Gonzaga routs Saint Mary's, leaves no doubt with NCAA Tournament committee

Bulldogs roll to 70-57 win over the Gaels behind big games from Graham Ike and Ryan Nembhard

Prior to this week's monumental California road trip, Gonzaga men's basketball assistant coach R-Jay Barsh claimed the team had its "true Zag swagger" back heading into the final stretch of the regular season. 

That swagger and moxie were on full display at the UCU Pavilion on Saturday against the Saint Mary's Gaels, who entered the top-25 matchup with the Zags as the hottest team in the country. History was at stake for Saint Mary's as it attempted to be the WCC's first non-Gonzaga team to finish undefeated in league play since the 1991-92 Pepperdine Waves. The Gaels had already bested the Bulldogs in Spokane on Feb. 3 in a 64-62 final.

None of that, nor the packed Saint Mary's crowd on hand to cheer on its team against its bitter rival, mattered to Nolan Hickman as he blew kisses to the student section, while Ryan Nembhard chatted it up with a few students on his way to the locker room at halftime. 

Gonzaga (24-6, 14-2 WCC) left little in doubt on its way to a 70-57 win Saturday to pick up its third Quad 1 win of the season, which could be enough to unofficially punch a ticket to the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Here are three takeaways from Gonzaga's win.

Gonzaga's R-Jay Barsh: 'Our guys are starting to walk around with that true Zag swagger right now'

GRAHAM IKE UNSTOPPABLE AGAIN

After the first matchup in Spokane, Ike let the Gaels know he'd be seeing them again at their place a few weeks later. The junior was limited to 12 points and missed a crucial stretch in the second half due to foul trouble, in which Saint Mary's went on a 6-0 scoring run to seize momentum while Ike sat and watched from the scorer's table. 

Since then the 6-foot-9 post has been the best player in the WCC during Gonzaga's win streak, with six-straight 20-point games on efficient shooting heading into Saturday's rematch. Safe to say Ike kept his word after putting up 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in 35 minutes.

Mark Few had been on his starting center to be more assertive down low, demand the ball and not just watch his teammates operate around him. It was actually the other way around Saturday, as Gonzaga's other four players on offense witnessed Ike punish Mitchell Saxen and the Gaels time and time again with hook shots, turnaround jumpers and even a couple of midrange jumpers mixed in for variety. 

Outside of scoring, Ike kept a few possessions alive and gave the Bulldogs extra opportunities with four offensive rebounds. Defensively he rejected a pair of shot attempts at the rim, including an emphatic volleyball-esque spike on Saint Mary's guard Aidan Mahaney in the second half. His fingerprints were all over the game on both ends of the floor and made sure the Gaels never found a groove or gained momentum in any way.

Ike ended the regular season with seven-straight 20-point games, a feat that hadn't been accomplished by a Gonzaga player since Adam Morrison in the 2005-06 season. Morrison won WCC Player of the Year that season, and Ike has certainly made a strong case to do the same as the league's leading scorer since Jan. 1. Ike is currently KenPom's pick to win the yearly award following his last two games, though it remains to be seen if recency bias will sway voters when the finally tally is revealed.

RYAN NEMBHARD PICKS APART THE GAELS

Not even the Gaels' methodical pace of play could slow Nembhard, nor did they have an answer for him in pick-and-roll sets as he relentlessly attacked the interior with controlled force. Nembhard's change of speed and tight handle made him a tough guard in the midrange, as he snaked his way through traffic before pulling up or sending off a floater before Saint Mary's could react. The lack of switching from the Gaels let him get downhill often, though there aren't many defenders with the quickness to keep up with Gonzaga's speedy floor general.

Nembhard put together another masterclass offensively to finish with the first 20-point, 10-assist game of his career. He shot 9-of-15 from the floor and knocked down a pair of triples while committing just one turnover in 40 minutes of action. Nembhard has been asked to play heavy minutes all year, yet he arguably saved his best performance of the regular season when Gonzaga needed it the most.

Especially on a night when his backcourt mate Nolan Hickman was held to four points, Nembhard kept the offense moving and grooving alongside Ike. 

NCAA TOURNAMENT STATEMENT

Mark Few didn't seem too concerned about any conversation that involved NCAA Tournament bubble watch after Saturday's win, though prognosticators everywhere surely took note of the Bulldogs' dominant performance on the road against the No. 17 team in the country. 

Gonzaga improved to 3-5 in Quad 1 games, with two of those three victories coming in a 72-hour span this week, and could receive outside help from USC's win at Washington to boost its NET ranking. If the Trojans are inside the top 100 of the NET, the Bulldogs' win from earlier this season in Las Vegas would turn into a Quad 2 game.

Prior to tipoff Saturday, ESPN's Joe Lunardi moved Gonzaga up into his "Last Four Byes" group in his bracketology update. That projection will likely hold by the start of the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas next week, when the Bulldogs will look to officially punch their ticket with two wins to claim the program's 22nd conference championship. 

Even so, history is on Gonzaga's side. No team ranked in the top 25 of the NET and KenPom has missed the NCAA Tournament since the NET was introduced in the 2018-19 season.  

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