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Spokane, Wash. • Remember that San Diego team that beat BYU 88-75 last month? Gonzaga crushed the Toreros 96-38 on Thursday night.
Gonzaga has not defeated a WCC foe by fewer than 10 points all season in building a 17-0 league record and clinching the conference title outright. The Bulldogs are No. 1 in the country and 29-0 overall.
That's the size of the task the Cougars have.
Three days and 37 years after the U.S. men's ice hockey team pulled off the Miracle on Ice against the Soviet Union, the BYU men's basketball team will attempt a less historic feat at 8:15 p.m. MT Saturday at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Sure, BYU (20-10) played the Zags well at the Marriott Center on Feb. 2 before falling 85-75, and has defeated Gonzaga the past two times they've met in Spokane. But this is arguably the best Zags team ever, while it might be the weakest BYU club in coach Dave Rose's 12-year tenure.
"This is one of those games [where] our guys are just really relaxed and play fast and free," Rose told the Cougar IMG Sports Network on Thursday after BYU clinched at least a share of third place in the WCC with a 97-78 win over Portland. "You have to really score against Gonzaga to beat them. It is one of those teams that is so deep, and they have been so consistent all year long. So you have to be really good on the offensive end."
Even that may not be good enough.
The Cougars played Thursday without freshman Yoeli Childs, who suffered an ankle injury in the 70-57 home loss to Saint Mary's last Saturday. Sophomore Braiden Shaw filled in admirably, grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds, but he lacks the offensive skills Childs possesses.
"Hopefully Yoeli can play on Saturday," Rose said, having called Childs a "game-time decision" in a radio interview before Thursday's game. "We will see what he can do [Friday]. Hopefully he can get out and practice, but the minutes Braiden gave us were tremendous."
Gonzaga will be motivated to keep its perfect record intact, and by the fact that BYU snapped its home winning streak of 41 games here two years ago when it was No. 3 in the country and celebrating Senior Night. The Zags also probably need to go undefeated to get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
"We are just focusing on the moment," said BYU sophomore Elijah Bryant after scoring a career-high 39 points against the Pilots. "Our focus right now is to enjoy this for at least a few hours, and then [Friday] focus on the Zags and not feel any anxiety or pressure."
If nothing else, the win over Portland helped the Cougars regain a measure of the confidence.
"This team, they are together when they lose, and they got their arms around each other, and they are encouraging each other," Rose said. "But this week was hard. It was really tough. And to watch them come and do this, there was the feeling in that locker room of, hey, let's keep on playing and let's do some good things, and that's a good sign."
BYU (11-6) leads Santa Clara (10-7) by a game in the race for third place. The Broncos can get the third seed for the WCC tournament if BYU loses at Gonzaga and they win at No. 20 Saint Mary's on Saturday because that win would give them the tiebreaker advantage.
Of course, while beating Saint Mary's at McKeon Pavilion is a tall task, it would be nothing like beating the nation's No. 1 team on its home court when you are as shorthanded and inconsistent as BYU has been this season.
Now that would take a miracle.
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU at Gonzaga
At McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, Wash.
Tipoff • 8:15 p.m. MST
TV • ESPN
Radio • 1160 AM, 102.7 FM, Sirius XM 143
Records • BYU 20-10, 11-6; Gonzaga 29-0, 17-0
Series history • Gonzaga leads 12-5
Last meeting • Gonzaga won 85-75 (Feb. 2, 2017)
About the Cougars • Elijah Bryant scored a career-high 39 points in their 97-78 win over Portland on Thursday. … Braiden Shaw made his first career start and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds and scored four points. … Nick Emery reached double figures for the 18th time this season by scoring 16 points. He also had three steals. … Eric Mika had 19 points and has reached double figures in 31 consecutive games.
About the Bulldogs • They clinched the WCC title outright Thursday with a 96-38 win at San Diego, rolling out to a 28-point halftime lead and coasting to their 29th straight win. … Josh Perkins made five 3-pointers to finish with 15 points and Johnathan Williams added 14 points and 19 rebounds.