Preview: Saint Mary's vs. San Diego

Saint Mary's begins its quest for a second straight West Coast Conference tournament title and third in the last four seasons, taking on San Diego in the semifinals Saturday in Las Vegas. The No. 23 Gaels, seeded second behind No.1 Gonzaga, bring a five-game winning streak into the tournament. The sixth-seeded Toreros join ninth-seeded Loyola Marymount as semifinal surprises. They knocked off third-seeded Brigham Young in Friday's quarterfinals, getting 25 points from guard Johnny Dee.Saint Mary's best player started for the Australian national team last summer at the London Olympics. Matthew Dellavedova, a 6-4 senior point guard, averages a team-leading 16.5 points and 6.2 assists for the Gaels. The school's all-time scoring leader has put up no less than 19 points in six of the last seven games. Dellavedova had a season-high 11 assists in 28 minutes of an 81-48 victory against San Diego on Jan. 24 and scored 19 points with seven assists in a 74-64 win against the Toreros two weeks later.TV: 11:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2ABOUT SAINT MARY'S (26-5): Dellavedova receives most of the credit for Saint Mary's success, but the Gaels have a pair of juniors who play key roles too. Stephen Holt, a 6-4 guard, averages 11.8 points and is one of the team's top rebounders at 5.3. Beau Levesque, a 6-6 forward, is third on the team in scoring at 10.5, shooting 47.6 percent from 3-point range. Brad Waldow and Mitchell Young, the 6-9 starting forwards, should enjoy a significant size advantage against San Diego.ABOUT SAN DIEGO (16-17): Dee leads the way at 14.9 points. The sophomore has become more consistent in the last month, scoring 13 points or more in 10 of the last 11 games. Chris Manresa is a 6-9 senior forward who averages 9 points and 6.8 rebounds. He'll be forced to battle underneath with Waldow and Young, something he has struggled with this season. He went scoreless with five rebounds in the first meeting and came back with nine points and two rebounds in the second.TIP-INS1. Dellavedova is second among active assist leaders in Division I with 728.2. Holt has scored 13 points in each of the last three games.3. San Diego 6-11 senior C Dennis Kramer reached double figures in scoring in three of the first four games this season but has reached that mark once in his last 26.PREDICTION: Saint Mary's 75, San Diego 61