Gonzaga and Saint Mary's survived and advanced in the WCC Tournament, setting up a rematch between the conference's top-two teams with an automatic NCAA Tournament bid on the line. Gonzaga caught a break on Sunday night, taking advantage of a Chris Webber moment by the San Francisco Dons in the waning seconds on the WCC semifinals. Without a timeout, San Francisco stole the inbounds pass down three, but called a frantic timeout in the scrum, giving Gonzaga two technical foul free throws. The Bulldogs survived, advancing to the finals with a 71-67 win.
Saint Mary's made it to the finals in less dramatic fashion, pulling away in the second half to drop Santa Clara, 73-64. Both Gonzaga and Saint Mary's were given a free pass to the semifinals after finishing first and second in the conference during the regular season.
Gonzaga and Saint Mary's split the regular season series in hard-fought matchups. The first time around, Saint Mary's stole a win in Spokane, squeaking out a two-point win after Mickey McConnell drilled a contested shot just before the buzzer at The Kennel. Gonzaga got its revenge on the Gaels home court, snatching away a 89-85 overtime win.
The rubber match comes with higher stakes as Gonzaga and Saint Mary's do battle with a spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line.
Here's a look at the final bracket.
It all gets started at 6 p.m. on ESPN. Stay tuned to our 2011 WCC Tournament StoryStream throughout the tournament for the latest news and updates. For another take, check out SB Nation Bay Area's 2011 West Coast Conference Tournament StoryStream. For more on Gonzaga, check out SB Nation's Slipper Still Fits.