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Saint Mary's ends Gonzaga's streak, while Charleston and SD State are dancing again. Wagner and Oakland? They're back for the first time in a while. Plus more conference results, a primer for the rest of Champ Week -- and Louisville moves on from Kenny Payne.
Sean Paul & Tristan Freeman
March 13, 2024
We punched some more tickets, we get some celebrating and some previews for upcoming tournament happenings. Also? Kenny Payne’s tenure at Louisville is now over. Who replaces him?
Let's get to Tuesday’s news.
1. Saint Mary’s dethrones Gonzaga
Saint Mary’s pulled off the double.
The Gaels snapped Gonzaga’s regular-season streak of dominance in the West Coast Conference. Monday night, it did the same in the WCC Tournament with a 69-60 victory. The Zags had won the last four WCC championships, and 10 of the last 11. The lone outlier in 2019? That also went to Saint Mary’s.
"We beat a good team, a program we've got a ton of respect for," Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett said. "They've helped us become the program that we are because we were punching up there for a long time and trying to do what they were doing and be as good as they were."
The Gaels’ offense goes as their guards go. And the guards went on Tuesday.
Aidan Mahaney rattled in 23 points (9-15 shooting, 4-7 from 3), including a game-shifting triple to put No. 21 SMC (26-7) up five with 4:56 left. Augustas Marciulionis added 13 and had 8 assists.
Aidan Mahaney from NBA range! #GaelRise
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops)
2:51 AM • Mar 13, 2024
Not that I’m discounting Mitchell Saxen’s work in the frontcourt. He went for 19 and 15 and was fabulous in limiting Gonzaga big man Graham Ike to just 10 points on 12 shots. Saint Mary’s crushed Gonzaga on the glass, 39-22. Combine that with No. 17 Gonzaga (25-7) going 2-of-11 from beyond the arc, and it’s no surprise Saint Mary’s won.
"We've got a lot to work on on this loss," said Gonzaga forward Anton Watson, who led the team with 18 points. "We're looking forward to the tournament and trying to make some noise there. We can't hang our heads on this."
Both teams were NCAA Tournament locks entering Tuesday. This was most for bragging rights and seed position next week. Both will be in the 7-9 seed range.
2. No surprise with the CAA, Horizon & Summit champs
While some top couldn't evade March Mayhem in their conference tournaments, that didn't happen in the Horizon League or CAA. But that doesn’t mean the games were boring.