Gonzaga odds-on favorite Gonzaga's rivals are facing long odds

The evidence seems overwhelming in favor of Gonzaga winning the West Coast Conference basketball tournament title for the seventh time in the past years.

- The fifth-ranked Bulldogs are 25-3 overall, and, for the second time in three years, blitzed the WCC schedule with a 14-0 run.

- The Zags have won 23 consecutive games against WCC opponents, 40 of the past 42 and are 101-11 against conference rivals since 1999.

-Gonzaga boasts the nation's leading scorer in junior forward Adam Morrison, who has scored 30 points or more 13 times. Morrison is paired with senior center J.P. Bastista, the two providing an average of nearly 50 points per game.

- Plus, this year's WCC tournament -- for the first time -- will be played at Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash., where the Bulldogs have won an NCAA-best 38 consecutive home games and are unbeaten in two seasons at the McCarthy Athletic Center.

So are rival coaches merely delusional, or do they have legitimate reasons to feel a sense of hope entering the event today?

The fact is, USF, Saint Mary's and San Diego have taken the Zags down to the wire, USF losing 75-72 at Spokane on Monday night, the Gaels falling 62-61 on the road early last month.

"I think our guys know we can beat 'em," said Gaels coach Randy Bennett said, whose team has won six straight games. "That's step No. 1 -- you have to believe. I think there's some other teams that believe, too.

"The second step is a little more tricky -- that's to beat them. They've been able to dodge those bullets and come up with the big play. That's why they're great. I don't think it's luck.

"To beat 'em, you have to finish 'em off -- and we didn't."

USF knows the feeling. The Dons not only lost Monday on a last- second 3-pointer by Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes, but they lost 75- 73 at Gonzaga a year ago.

The tournament begins today with sixth-seeded Santa Clara (12- 15, 5-9) trying to beat No. 7 Portland (11-17, 5-9) for the third straight time this year and No. 5 San Diego (16-11, 6-8) taking on No. 8 Pepperdine (7-19, 3-11).

Third-seeded Saint Mary's (16-11, 8-6) faces the Santa Clara- Portland winner on Saturday, with the No. 4 seed Dons (11-16, 7-7) meeting the San Diego-Pepperdine winner.

Gonzaga and No. 2 seed Loyola Marymount (12-16, 8-6) have byes to the Sunday semifinals.

Santa Clara has won its past three games but likely will finish with its fourth straight non-winning campaign. Coach Dick Davey, who has won 229 games in 14 seasons with three NCAA Tournament appearances, has one more year on his contract and no desire to retire just yet.

"I enjoy it. If they tell me they don't want me, I'll step aside," Davey said. "I hope they feel like I can get another year or two, and we'll see what happens."

Eventually, your time runs out ... I want to be back."

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