Saint Mary’s begins life without star Mills on Saturday
Well, that Thursday night game against Gonzaga didn’t quite go so well for Saint Mary’s College.
The Gaels, who entered Thursday with the nation’s longest winning streak at 15 games, lost to the Zags in one of the bigger games in school history, in large part because star sophomore guard Patrick Mills was hurt just before halftime.
Mills had been stellar in the game, scoring 18 points, and the Gaels had a six-point lead against Gonzaga and were threatening to notch their first win in Spokane since the 1994-95 season when Mills got tangled up with Zags guard Jeremy Pargo and landed awkwardly on his hand. Mills would not return to the game, and the Gaels shot just 10-for-30 in the second half and fell 69-62.
On Friday, it was revealed that Mills has has two broken metacarpal bones in his right hand and is now expected to miss the next four weeks of the season. Saint Mary’s is next in action Saturday night against Portland and is just a 4-point favorite on WagerWeb.com (there is no doubt this line would have been much higher if Mills was playing).
So now what for the Gaels? They probably still will get an NCAA berth unless they really go in the tank for the next month. Those chances of a regular-season West Coast Conference title are probably gone. And those WagerWeb.com betting lines certainly will be affected.
Said senior forward Diamon Simpson: “We already know people are going to start writing us off. We just have to play without Patty, but that’s easier said than done.”
Mills, who is projected as a potential NBA lottery pick, was averaging 18.7 points and 3.9 assists a game. Carlin Hughes, a fellow Australian, likely will handle a lot of the point guard duties in Mills’ absence. He is not Patrick Mills, however.
“It’s going to be an adjustment” without him,” said Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett. “It’s not just the points, he’s a monster leader for us. Everybody has to play with confidence without him. It’s not just the Xs and Os, it’s the leadership. It will take 11 guys to get this done.”
Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s meet again on Feb. 12, meaning Mills will miss that rematch.
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