LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 11: Eric Cooper Jr. #21 and Colbey Ross #4 of the Pepperdine Waves guard Zach Norvell Jr. #23 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 11, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bulldogs defeated the Waves 100-74. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The No. 1 team in the country for the third consecutive week was the Gonzaga Bulldogs (29-2; 16-0 in-conference) and head coach Mark Few looks to wrap up another West Coast Conference Championship Game win against the Saint Mary’s Gaels (21-11; 11-5 in-conference at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Tuesday night.
The game is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN. If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of ESPN on your computer, phone or streaming device via one of the following live-TV streaming services:
Hulu With Live TV: In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including ESPN.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
PlayStation Vue: PS Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages: All four include ESPN.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here (select “Start Streaming” in the upper-right corner), and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
Sling TV: ESPN is included in the “Sling Orange” channel bundle.
You can start a free seven-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app.
Gonzaga vs Saint Mary’s Preview
With a defiant, double-digit win against the Gaels, it is likely the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee will not only give Gonzaga a No. 1 seed, but likely make them the tournament’s overall top-seed, which would be the first time in school history.
How Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s got here:
Due to the wackiness of the WCC Championship Tournament bracket, the Bulldogs only needed to secure a win on Monday in order to advance and play for yet another WCC Championship. Gonzaga steamrolled the No. 8 seed Pepperdine 100-74 to advance.
In the 20 seasons since Few was promoted and became Gonzaga head coach in July 1999, his teams have never missed the NCAA Tournament, though the results have varied. Since, the Bulldogs failed to win an outright or share of the regular-season title only once, back in 2010, and the conference tournament title twice, in 2008 and 2010.
Both games against St. Mary’s weren’t particularly close, as Gonzaga swept the season series. The Bulldogs boast possibly the best scoring trio in college basketball. Junior forward Rui Hachimura led the team with 20.6 points per game this season, while fellow classman Brandon Clarke was right behind him with 16.6 PPG. Sophomore Zach Norvell Jr. is likely to be the biggest difference-maker for a team drenched with scoring options. Norvell Jr. averaged 15.7 PPG this season, third on the team, but led the way against Pepperdine with 18, leading the back among four other Bulldogs who finished the game in double-figures.
Now in his 17th season, head coach Randy Bennett and Few have had some memorable duels in the past, most notably a Matthew Dellavedova-led Gaels team that knocked off the Bulldogs 78-74 in overtime of the 2011-12 conference title game. Junior guard Jordan Ford (21.5 PPG) will have to do his best to maintain an offensive rhythm for the Gaels.
Last year’s WCC Championship Game result:
Entering the 2017-18 WCC Tournament as the top-seed again, Gonzaga rolled No. 3 seed BYU to the tune of a 20-point victory, 74-54, rather convincingly.
NCAA Tournament History:
Again, Few has never missed the NCAA Tournament in his 20 seasons at Gonzaga. He owns the program record for every major statistical category, including NCAA Tournament wins (28), most wins in a single season (37), most wins in school history (565 as of Tuesday), and one Final Four appearance. Despite all those prior Sweet 16 and Elite Eight berths, the cherished Final Four appearance had always eluded Few. The Bulldogs finished as the National runner-up to North Carolina two seasons ago, falling 71-65 in the 2016-17 National Championship Game.
Saint Mary’s has made nine total NCAA Tournament appearances; three of them thanks to winning the conference tournament (1997, 2010, 2012). The Gaels own a 5-9 record lifetime in NCAA Tournament games, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2010 and Elite Eight in 1959.