No. 9 Gonzaga heads to Santa Clara to take on the Broncos

Coming off Thursday's thriller, the Zags head across the Bay to face the Broncos

Two of the best scorers in the West Coast Conference are set to face off on Saturday when Drew Timme and No. 9 Gonzaga (12-3, 3-0 WCC) meet Brandin Podziemski and the Santa Clara Broncos (14-4, 2-1 WCC).

Even by his own standards, Timme had a historic seven-game stretch in which he averaged 27.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists on 70.1% shooting from the field — the first Division I player in over 25 years to boast such a stat line. Named the conference’s player of the week three consecutive weeks, the two-time All-American was also selected to the Wooden Award Midseason watch list following his hot streak.

Though an off night against San Francisco ended his tear, Timme leads the WCC in scoring at 22.1 points per game while shooting a league-best 62.5% from the field this season.

Meanwhile, in Santa Clara, Broncos fans have watched Podziemski fill up the stat sheet in his first season with the program. The 6-foot-5 guard has done it all, as he leads the squad in points, assists, rebounds and steals.

And like Timme, Podziemski has arguably been playing his best ball as of late. Over his last five games, he’s averaged 20.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists while shooting 50% from the field and 42.9% from deep. He posted his seventh double-double in Santa Clara’s win over Pepperdine when he put up 27 points and 10 rebounds.

Though he won’t receive the national recognition Timme receives, Podziemski leads the conference in total steals and rebounds while placing in the top three in points and assists. At this point, he’s a strong favorite to take home the WCC Newcomer of the Year award and a spot on the All-WCC first team.

The experienced Broncos also feature Carlos Stewart, who has taken a big step in his second season at Santa Clara. Now as a full-time starter, he’s averaging 14.8 points per game on 42.5% shooting from the field and 41.9% from deep.

Yet despite the output from its two stars, the Broncos average the second-fewest points among WCC teams this season.

On the other side, Gonzaga’s offense has been among the best in the nation this season, averaging 86.2 points per game while shooting a country-best 52.2% from the field.

Along with Timme’s dominance, the offense has had success taking care of the ball throughout the seven-game winning streak as the play from the backcourt has improved. Gonzaga has averaged fewer than 10 turnovers per game in that span, including a season-low six against the Dons.

The defense has also clamped down as of late, limiting opponents to shoot 31.3% from 3-point land while forcing 16.5 turnovers per game.

Not every win has come easy, though, including close calls against Kent State, Montana, Alabama and most recently San Francisco, which ended on a game-winning putback from Rasir Bolton in the final seconds.

There’s no need for any drama on Saturday against the Broncos, who the Zags have beaten 24 straight times.

Predicion: Zags 85, Broncos 73