Early WCC schedule favors Zags
The schedule-maker didn’t take it easy on Gonzaga in the non-conference, but that’s changed in West Coast Conference play.
Gonzaga has opened its WCC slate with three home wins by an average of 31 points. The Zags face Pepperdine tonight and Loyola Marymount on Saturday. Those teams are a combined 5-33. The Bulldogs will complete the first half of the conference season next week with showdowns against Saint Mary’s (17-1, 4-0) and San Diego (12-7, 4-0) at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
For now, GU is focused on Pepperdine – and itself.
“We just need to go down there and try to get better,” head coach Mark Few said. “We had really solid performances in both games last week. We need to carry that momentum on the road and continue to stay on an upswing.”
Gonzaga was solid at both ends of the floor in routing Santa Clara and San Francisco. After being outrebounded in their five previous games, the Bulldogs dominated the boards 92-56 against SCU and USF.
Many wins for Few
Few, 248-64 in 10 years at GU, is closing in on Dan Fitzgerald (252-171, 15 seasons), who is second on the school’s all-time wins list. Hank Anderson is first (290-275, 21 seasons).
Good catch
Gonzaga forward Austin Daye got an assist at the barber shop the other day.
“My car got hit,” he said. “Somebody backed up into me and tried to run, but the cops caught them.”
Juggling lineup
Washington State is rotating two spots in its starting lineup. Center Aron Baynes and guards Taylor Rochestie and Klay Thompson – WSU’s three leading scorers – are givens, but the other two spots are up in the air.
“You look at who you’re playing, what you need and you go with that,” WSU coach Tony Bennett said Tuesday. “You just look at how we match up, who played well the last game, who practiced well and go from there.”
Freshman DeAngelo Casto started against Oregon State at the power forward spot, though senior Caleb Forrest returned to the lineup against Oregon. Senior Daven Harmeling, junior Nik Koprivica and freshman Marcus Capers, who made his first start against Oregon, all have been introduced at the small forward.
The starters tonight may not be picked until just prior to the game.
No magic
WSU’s school-record 28 consecutive free throws against Oregon not only shattered the Pac-10 mark for most makes in a game without a miss (USC, 22 in 2002 at Oregon), it also prompted questions for Bennett at his weekly press conference. Most involved what the Cougars do at practice that allows them to lead the conference (76.4 percent) in free-throw shooting?
“We probably do what everybody else does,” Bennett said. “Trust me, there’s no market cornered here.”