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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Gonzaga enters WCC play as overwhelming favorite

Gonzaga is picked by, well, pretty much everybody to win the West Coast Conference.

It shouldn’t take long to determine if everybody is prescient or recalculations are necessary.

The eighth-ranked Bulldogs, after a brief holiday break, returned to practice Wednesday, fly out Friday and face BYU on Saturday. It’s potentially Gonzaga’s toughest remaining game, including the Jan. 31 nonconference home date with Memphis. The Cougars are considered GU’s primary conference challenger and they’ll have 20,000-plus supporters inside the Marriott Center.

The Zags (11-1) then leave Provo, Utah, for San Diego to face the Toreros, who always seem to give Gonzaga fits at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. And then it’s on to Portland the following week.

Gonzaga’s three conference losses last season were at BYU (73-65), at Portland (82-73) and at San Diego (69-66).

“I don’t know that there is an easy way for Gonzaga to break into league,” coach Mark Few said. “Everyone is coming at you 100 miles an hour, they want to storm the floor and first game of league everybody thinks they have a shot at winning the thing. It’s tough wherever we are.”

Opposing coaches probably feel the same way about Gonzaga. The Bulldogs are one field goal or one defensive stop in Tucson, Arizona, from being undefeated and probably ranked in the top five. Ten of their 11 victories have been by double figures.

GU rates high nationally in field-goal percentage (53.6 percent, second), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.57, fifth), scoring margin (23.7, fifth), rebounding margin (10.6, eighth), scoring offense (83.7, 11th) and assists (17.8, 11th) in games through Monday. The Zags’ defensive numbers aren’t as flashy, but they’re 51st in scoring defense (60.0) and 52nd in field-goal percentage defense (38.6 percent).

Barring injuries or something unforeseen, Gonzaga figures to be favored in every game left on their regular-season schedule. Many believe GU’s experience and inside-outside balance could lead to a lengthy NCAA tournament run.

“I’m really happy with where these guys are at, but you have to keep moving forward,” Few said.

Here’s a look at what GU will see in the WCC:

With a couple of key baskets, BYU (10-3) could easily be in the top 20. The Cougars suffered overtime losses to San Diego State and Purdue, and fell at home to Utah 65-61. BYU has won six of its last seven.

The Cougars have another high-octane offense – NCAA-best 88 points per game – driven by guards/wings Tyler Haws (22.3 points), Kyle Collinsworth (13.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.3 assists), Anson Winder (14.2 points) and Wake Forest transfer Chase Fischer (13.6 points). Nobody else averages above 5.6 points.

Saint Mary’s (7-3), which has played eight of 10 games at home, has experienced ups (road win over Creighton) and downs (home losses to Boise State and Northern Arizona). Center Brad Waldow (21.7 points, 10.7) has six straight double-doubles. Guard Kerry Carter (13.6 points) has made 50 percent of his 3-point attempts. Stanford transfer Aaron Bright chips in 12.5 points and Emmett Naar averages 6.1 assists.

Naar, Carter and Bright rank 1-2-3 in the WCC in minutes played. Waldow is sixth.

Portland (9-3) had Oregon State and UNLV on the ropes before losing both games in overtime. Seven players have led the Pilots in scoring. Wing Kevin Bailey averages 13.1 points, followed by point guard Alec Wintering (11.7 points, 5.7 assists) and center Thomas van der Mars (11.3 points, 7.9 rebounds).

San Diego (7-5) battled Boise State, Xavier, San Diego State and UCLA but came up short. The senior backcourt of Johnny Dee (19.5 points, 45.5 percent on 3-pointers) and Christopher Anderson (8.9 points, 7.6 assists, 42 percent on 3s) are putting up big numbers.

San Francisco (6-6), picked fourth in the preseason poll, has lost three of its last four and six of its last nine. Senior forward Kruize Pinkins (16.5 points, 6.8 rebounds) and junior forward Mark Tollefsen (15.2 points, 5.8 rebounds) have been solid but the Dons are shooting 55.9 percent at the free-throw line, 344th out of 345 teams.

Pacific (8-4), picked last in the poll, has won five of its last six. Guard T.J. Wallace paces the Tigers at 14.4 points and 6.5 rebounds. J.C. transfer Dulani Robinson (11.8 points) beat Fresno State with a last-second 3-pointer and scored Pacific’s last eight points in a 69-65 win over Nevada.

Pepperdine (7-3) has received strong play from frontcourt tandem Stacy Davis (16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds) and Jett Raines (11 points, 6.3 rebounds). The Waves are holding opponents to 39.9 percent shooting and 62.8 points.

Santa Clara (5-6) dropped below .500 with a 69-58 home loss to Cal Poly on Tuesday. Guards Brandon Clark and Jared Brownridge combine to average 32.2 points, roughly half of SCU’s 63.7 points per game.

Loyola Marymount (3-8), under first-year coach Mike Dunlap, has just 11 seasons of Division I experience on its roster. Guard Evan Payne averages 21 points. He’s led or shared the scoring lead in 10 of the 11 games.