No. 6 Gonzaga takes on upstart BYU for WCC Championship (Mar 06, 2018)
Killian Tillie is on quite a roll in Las Vegas.
In two games, the 6-foot-10 sophomore forward has made all 10 of his 3-point attempts, scored 50 points and made 19 of 23 shots from the floor, leading Gonzaga to its 21st consecutive West Coast Conference Tournament final.
The No. 6 Zags (29-4) will face No. 3 seed BYU, which upset second-seeded Saint Mary's 85-72, on Tuesday at the Orleans Arena.
Tillie had company as the Dons wilted under the top-seeded Bulldogs' offensive barrage.
"When they're shooting the ball like that ...," USF coach Kyle Smith said, according to the (Spokane, Wash.) Spokesman-Review. "They started out 7-for-7. Even if you're playing bad defense it's hard to go 7 of 7."
The Zags were 16-for-20 from the field on Monday to start the game and led by as many as 23 in the first half en route to an 88-60 rout of San Francisco. In Saturday's 83-69 quarterfinal win over Loyola Marymount, Gonzaga was at 80 percent shooting after halftime until a late miss.
"Obviously, we've been making a lot of shots in the second half (on Saturday) and throughout this game," Bulldogs coach Mark Few said. "But our defense from the 15-minute mark on in the first half was what won us that game."
BYU (24-9) shot 61 percent on Monday and avenged a 31-point blowout loss to the Gaels in last year's WCC Tournament.
The Cougars' Yoeli Childs scored a career-high 33 points and helped contain Saint Mary's standout Jock Landale, who was plagued by foul trouble.
Landale, the WCC Player of the Year, finished with 23 points before fouling out with 21 seconds left but was outscored by Childs 18-6 in the first half as the Cougars took a 41-37 lead at the break.
"This was a really satisfying win, especially for our guys who returned from last year," BYU coach Dave Rose told The Salt Lake Tribune. "Because last year was kinda tough.
"Jock scored 23 points ... and we're all saying we handled him," Rose said with a laugh.
Saint Mary's had beaten BYU five straight times.
While Gonzaga has been a lock for the NCAA Tournament for quite some time, the Cougars will need a win on Tuesday to punch their ticket.
"The bottom line is we feel like we are built to win this tournament. We feel like we are built to play three games in four days and (could) be able to win them all," Rose said. "The biggest thing was to get the guys to believe in that."
Gonzaga has won 13 straight games and has a 16-game WCC Tournament winning streak.
"It's an unbelievable streak we have going," Few said, referring to the Zags' run WCC title game appearances. "They're never easy."
The Bulldogs have won the tournament 15 times since 1999.
BYU, which joined the conference in 2012, is making its third appearance in the championship game. The Cougars lost to Gonzaga in 2014 and 2015.
