Believe it or not, we are just weeks away from the end of the 2011-12 regular season. For Gonzaga, that means time is running out. Six conference games remain on the schedule and, for all intents and purposes, we will have a pretty darn clear picture of the WCC after next weekend. On Thursday, the conference leading Gaels of Saint Mary's head into the McCarthey Athletic Center. Saint Mary's will be looking for a season sweep of the Bulldogs in addition to maintaining their perfect conference record. The Gaels have been a force all season long and carry a pretty commanding 2.5 game lead into February. Also paying the Zags a visit this week will be Loyola Marymount, which is currently tied for third in the West Coast Conference and is only a half game behind the Bulldogs.

For lack of a better phrase, the Zags did not have the most pleasant road stretch over the past few days. After getting dominated by BYU in their first visit to Provo, Gonzaga flew to Malibu to recover against the woeful Waves of Pepperdine. Although Mark Few's squad got off to a great start against Pepperdine, they fell back into old habits and allowed the Waves to make the contest far too close. They escaped with a 12 point win but the game was hanging in the balance far too late in the second half. Now, as we close the book on the road stretch that was, it is time to look ahead to some home cooking for the Zags as the Gaels come to Spokane.

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2011-2012 Season - Game 22
	vs.
17-4 (7-2 in WCC)		8-14 (2-9 in WCC)
Firestone Fieldhouse - Malibu, CA
February 4th, 2012, 7:00 PM PST
TV: KHQ/ROOT Radio: 1510 KGA
Probable starters:
Kevin Pangos	G	Caleb Willis
Gary Bell	G	Jordan Baker
Michael Hart	F	Hector Harold
Elias Harris	F	Taylor Darby
Robert Sacre	C	Corbin Moore

If you haven't, sign up for a membership to The Slipper Still Fits and get in the discussion in the comments. You know the drill, the comments refresh automatically so it's a great to chat about the game with other fans. Looking forward to hearing from you!

GO ZAGS!!!

2011-2012 Season - Game 21
	vs.
17-3 (7-1 in WCC)		18-6 (6-3 in WCC)
Marriott Center - Provo, UT
February 2nd, 2012, 8:00 PM PST
TV: ESPN2 Radio: 1510 KGA
Probable starters:
Kevin Pangos	G	Matt Carlino
Gary Bell	G	Brock Zylstra
Michael Hart	F	Charles Abouo
Elias Harris	F	Noah Hartsock
Robert Sacre	C	Brandon Davies

If you haven't, sign up for a membership to The Slipper Still Fits and get in the discussion in the comments. You know the drill, the comments refresh automatically so it's a great to chat about the game with other fans. Looking forward to hearing from you!

GO ZAGS!!!

While Gonzaga enters its matchup against BYU with a gaudy 17-3 record, this difficult trip to Provo will tell us more about where this team stands heading into the final stretch of the season then any game before. Not only is BYU the most talented team that the Zags have faced since the loss to St. Mary's, but it's also a desperate team that knows how important a win on Thursday would be for the tournament resume. I'm of the belief that a desperate team is the most dangerous team you can face, so it would be best to ignore any of the recent struggles that BYU has had when evaluating this game.

Four of BYU's six losses have come against teams that are currently ranked in the Top 25, with the other two coming against Utah St. and LMU. While some Gonzaga fans certainly have an image of BYU from the NCAA Tournament loss last season, it should be noted that without Jimmer Fredette, this Cougars team is very different from the group that advanced to the Sweet 16. A good comparison to the adjustment that BYU is making would be to look at the 2006-07 Gonzaga team that struggled at times to figure out how to play after the departure of Adam Morrison.

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While watching games on TV allows any fan to follow the Zags, I'm a huge believer that the best way to evaluate a team is to watch them in person. As a resident of Portland, I was able to head over to the Chiles Center and watch the Zags in person for the first time this season. Although the game wasn't a thing of beauty, there were a few aspects of the game that I really focused on now that I was able to see the team in person. Before I get to the game, I would like to thank the great table of Zag fans I had the pleasure of dining with, who for some reason spend their time reading the thoughts of this site :). Thanks for the kind words guys!!!

What I liked: There were actually many positives I took away from this game. The first, and perhaps the most obvious, was the play of Gary Bell Jr. As a long time admirer of his game, this was my first chance to watch him in person since he was heading into his junior year at Kentridge. Needless to say, I was beyond impressed. GBJ is built like a senior in college and has unbelievable court vision coming off screens. He is just so confident with the ball and makes great decisions. I truly believe this season is just a slight glimpse into his potential, and once he fully grasps the nuances of the offense and his role in it, watch out.

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My apologies for the lack of a game thread tonight. Had a few things come up this evening and wasn't able to get to a computer.

After a subpar first half tonight against the Portland Pilots, Gonzaga put together one of their best twenty minutes of the season as they rallied in the second half to escape with a win. Four Zags were in double figures tonight led by freshman Gary Bell Jr. who had a career high 18 points and continues to improve and play well in the clutch. Bell's freshman counterpart Kevin Pangos also was in double figures tonight as were Elias Harris and Robert Sacre. Harris also came down with ten rebounds tonight for yet another double double. With tonight's 74-62 victory, the Bulldogs moved to 17-3 on the season as a date with BYU sits on the horizon.

For as bad as the first half was from Gonzaga, their play in the second half was about as crisp as I have seen this team since the Xavier game on New Years Eve. Elias Harris in particular just continues to look better and better. Harris finished with his second straight double double and tonight's performance marks his eight straight game in double figures.

Harris' solid play has undoubtedly been bolstered by the play of Gonzaga's freshmen guards. Particularly in the second half, Gary Bell and Kevin Pangos were dialed in when it mattered the most. Bell made a number of plays and his ability to take care of the ball and not turn it over continues to improve. In addition to his 18 points, Bell ended the game with a couple of assists and rebounds and did not turn the ball over. Pangos struggled a bit with turnovers but still made a number of great plays in the second half and both play with the poise of upperclassmen.

Another factor that can't be overlooked is how much better this team meshes when its veterans are playing at a high level. Tonight this was no more evident than the spark Marquise Carter provided in the second half. For the first time in a long time, Marquise Carter was Gonzaga's best option at the small forward tonight. He was 2-2 from the floor with three rebounds and three assists. While the stats don't indicate anything above and beyond tonight for Carter, I thought this was his best game in months. He played great basketball and seemed to calm this team down in the second half and allowed the other guards to make plays for the rest of the team. Robert Sacre also had another solid game. The senior big man was 5-5 from the floor and 6-7 from the stripe.

One last interesting piece of this game was the rotation. A trimmed down eight man rotation is all Mark Few went with tonight. Mike Hart was the most noticeable missing Zag tonight as the staff only elected to bring Sam Dower, David Stockton, and Marquise Carter off the bench. Personally, I loved what the staff did. With Guy Landry Edi starting, Gonzaga is able to kick off the game with some defensive pressure and then guys like Stockton, Carter, and Dower can come in to slow things down on offense. Role guys like Monninghoff and Hart will provide quality minutes down the line but they are best as situational subs.

Prior to shipping off for a three game road swing which includes a date with BYU, Gonzaga welcomed in former assistant coach Bill Grier and the San Diego Toreros. Gonzaga, which had won two straight since getting throttled on the road against Saint Mary's, was still working to back in the groove. Tonight against the Toreros, the Bulldogs showed some signs of improvement as they took down USD by a score of 77-60. It was the frontcourt that did a majority of the damage tonight. Robert Sacre, led the way for the Zags with 18 points and 11 rebounds. It was Rob's first double double since mid-November and is hopefully a sign of things to come as he has had his fair share of ups and downs this season. Elias Harris joined Rob with a solid performance tonight. The German forward finished with 15 points and 13 boards.

While the Zags eventually pulled away in the second half, the first twenty minutes was another frustrating stretch when it was obvious who the better team was, but the Bulldogs simply could not play consistently enough to pull away. In the end the size of Gonzaga was just way too overpowering for the Toreros to match for forty minutes. Harris, Sacre, and Sam Dower dominated the stat sheet in the second half and carried the Zags to the win.

While Rob and Elias' performance tonight was a treat, one of the biggest storylines was Guy Landry Edi's insertion into the starting lineup. The junior college transfer has been seeing inconsistent minutes since missing the first eight games due to suspension. In Gonzaga's previous game against San Francisco, Edi came off the bench to score 15 points and help lead the Zags past the Dons. He was rewarded for that performance tonight and got his first (of hopefully many) starts in a Bulldog uniform. Edi played 26 minutes in total and did a lot of good things. Most importantly, he cut down on some of the mistakes he had been making prior to tonight, specifically turnovers. Not only that, but he had a pretty sweet dunk tonight.

The next four games are what you could categorize as a "season defining stretch" for this team. Games at Portland, BYU, and Pepperdine before coming home to host Saint Mary's on February 9th should tell us all we need to know about this team. It appears the squad is trending upwards but the thing that will really push this group over the hump in my estimation is solid, reliable play from the small forward position. The past two games have been positive from Guy Landry Edi, but we'll see if he can turn the corner from "offensive spark" to "offensive force". If he can, this team can really hit a whole new level.

2011-2012 Season - Game 19
	vs.
7-11 (2-4 in WCC)		15-3 (5-1 in WCC)
McCarthey Athletic Center - Spokane, WA
January 21st, 2011, 5:00 PM PST
TV: KHQ/ROOT Radio: 1510 KGA
Probable starters:
Christopher Anderson	G	Kevin Pangos
Johnny Dee	G	Gary Bell
Ken Rancifer	F	Michael Hart
Dennis Kramer	F	Elias Harris
Simi Fajemisin	C	Robert Sacre

If you haven't, sign up for a membership to The Slipper Still Fits and get in the discussion in the comments. You know the drill, the comments refresh automatically so it's a great to chat about the game with other fans. Looking forward to hearing from you!

GO ZAGS!!!