Gonzaga had a rather troubling December, were it not for Tennessee. The Bulldogs lost to No. 2 Connecticut, Portland State and Utah in a near two-week stretch before beating the Volunteers for the second time this season. But any stumbling during the silly season is in the past as Gonzaga has once again retaken its throne as unmerciful ruler of the West Coast Conference.The Bulldogs put any doubt to rest with a dominating performance over Santa Clara on Thursday, winning 95-53. The kind of exclamation to let the rest of the conference know that any momentary lapses were just that. And really, I thought Kerry Keating's club could have been a contender this season. Yeah, not so much.
This win won't do much to help Gonzaga's damaged national reputation they suffered at the end of December. But San Diego and St. Mary's no doubt took notice. Matt Bouldin was awesome, and it seems that Gonzaga is at its best when Jeremy Pargo doesn't have to score a lot and is handing out the ball like he did on Thursday night.
Now for a look at some other mid-major action of note.
Saint Mary's 78, Loyola Marymount 53: The first game of the Max Good era got off to a rousing start. The Gaels are going to end up cruising through the WCC schedule until they face Gonzaga.
San Diego 62, Pepperdine 47: Who put this schedule together? Two of the top three WCC powers were playing the bottom feeders in the conference. And as expected, they faced little resistance.
Utah State 65, Fresno State 61: Like their cross-state rivals, BYU, Utah State doesn't lose to conference opponents at home. If the Aggies ever butched up their schedule, they could be a Top 25 team. But right now, they are the best team in the WAC.
Nevada 77, Boise State 63: Huge win for the young Wolf Pack. They really needed this win, and Nevada is a team that will be pretty dangerous come conference tournament time.
