Jim Meehan

Go down Moe Odum’s game-by-game statistics and good luck finding one better than his 24-point, eight-assist effort in a surprisingly close 89-82 loss to Gonzaga in late December in Malibu. There are several other worthy candidates, but Odum’s 24 points was a career best, and every point came during the Waves’ spirited second-half rally.

Grant Hill has been traveling quite a bit, presenting players, coaches and staff with Olympic rings in recognition of USA Basketball’s gold medal performance at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. The latest stop brought Hill to the McCarthey Athletic Center to deliver a ring to Gonzaga coach Mark Few just minutes before Thursday's tip-off against San Francisco. Few joined Tyronn Lue and Erik Spoelstra as assistants on Steve Kerr’s staff. Only the players received gold medals.

Three observations from Gonzaga’s 88-77 win over San Francisco on Thursday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Turns out former Gonzaga wing Julian Strawther will be busy this weekend. Strawther, who has assumed a bigger role in his second season with the Denver Nuggets, was named to replace Portland’s Scoot Henderson at the Rising Stars event Friday, part of NBA All-Star festivities this weekend in San Francisco.

The preliminaries are pretty much over for Gonzaga. The Zags begin a pivotal six-game stretch to close the regular season, featuring two Quad 2 contests and three Quad 1s according to current NET rankings. It’s their chance to prove they should wear white uniforms as the higher seed in the NCAA Tournament’s opening round. Or perhaps tiptoe into March Madness as a double-digit seed for the first time since 2016. Or perhaps miss the Big Dance for the first time since 1999.

Bigger tests await, but Gonzaga’s defense has strung together several A’s since hitting the reset button after giving up 97 points in overtime and 103 points in regulation in consecutive West Coast Conference losses to Oregon State and Santa Clara. Saturday’s 78-61 victory over Pacific was the latest example as the Tigers needed a late scoring binge to crack 60 points and nudge their shooting percentage to 40%.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few has never lost to Pacific, but he’s accustomed to stress being part of the ambience when Zags play inside the Spanos Center. Until Saturday, that is.

Thursday’s 73-53 win over Loyola Marymount was a split decision for the mood of Gonzaga followers who witnessed the team’s impressive 5-0 start and the bumpy 12-7 mark over the last 2-plus months.

Junior guard Lamar Washington hasn’t been nearly as consistent and his shooting percentage is much lower than his two Canadian teammates. The stats tells us otherwise, but we'll give the slightest of key matchup nods to the 6-foot-4 Washington, though all three players will be high on Gonzaga’s scouting report.

There’s probably few, if any, college players in the country with stat lines like Khalif Battle’s over the last five games. In order, Battle has finished with zero points, zero points, 23 points, two points and 24 points – the latter helping Gonzaga pull away from Loyola Marymount 73-53 on Thursday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Here are three observations from Gonzaga’s 73-53 win over Loyola Marymount on Thursday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

If Gonzaga coach Mark Few had his druthers, the schedule for the Zags’ and every other West Coast Conference team in action this week – and most weeks – would look different. Same for Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett.

Gonzaga slipped a few spots in the NET rankings and another spot or two in most NCAA Tournament bracket projections after Saturday’s West Coast Conference loss to Saint Mary’s.

MORAGA, Calif. – It has become the overriding question since Gonzaga blew a five-point lead in the final 25 seconds of regulation in an overtime loss to West Virginia in the Bahamas in late November. Can Gonzaga reach the finish line first in a close game?

MORAGA, Calif. – It lived up to the hype. It usually does when West Coast Conference powers Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s square off on a basketball court.

Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary’s.Time for the game of the year in the West Coast Conference. At least until the WCC powers square off again Feb. 22 in the Kennel or, as they seemingly do every March in Las Vegas, with another clash at the conference tournament. Just like every season and practically every series meeting over the last decade-plus. Same as it ever was.

Doesn’t get much better than posts Gonzaga’s Graham Ike and Mitchell Saxen dishing out bruises. Or GU’s Ben Gregg facing Arizona transfer Paulius Murauskas, who has nine double-doubles. All worthy candidates, but the nod here goes to the two best point guards in the West Coast Conference: Gonzaga assists machine Ryan Nembhard and Saint Mary’s counterpart Augustas Marciulionis, the reigning WCC player of the year and conference tournament most outstanding player.

Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s have had so many memorable showdowns, which stands to reason since one – GU 17 solo regular-season titles – or the other – SMC two solo – or both (three co-championships) have earned West Coast Conference titles since the 2002-03 season. The Zags and Gaels have finished in the top two, typically in that order, 12 of the last 13 years.

After giving up 200 points in two losses, including 97 in overtime to Oregon State, Gonzaga responded by holding Portland to 62 points and the Beavers to 60 in Tuesday’s rematch. The Zags’ defense against OSU was sharper across the board, spurring a 98-60 rout in front of a loud audience at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Here are three observations from Gonzaga’s 98-60 win over Oregon State on Tuesday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few weighed the question about a pair of changes to the starting lineup and if he got what he wanted from those adjustments. “Listen, two totally separate things,” Few said shortly after the Zags dismantled Portland 105-62 on Saturday at the Chiles Center to snap a two-game West Coast Conference losing streak.

Every player had an opportunity to voice their opinion, and Ryan Nembhard didn’t mince words. “It was a tough week las week,” senior forward Michael Ajayi said. “We were all just talking as a group, as a team, and Ryan was like, ‘Hey man, ain’t no more talking, just action.’ That’s what we did (Saturday night).

The practice plan for the week was obvious since Gonzaga gave up a McCarthey Athletic Center record 103 points last Saturday in a loss to Santa Clara.

We try to avoid repeating the same key matchup when Gonzaga faces a West Coast Conference foe for the second time. Portland’s Max Mackinnon made that much easier after his career night Thursday in the Pilots’ 92-82 home win over San Diego.