Four Questions with Mitchell Saxen

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West Coast's best?

Gonzaga's won the last 10 regular-season West Coast Conference. That streak's in jeopardy this season. But it's not a surprise who's challenging the Zags.

Saint Mary's has long been the Bulldogs' WCC foil. The Gaels have finished second 12 times since 2004 and are the only non-Gonzaga program to win the regular-season title, back in 2013. That squad did it with an incredibly efficient offense.

This season, it's all about defense.

Saint Mary's (18-4, 7-0 in WCC) only allows .88 points per possession, good for sixth in KenPom's adjusted metrics. That's better than Iowa State and right behind Alabama. Defense has been its calling card the past three seasons, but this year's the best yet under coach Randy Bennett. What's made the difference? We discussed that and more with junior center Mitchell Saxen for the Four Questions.

Q: Your defense has been locked in since the start of the season. Some ridiculous numbers: You guys are currently 12th in effective field goal percentage. Teams only make 30 percent of their 3s and they're an abysmal 43 percent inside the arc. You're No. 1 in defense rebounding percentage. So, teams can't get good shots, and then they only get one crack at it. What's the No. 1 reason the defense is clicking?

Mitchell Saxen: Well, No. 1 is we practice it. Every day. For a lot of time. (pauses) But we know it shows on the court, so we dedicate a lot of time to it. We have really good individual defenders in Logan Johnson and Kyle Bowen; we know they can guard the best players every night. And we're really detailed in our scouting with personnel. So when they get into their half-court offense, we know where our positioning should be. When that happens, it's a lot easier to clean up the defensive glass.

Q: Were there any specific things you worked on over the summer? Your jump in production came with Matthias Tass' graduation, but even then, it's been a really solid year for you. You're second on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg), grabbing 8.1 rpg and making 55 percent of your shots, all improvements over the post last season.

Mitchell Saxen: Not really. That's just how it works in this program. You sit and learn behind the older guys. Matthias is a heck of a player, and that process of playing him every day in practice and iron sharpens iron. It's not like I'm infinitely better as a player this year; it's just more opportunity. And this summer we did a foreign tour and went to Australia. I got to play like the starter's minutes, which helped me get used to that role and helped bridge the adjustment from backup to starter. It's not one thing, just the accumulation of work over the past two or three years.

Q: I’m assuming coach Bennett does his best to ensure you stay focused on the next opponent, but given the opportunity to win the WCC this season amid Gonzaga’s relative struggles, is that something you and your teammate discuss and the larger implications?

Mitchell Saxen: Yeah, we’re obviously aware. And it’s a big deal because most years it seems like we're always on the bubble. So this is where we want to really lock in. We feel like we’ve been doing that since the start of the season, but there is the added game pressure. So we want to ensure we’re winning the games we’re supposed to.

Q: You're a Seattle guy. How does Moraga compare to to Seattle? Are you now a Northern California guy?

Mitchell Saxen: Ha, it's a lot like Seattle weather-wise and the Bay Area is pretty similar culture-wise. I didn't know much about Saint Mary's growing up. I never watched them on TV coming up through high school, but once they started recruiting me, it started connecting with me. And I love Seattle. I always talk about Seattle with my friends here, and never really pictured myself leaving when I'm an adult, But I dunno. I really do like it here, so we'll see.

Saint Mary's plays hosts Gonzaga on Saturday.