Gonzaga back on the court in WCC opener Monday night

It’s a quick turnaround for Gonzaga, which opens WCC play against Pepperdine on Monday, less than 48 hours after grinding out a win over Tennessee in Seattle.

Another day or two of preparation would have been preferable but “that’s the cards that got dealt,” Zags coach Mark Few said.

Gonzaga isn’t exactly easing into conference. Pepperdine (7-4) was picked third in the preseason poll and has won five straight for the first time since November 2004.

“They were picked to battle up at the top with us and some other people,” Few said. “They’re probably the most experienced and one of the deeper teams.”

The Zags (8-3) have won 14 of the last 15 WCC titles. They earned every first-place vote in the preseason poll but a wild nonconference ride (with SMU remaining in February) and the extended absence of center Przemek Karnowski (back) has probably stoked optimism in their closest pursuers.

It’s the usual suspects at the top: Gonzaga, BYU and Saint Mary’s with Pepperdine primed to crash the top three. BYU (7-3), led by versatile guard Kyle Collinsworth and an improved frontcourt, doesn’t have an eye-catching win. Saint Mary’s (8-1) leads the nation in field-goal percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio. The Gaels have played a soft schedule with eight home games but they thumped Stanford by 17 and led late against Cal before falling.

Pepperdine returns all five starters and 12 letterwinners from last year, but freshman forward Kameron Edwards has moved into the starting unit. Forward Stacy Davis is a two-time first-team All-WCC selection and Lamond Murray Jr. has bumped his scoring average to 14.4.

Gonzaga continues to rely heavily on forwards Kyle Wiltjer (20.6 points) and Domantas Sabonis (17.3). The Zags have been anything but boring with their last seven games against Division I foes decided by 1, 3, 9, 5, 3, 5 and 7 points.

“It’s good for us because we’ve had a lot of good tests so far,” Wiltjer said. “Even though we didn’t pass all of them we’ve learned a lot about ourselves.”

Senior guard Eric McClellan, who has averaged 11.7 points in the last four games, took a couple of hard falls against Tennessee.

“We have to continue to take care of our bodies,” he said. “Obviously we’re not deep. We’re a scrappy bunch, we still have a long way to go and we still have to key in on the details.”