NCAA basketball rivalries: Ranking the top 25 college basketball rivalries

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: A fan of the North Carolina Tar Heels (L) and the Duke Blue Devils pose for a photo while holding a sign referring to the Duke/UNC rivalry during the semifinals of the ACC Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 10, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

No. 12 – Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. Saint Mary’s Gaels

All-Time Series: Gonzaga leads 73-31

This one is for the west coast. These are the two powerhouse programs of the West Coast Conference and quite possibly the top-two programs of the west coast in the last decade-plus. Gonzaga has built its program into one of the nation’s finest year-in and year-out. From among the likes of UCLA and Arizona, Gonzaga has grown into the premiere west coast hoops program, attracting top-end talent, making deep runs into the NCAA Tournament annually, and producing NBA talent.

Saint Mary’s has been a model of consistency with NCAA Tournament berths and being the only non-Gonzaga team with WCC Tournament titles in the last 12 years with three conference tournament championships in that period to Gonzaga’s nine.

Game of Note: March 12, 2019 – WCC Tournament Championship – 2-seed St. Mary’s def 1-seed Gonzaga 60-47

There have been many notable games in this WCC rivalry over the years, but the one that stands out is a microcosm of what this rivalry has been. Gonzaga, built into one of the most dominant, prominent brands in all of college basketball, was 16-0 in the WCC in 2018-19 and rolled into the conference tournament championship game against the plucky, upstart St. Mary’s, the No. 2-seed in the tournament, but a heavy underdog against a Gonzaga that finished five games better than it in conference play, and a team that had dominated St. Mary’s in the two previous meetings that season, winning by 14 at St. Mary’s and 48 (!!) at home.