Key matchup: WCC scoring leader Malik Thomas headlines deep, talented San Francisco backcourt

San Francisco’s starting backcourt features three appealing options for Thursday’s key matchup, with senior Malik Thomas, senior Marcus Williams and freshman Tyrone Riley IV all in the midst of stellar seasons for the Dons.

All three have scored at least 25 points in a game this season and should be in the mix for all-conference or all-freshman honors by the year’s end.

There’s another quality option on USF’s bench in sophomore Ryan Beasley, the reigning West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year who’s coming off his season-high scoring effort with 18 points against Loyola Marymount.

Still, the conference’s top scorer takes precedence more times than not – both in key matchups and Gonzaga’s scouting report – and nobody’s been more effective than Thomas, who’s averaged 19.2 points in all games and 20.3 in the WCC, leading the conference in both categories.

Thomas has taken home the WCC’s Player of the Week honor four times – two more than any other player and four more than Gonzaga as a team – since capturing the inaugural award on Nov. 11. The former USC guard should be among the leading candidates for player of the year honors if the Dons continue to challenge for a top-two spot in the standings.

Opposing teams have had to respect Thomas’ scoring ability at all three levels, with only three managing to keep the veteran guard in single digits this season.

To put the guard’s game in terms Gonzaga fans would understand, Thomas has made 28 3-pointers in conference play – just two fewer than GU’s leader, Nolan Hickman – and gets to the free-throw line at a higher rate than Khalif Battle, at a WCC-leading 5.2 per game.

None of that should be news to Mark Few and his coaching staff.

Thomas struggled from the field in his first career matchup with GU last season, scoring 12 points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field before fouling out in Spokane, but he combined to score 45 points on 15-of-33 shooting from the field and 6 of 12 on 3-pointers in the next two game at the Chase Center and WCC Tournament. Thomas went 15 for 19 from the line in those three games.

The Fontana, California, native has scored at least 20 points in 11 games and has three games of 34-plus points. Thomas reached a season-high 35 points in a nonconference win over Loyola Chicago and averaged 30.6 points over one three-game WCC stretch against Santa Clara, Pacific and Washington State.

USF’s guards present issues for Gonzaga’s smaller backcourt, with 6-2 Williams playing alongside the 6-5 Thomas and 6-6 Riley . The WCC’s leading scorer could see multiple defenders in Thursday’s matchup between teams occupying the No. 2 and 3 spots in the WCC standings, with Battle or Hickman most likely to pick up the assignment early on.