The Gonzaga Bulldogs probably set a season high for standing ovations Wednesday night. Some of the biggest praise came afterward from head coach Mark Few.

While national pundits debate Gonzaga’s merits as a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs are closing in on a top seed entirely within their grasp.

Kelly Olynyk had 26 points and nine rebounds and Elias Harris added 17 points and 13 rebounds to carry No. 5 Gonzaga past pesky San Francisco 71-61 on Saturday, snapping a three-year losing streak at War Memorial Gymnasium.

For all the talk about Gonzaga’s lofty position in the college basketball polls and the possibility of earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, there is still the matter of who is the best team in West Coast Conference.

Kevin Pangos and Kelly Olynyk each scored 20 points as No. 6 Gonzaga beat Loyola Marymount 74-55 on Saturday, a victory which left the Zags poised to break into the top five on Monday.

Gonzaga’s 27-point lead over BYU had shrunk to nine in a matter of 7 1/2 minutes. The smart money said the Bulldogs would attempt to stem the tide by turning to team leader Taelor Karr, top scorer Haiden Palmer or inside presence Sunny Greinacher.

The sixth-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs have sidestepped the upsets above and below them in the polls with five straight wins.

Showing no hesitation, Bulldogs senior reserve guard Meghan Winters set up outside and hit a 3-pointer. The shot stopped BYU’s momentum, boosted GU’s lead back to double digits, and paved the way for a crucial win.

Gonzaga’s men’s basketball team stayed unbeaten in the West Coast Conference. Barely.

Gonzaga’s offensive focus in recent years hasn’t been on 3-point shooting. But the Bulldogs are more than capable in that department, as they proved to Pepperdine.

SAN DIEGO – San Diego men’s basketball coach Bill Grier might have a solution for his team’s scoring issues over the last three games. Grier phoned his congratulations earlier this week to USD-bound Brett Bailey, the University High senior who broke the Greater Spokane League scoring record with 47 points against Rogers.

San Diego men’s basketball coach Bill Grier might have a solution for his team’s scoring issues over the last three games.

It’s been another star-crossed year for coach Max Good and the Lions, who have endured an inordinate number of injuries and lost a couple of key transfers in the coach’s five-year run at LMU. When Good’s teams have stayed reasonably healthy, they’ve had solid seasons – 18-16 in 2010, a 15-game improvement from the previous season, and 21-13 last season, despite Drew Viney and Ashley Hamilton missing 22 games with injuries.

Gonzaga did what it wanted on offense, pounding the ball inside to Elias Harris and Kelly Olynyk. At the other end of the floor, the Bulldogs bottled up BYU’s leading scorer, Tyler Haws, and kept Brandon Davies in check for most of the game.

One basketball team trying to bounce back from an excruciating loss takes on another team that just went through the process.