Gaels Face Tough Road Test at Santa Clara

A devastating defeat can be hard to overcome. The Gaels did not let it get to them.

After giving up a 17-point lead in a loss to #3 Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s (21-7, 13-4 WCC) responded with a dominating rout of San Francisco Thursday night.

The Gaels look to end the regular season on a high note with a win over the Broncos. Doing so would seal their spot as the two seed entering the WCC Tournament. A loss and a BYU win against #3 Gonzaga would tie the Gaels with BYU for second place.

The chances of both variables happening is quite slim and would be quite shocking. However, nothing is set in stone yet. There is still more basketball to be played.

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Santa Clara (12-17, 6-11 WCC) is coming off a shocking loss at home to Pacific. Their last regular season game is at home and will be emotional since it is their senior night. Look for the Broncos to come out on fire playing with the Gaels until the final buzzer sounds.

While Santa Clara will test the Gaels tough, I don’t see Saint Mary’s losing this game. They have the second seed on the line for the WCC Tournament. They do not want to chance losing it if BYU pulls a major upset at Gonzaga on Saturday.

Brad Waldow is a huge force–figuratively and literally–who can go off on a scoring run at any moment. If Santa Clara wants to have any hope of upsetting this Saint Mary’s team, they need to shut him down. Doing so will give them a chance.

For Saint Mary’s, they need to focus their attention on Brandon Clark and Jared Brownridge. If these two get going, it could be a long night for the Gaels. To get the win, they will need to force the duo to take jump shots by keeping drives lanes crowded.

Santa Clara should keep it interesting, but expect Saint Mary’s to pull away.

The game tips off at 5:00PM PST Saturday and can be seen on TheW.tv.