St. Mary's got their first win at the Kennel under Randy Bennett

St. Mary's has officially taken the throne from Gonzaga as the King of the WCC.

Well, actually, that's not exactly true. Gonzaga is still the reigning champ and until someone wins the the conference regular season, but after the Gaels beat the Zags 73-71 on Thursday night, the power structure of the WCC has been rearranged.

Matthew Dellavedova has 15 points and five assists while Rob Jones added 15 and 13 boards, but Mickey McConnell was the star of this show. He finished with 27 points and six assists on the night, but no play was bigger than this one:



"We were going to try to run an on-ball and get Sacre to switch off," said McConnell. "We knew we had to get one shot so we had to get the last shot."

"We couldn't have guarded it any better," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said, "but he still had the moxie to get it up there. I don’t know how many of those he could make out of 10, but to his credit he stepped up and hit it."

The loss was the third straight in conference play for Gonzaga. As of right now, this is a team that doesn't look like they are worthy of the NCAA Tournament discussion. They do have some wins -- Marquette, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Xavier -- but would you consider any of those 'marquee' wins? I wouldn't.

The Zags do get Memphis at home and at least one more shot at St. Mary's, but if they have any hope of being able to earn an at-large bid, Gonzaga must win those two games.

As for St. Mary's, the Gaels are once again rolling along, Samhan or no Samhan. Mickey McConnell is one of the most underrated playmaking point guards in the country. Throw him in a back court with Dellevadova to play alongside San Diego transfer Rob Jones, who is turning into the ultimate glue guy.

Perhaps the most impressive part of this victory for the Gaels?

It was head coach Randy Bennett's first win at the Kennel.

That, alone, should give you a good feel of what the WCC is like this season.