Are You Ready For The WCC Marathon? Zags Host Waves
by Max Mandel on Jan 5, 2012 7:00 AM PST
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PrintWhile it's true that Gonzaga kicked off WCC play with a convincing home victory over Portland, the home matchup with Pepperdine on Thursday marks the true beginning of the two-month WCC grind. Although many people will assume that the trio of Gonzaga, BYU and St. Mary's will be competing for the WCC title, the thing that makes conference play so enticing is that the familiarity between the teams can lead to unpredictable results.
Pepperdine enters this game on the heels of a home split in its two-game set with San Francisco and St. Mary's. After an impressive victory over USF in the opening game, the Waves weren't able to keep pace with the Gaels, as they fell 74-45. The 45 points shouldn't come as a huge surprise, as the offensive end of the court is where Pepperdine really struggles. The Waves currently rank 312th in the NCAA, averaging only 60.8 ppg.
The two guys to keep an eye on in this game are Taylor Darby and Corbin Moore, who form a tough and talented frontcourt. Darby leads the Waves with 12.1 ppg, while Moore controls the boards with a team-high 8.8 rpg. The duo has decent size and plays hard, which is vital for any big guy. One thing that is certain is that Darby and Moore won't backdown from the Gonzaga frontcourt and will test Robert Sacre and Elias Harris on both ends of the court. With that said, the Waves don't possess a great amount of depth and will struggle to deal with the size and athleticism Gonzaga presents.
Pepperdine continues to slowly build a program that has consistently improved its depth and talent over the past couple of years. However, I don't think the Waves are quite at the point where they are capable of coming into Spokane and challenging Gonzaga for 40 minutes. Since I don't expect there to be any New Year's Eve hangover, Gonzaga should come away with an 80-54 win.
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Will the Zags play down to their competition
Gonzaga has a history of playing down to their competition; especially in games after a big win and after a bit of a layoff. 80-45? I think not!
Pepperdine is horrible
this game will be a blowout, don’t be surprised if it’s by 40. We have defense now.
From a Bud Withers WCC preview article:
“A year ago, Zags allowed 50 threes more than they hit; this year, they make 14 more than opponents. And among the top six scorers, the three-point percentage is .446.”
Amazing. I’m stunned we made the tourney the last two years without a PG.
Welcome to the Sound Pound...
by SoundPound on Jan 5, 2012 10:41 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Slagni, where did you get 80-45 from?
The predicto was 80-54. And although 80 might be a bit high, the holding them to 54 part is not out of line at all. Pepperdine’s offense is terrible.
I HOPE we do not “play down to our competition” and at least beat Pepperdine by 29 points, like St. Mary’s did. Don’t want St. Mary’s getting any ideas of grandeur.
The fear of playing down to our comp after a “big win” may be overstated in that our big win took a hit last night as LaSalle beat Xavier 80-70. So much for our big win…Bummer.
Final 4 or Bust!!~
Pepperdine is not better this year
This program had definitely taken a step back and I predict they will be this year’s cellar dweller.
mjc
Zags in a blowout!
Hart has 16pts. 10 rebounds 6 assists 4 steals and 5 3pointers and 0 fouls in 43 minutes of play! DS has 2 break away 360’s slams! MK and MM change their first names to Rodney! Lastly, Ryan Spangler agree’s to doing dishes at the Few residence for 3 years thus providing him with unlimited minutes ON the bench.
Starting tonight: The Doobie Bro’s, Bill the beer man, Wally Post and Joe E. Brown! Followed by a special appearance of David Clayton Thomas and BS&T. The post game special will feature Mark Few spoon feeding Cream of Mushroom soup to Greg Heister in recognition of Gaz’s New Years resolution of………………………….?
by mikesequim on Jan 5, 2012 1:47 PM PST reply actions 3 recs
"Gaz's New Years resolution of...?"...
promising not to offer up any more free Zag tixs on dis site, as the silence from the top was simply deafening. Aaaand I resolve to never eat any mushroom soup. Yukky! Also, I resolve to steer clear of any and all dust ups, potential dust ups, and dust ups I feel like creating, starting, stopping, because I feel either bored, self absorbed, adventurous, like living on the edge, in the doghouse with the wifey and need to take it out on CLT, or Mike or, whomever else I can get to “bite”. And lastly, and most importantly, I resolve to drink much, much, more beer(s).
Lets DO this!!~ ZAGS- 76 Paprikadine- 59
Final 4 or Bust!!~
How'd ya like that for a lead in? LOL
Figured that one left you lots of options
Fun game!
The Doobie Bro’s (KP & GB) played well. Bill the beer man (“E”) played OK but didn’t need to excert much. Wally Post (Hart) had one of his better overall games in a limited 13 minutes. Joe E. Brown (Rob) played like Rob has for the past 4 years, with a smile, ear to ear!. Aha, and David Clayton Thomas (Sam) and BS&T (MM, MK and RS) were given some time to shine. Fun game for all and no injuries.
The Doob’s…….look’m up, you’ll see how they fit.
Bill the Beer man at the “Dome”, looked just like “E”
Wally Post, a very underated overacheiving player for the Cincy Reds back in the 50’s-60’s
Joe E. Brown…..check out the smile!
David Clayton Thomas, “The Voice” in the 60’s (Sam the singer)
BS&T……Blood, Sweat and Tears (the best back up band ever)
A little trivia for teeny boppers in the crowd.
I’m thinking it’s the new drugs they’re giving me………yeah, I’ll go with that one.
help
help—how do I get the Pep-Gonzaga game on tv in seattle. ROOT lists UW-Colorado in the 6 pm game.
WCC games
Zags are on local, BYU and StM are on other Dish channels (694 and 209)…and everyone is on at 6, damn….. gonna be some button pushing….
help #2
Live in Anchorage. GCI Cable, the only company, just dropped Root Sports January 1. Can’t get a dish hookup, a mountain is in the way. Kids+blizzard = Can’t do a bar. Any streaming options, or are we out in the cold literally and figuratively?
Usually someone puts one up here.
However, I just typed in Gonzaga vs Pepperdine 01/05/2012 free online streaming and there appeared to be several? Wish I could help but on/off/right click/left click is about my multi task ability.
have comcast not dish
have comcast in seattle not dish. any ideas
sadly
Its only being replayed at midnight for Comcast on Root Sports on this side of the mountains. I work for Comcast, and have gotten a ton of calls about it.
Since you work for them...
What happened to showing the games on Universal Sports, 115? That’s where these games ended up in the past. Just curious.
Universal Sports is in contract disputes will all major carriers right now, including Comcast and all the Sat. companies. So a lot of their programming is being altered. And, it is officially changing from Universal Sports to NBC Sports shortly, so that may impact things further.
Oh, OK
So Universal Sports is all wrapped in that NBC Sports mess. I thought it was just Versus that was turning into NBC Sports, but I guess it makes sense that Universal Sports would be included. Thanks for the clarity.
Take a power nap before the game...
Then, you’ll be 100% for the game! Don’t allow anyone to blow it and tell you the score. Pretend you’re watching it live. One time doing this won’t kill ya, but missing a Zag game just might.
Final 4 or Bust!!~
How about this Gaz?
He gives us his number, takes the power nap, stays away from the tv or radio and we all video call him (all tanked up) with the outcome at about 2 minutes into the second half? Man, these new drugs are GREEEEEEEEEEEAT! HaHa!
This is about what Pepperdine should look like once we're through with them tonight:
Zags should win this easily 75-57!!
I Like this game....
as I see it as the start of Sacre getting back on track and Spangler getting some good minutes……I hope.
I sure am looking for GU to hold the “Waves” to under 50….that would tell me a lot about this team.
If you don't like my fire then don't come around...
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