2018-19 #WCChoops Schedule | WCC Conference Play Preview  |  Crumpacker 2018-19 Archives

By John Crumpacker
#WCChoops Columnist

OK, Dons, let’s see what you’ve got.

While Pepperdine at San Diego on Saturday afternoon is the officially designated West Coast Conference Game of the Week (more on that below), the most significant contest takes place six hours later when No. 5 Gonzaga visits a sold-out Memorial Gym at the Sobrato Center to take on San Francisco, with both teams sporting 14-2 records.

The Zags might have one more win on that side of the ledger by then if they hold home court vs. Pacific on Thursday night in a game carried on ESPN2.

No matter. It’s a huge game for USF, among the biggest on-campus events in recent memory. Included in that 14-2 record for the Dons is a 2-0 start to WCC play, the school’s best since the 2006-07 season. Gonzaga might well be 2-0 too if it takes care of business vs. Pacific on Thursday night.

Given the relatively cozy size of Memorial Gym and the number of bodies expected to fill it, the environment should be heated (literally and figuratively) as the home team tries to prove its worth against one of the best teams in the country. In the WCC, only one school can say it’s played the No. 1 (Duke), No. 3 (Tennessee) and No. 12 (North Carolina) teams in the country. And only one team in the nation owns a win against the Blue Devils. That’s Gonzaga.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t keeping up on every team in the conference,’’ USF guard Charles Minlend said. “I think overall, this is a really strong year for our conference. I don’t think we’ve played our best basketball. There’s room to grow.’’

Asked if USF hopes or expects to defeat Gonzaga this season, Minlend said, “I don’t see why not. We’re trying to be first in the conference.’’

Minlend and point guard Frankie Ferrari give the Dons a solid backcourt, forward Matt McCarthy is a dependable presence around the basket and 7-foot Jimbo Lull, the world’s tallest surfer, is greatly improved from last season.

Still, the Dons are tilting at the windmill that is Gonzaga, which has such stellar players as Rui Hachimura, Killian Tillie, Josh Perkins, Zach Norvell Jr., Brandon Clarke and Cory Kispert. That’s a formidable lineup for any team to oppose, home or away.

Let’s see what the Dons have to offer in what is the most significant game early in the WCC season.

What We Think 

1. While the WCC does not send a plethora of players to the NBA, the men doing the coaching are top notch. In fact, it’s fair to say the WCC is a Conference of Coaches. Four are sitting on resumes that include 400 NCAA victories (Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Saint Mary’s Randy Bennett, Santa Clara’s Herb Sendek and Loyola Marymount’s Mike Dunlap) while one is at 399 (Pepperdine’s Lorenzo Romar). Two coaches enjoyed long NBA careers as players (Pacific’s Damon Stoudamire and Portland’s Terry Porter). BYU’s Dave Rose has a winning percentage of .729. USF’s Kyle Smith and San Diego’s Sam Scholl, while new to their jobs, are demonstrating excellence on the bench.
2. A perusal of national statistical rankings reveals the Conference of Coaches has some pretty good teams and individuals. Gonzaga is No. 1 in field goal percentage (.532), No. 2 in points per game (93.6) and No. 4 in total blocks (89). Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke is No. 3 in field goal percentage (.689), No. 3 in blocked shots (3.25 per game) and No. 2 in total blocks (52). Pacific is No. 1 in free throws attempted (437) and No. 1 in free throws made (335), in keeping with a coach, Stoudamire, who made his living as a point guard driving to the basket. Pepperdine’s Colbey Ross is No. 3 in total assists (116). BYU’s Yoeli Childs is No. 3 in double-doubles (10). Pacific’s Roberto Gallinat is No. 1 in free throws attempted (110) and LMU’s James Batemon is No. 5 in the same category (104).
3. In encouraging its members to beef up their non-conference schedule to try to secure one or two at-large berths to the NCAA Tournament, the WCC at the same time made each conference game that much more important. Instead of 18 home-and-home games, there’s now 16, with some schools playing an opponent once, on the road.

#WCChoops Game of the Week
That would be Pepperdine (8-8/1-1) at San Diego (12-5/1-1) at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Jenny Craig Pavilion, aka the Slim Gym. Since six WCC teams are tied at 1-1 after the first week of conference play, this is an important game for both teams in the early going. Pepperdine has already won two more games than it did in 2017-18 and San Diego is showing that school officials made a good choice in naming Scholl as head coach after serving as an assistant for several years.

The game features a duel between two of the top scorers in the conference in senior forward Isaiah Pineiro (20.1) of the Toreros and sophomore guard Ross (18.9) of the Waves.