on Selection Sunday.

Taking a loss here would have been devastating to think about just two weeks ago.

But things have changed dramatically for Mark Few’s team.

Transfers Ryan Nembhard and Graham Ike needed some time to properly integrate into the team. And down the stretch of conference play, both looked fully comfortable and increasingly productive in their roles. Combining that with the addition of Ben Gregg to the starting lineup and improved play from Nolan Hickman, and the Zags became a very different team in February than they were in November and December.

Going into last night's contest, the Zags were red hot, scoring at will and on a nine game winning streak featuring quality wins over Kentucky, Saint Mary’s and San Francisco (twice). Not only had they moved from the bubble to safely in the field, they were looking the part of a trendy pick to make noise through the bracket.

You could tell they were feeling themselves... and then Saint Mary’s punched them in the face.

With just 60 points, it was Gonzaga’s ugliest point total of the season. After a month filled with big wins and increasing praise, the Zags were reminded what it’s like to play not-so-pretty basketball. They remember how it feels to lose.

Having that sour taste in their mouths heading into the lose-and-it's-over NCAA Tournament isn’t the worst motivating factor.


The same thing could be said for the Gonzaga women, whose 24-game winning streak made the men’s nine straight seem like chump change. After three-plus months of looking invincible, a 67-66 loss provides an opportunity to refocus before the Big Dance.

Like the men, the women are also firmly in the NCAA Tournament despite the loss, but unlike the men, this loss will likely hurt the women’s team in a very tangible way.

The men’s team long ago squandered the opportunity to play first weekend games at Spokane Arena, but the women were still building their case to host NCAA Tournament games at the Kennel.

To land that honor in the women's tourney, a teams needs to secure a top-4 seed. When the NCAA Selection Committee announced its most recent in-the-moment list of those seeds back on Feb. 29, the Zags snuck in 15th out of 16 teams.

It took three months without a loss for the Zags to crack into that club. But a loss to a Portland team that wouldn't have made the NCAAs without winning the WCC Tourney probably ends those home court dreams.

If the committee needed that much time to come around and respect the Zags, it’s fair to wonder if one one-point loss will be enough for the committee to return to its dismissive view of Gonzaga.

It shouldn’t, but it could.

If Gonzaga does get shipped elsewhere, the squad might play with a massive chip on their shoulders — and that should scare whatever teams are in their way.

Tuesday’s action was a disappointment for both teams, but both teams know they have more basketball ahead of them. Now we just have to wait until Sunday to find out when and where they’ll be playing next.