Winning fifty consecutive games is a truly remarkable feat which speaks volumes about the Gonzaga program and its fans. Such a streak requires incredible consistency in play, effort and energy on a nightly basis, for over 3 three years. During this win streak Gonzaga has won games in almost every fashion and style of play possible, and while the games have all been different the one constant has been Gonzaga finding a way to win each and every one regardless of the opponents’ talent level and performance. The Bulldog’s do most of the work to get the wins, but there is no doubt the home fans are also an integral part of the Zag’s home court advantage. The Kennel Club brings a lot of noise and energy to the arena, while the other fans bring constant positive support every game for the Zags. With the fiftieth consecutive victory at home tonight by Gonzaga it is important to take a step back and recognize what an awesome accomplishment this is, and give credit to the players, coaches, as well as the home fans who have all contributed to this amazing streak over the past three years.

Coming off a tough loss Monday and taking on St. Mary’s who dominated the Zags inside a month ago the team played one of its highest energy games of the year. Gonzaga pressured St. Mary’s all night long, forcing 17 turnovers and holding the Gaels to 14% shooting from the three-point line. Not only did the Zags do a great job of shutting down St. Mary’s on the perimeter, they also responded to the challenge and held Simpson and Samhan, who had almost 50 points combined against the Zags in the January loss, to 17 points Saturday night. Despite St. Mary’s big lineup Gonzaga played almost exclusively man-to-man and used their athleticism to pressure the St. Mary’s back court and take them out of their offense. Mallon, Kuso and Pendo all did a fantastic job of moving Simpson and Samhan off the low block, so they could not get easy baskets in their comfort zone as they did at St. Marys. With those three shoring up the inside game, the Zags guards were able to extend their pressure, limiting the open looks the Gaels got from the outside, as evidenced by the St. Mary’s three point percentage, and forcing St. Mary’s into a high turnover count. Another nice adjustment by the Gonzaga defense Saturday was their focus on moving their feet to stay in front of the Gaels and take charges. In the previous meeting St. Mary’s lived at the free throw line because they attacked the basket aggressively and the Zags did not get in position to take charges; however Saturday the Bulldogs did a very nice job of playing defense with their feet, not using their hands, and drew numerous offensive fouls against the Gaels.

While the Bulldogs great defense was a noticeable improvement over Monday’s loss, so was their ability to take care of the basketball as they only had 11 turnovers. While St. Mary’s plays a less aggressive style of defense than LMU, Gonzaga made much better decisions as a team and passed the ball well without forcing it as they have had the tendency to do this season. The Gaels are a big team physical team, and such teams have given the Zags a hard time this year, but tonight the Zags were able to prevail because they limited their turnovers and worked together to get fairly high percentage shots. The backcourt of Pargo, Raivio and Bouldin provided most of the Zags offense tonight, scoring in transition and by attacking the basket in the half court. Mallon provided a solid effort inside against St. Mary’s bigs, contributing 8 points and 7 rebounds, while Pendo continued his increased offensive production, knocking two three pointers on his way to 8 points off the bench. Micah also stepped up tonight, playing great defense and grabbing a couple boards, as well as hitting a huge second half three pointer when the Zags were struggling to score. Without an athletic scoring big man Gonzaga is going to have to get contributions from all spots on the floor, and while it wasn’t perfect Saturday, the Zags managed to limit their turnovers and balance the scoring load enough to pick up another home victory.

Gonzaga played with a great deal of energy and passion on Saturday, as teams facing adversity tend to due, but the true test will be if the Zags can continue to bring this type of effort for the rest of the season. Monday night the Zags play a very hot and confident Santa Clara team for the league lead, and a chance to run the home court streak to 51, and they must bring the same type of hustle and defensive energy to the game as they brought tonight, while continuing to improve offensively as they are without their best scoring big man. Gonzaga must make some adjustments to their style of play, both offensively and defensively, to make up for Josh’s absence, but there is still the talent left in this team to win another WCC championship and make the NCAA Tournament.