Congrats to Mark Few! He’s now the thirty seventh males’s head coach in Division 1 faculty basketball historical past to succeed in 700 profession wins. Coach Few is the second quickest to ever attain that mark and holds a successful share of .833%. Exhausting to essentially take pleasure in him attending to that historic victory when watching a broadcast so poorly produce. I believed Pepperdine was a rich establishment however apparently can’t afford microphones that work.
It’s in contrast to Few to make a change with the rotation this late within the season however Gonzaga wanted a beginning lineup change badly. It was the proper choice with Dusty Stromer (6 factors on 2-6 FG and 2-4 3PT, 3 rebounds) transferring to the bench which supplies the second unit extra guard assist/ball-handling depth. I’m a large fan of the bigger frontcourt as Ben Gregg (5 factors, 10 rebounds, 4 assists) will get his first ever collegiate profession begin. The swap of the roles appeared so as to add extra steadiness to each models.
How about this, Gonzaga taking part in nicely come out of the halftime locker room? That looks like a primary for this workforce this season. The Bulldogs outscored the Waves within the second half by a rating of 46-21. That was the most effective twenty minutes of play that Gonzaga has put collectively all season, particularly on the defensive finish which the Zags have been locked in on. No matter Mark Few stated to the fellows, maintain onto these phrases.
Although the primary half was fairly terrible, it really ended up being certainly one of Gonzaga’s higher taking pictures performances of the season at 8-20 from deep (40.0 3PT%) attributable to that second half bonanza. We will see if that development can proceed. If we follow the narrative that it has been for the 2023-2024 marketing campaign, that three-point share will drop proper again down quickly.
Gonzaga did most of its work towards Pepperdine down low all night time, with a 42-22 edge in paint factors. That’s largely in because of Graham Ike (24 factors on 11-17 FG, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal) who continues to make his large presence identified towards his West Coast Convention opponents. His WCC Participant of the Yr marketing campaign could be discovered proper right here (wanting ahead to the upcoming battles with USF’s Jonathan Mogbo, that can actually decide the winner of the award).
A completely wholesome Jevon Porter (16 factors on 5-13 FG and 2-5 3PT, 4 rebounds, 2 steals) wasn’t sufficient as Pepperdine struggled mightily on the glass and misplaced the rebounding battle to Gonzaga, 42-26. The Zags have been in a position to seize their first win on the highway of the season and prolong their successful streak over the Waves to now 47 straight victories. The Southern California highway journey continues on Saturday at 6 PM PT on ESPN+ at San Diego.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga College graduate from the Bay Space… Observe him on Twitter @a_cravalho