Gonzaga University is making its 10th straight appearance in the West Coast Conference Tournament title game and its 13th overall appearance. Gonzaga is 7-2 in the title game in the previous nine years and 8-4 overall. The Bulldogs will meet long-time rival Santa Clara University in championship game at 9 p.m. EST at the Earle A. Chiles Center on the University of Portland Campus. The game will be televised on ESPN.
Gonzaga is favored in the game by a -4 point chalk with a total of 144 ½, according to offshore sportsbook, Sportbet.com . The two teams split their two regular season games straight up and against the spread; oddly enough both Gonzaga and Santa Clara covered the spread on each opponent’s home court. The OVER covered in totals betting in both games between the schools. The Bronco’s win over the Bulldogs on Feb. 12, ended Gonzaga’s 50 game home winning streak.
Santa Clara defeated Saint Mary's 63-47 on Sunday to earn a spot in the WCC Championship game for the seventh time in school history. The Broncos will face the Bulldogs for the third time this season after splitting two games in the regular season. Santa Clara ended Gonzaga’s 50 game home winning streak on February 12th in the 84-73 win. Gonzaga made it to the championship game by defeating San Diego as David Pendergraft put up 22 points in the 88-70 win.
WCC MVP Derek Raivio , whose father was a standout at Portland, had 14 points for Gonzaga, while Micah Downs added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The last two times Gonzaga has knocked Santa Clara out of the WCC Tournament were by a combined total of four points (3 in 2001 and 1 in 2004). Santa Clara and Gonzaga have met twice in the WCC Tournament Championship Game, a 91-66 Gonzaga win in 1999 and an 80-77 Gonzaga win in 2001.
This is the sixth straight year and the sixth time overall the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have met in the West Coast Conference Tournament final, including all five years of the current tournament format. The top seed has won four of the meetings.
All NCAA March Madness Hoops lines and totals can be found at Sportbet.com.
