2018-19 #WCChoops Schedule | What We Think 2/6/19 | Crumpacker 2018-19 Archives
By John Crumpacker
#WCChoops Columnist
While it is certainly unfortunate for the player and his team that Gonzaga’s
Killian Tillie is likely out for the remainder of the season with a partially torn ligament in his troublesome right foot, the one that kept him out of non-conference play.
Tillie re-injured the foot in Thursday’s game against San Francisco and did not play Saturday vs. Saint Mary’s in what was a “Win one for the Gipper’’ game for his teammates.
“Heartbreaking,’’ was how coach
Mark Few termed the loss of Tillie, per John Blanchette in the
Spokesman-Review.
“It was tough on us, but I think it gave us even more of an edge and attitude,’’ guard
Geno Crandall said, also in the S-R. “We said before the game we’re going to perform for Killian.’’
“This game was for him,’’ added
Brandon Clarke.
It’s time for a reality check here.
No. 3 Gonzaga is still loaded. Coach Mark Few’s team will be just fine without the services of the 6-foot-10 Frenchman. Having him available would certainly be nice, but this is a team with 23 wins and counting, a total largely achieved without the services of Tillie. He played in nine games this season, started none, and averaged 17.2 minutes per game while producing 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds.
His absence created playing time for 6-11 freshman
Filip Petrusev, who had, and will have a chance again, to develop earlier than expected. He’s played in 24 of his team’s 25 games and is contributing 7.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, with 15 total blocks. Petrusev and his pogo stick teammate, Clarke, give the Zags a pair of enviable rim protectors.
“He’s made nice strides in practice toughening up and being more physical,’’ Few said of his Serbian yearling. “I can really see the difference from the last time he got an extended run to this.’’
Petrusev, then, should continue to improve the rest of the season. Jeremy Jones, a senior reserve forward, will presumably get more playing time now. Crandall is a talented guard off the bench. Greg Foster Jr. and Joel Ayayi are both 6-5 freshman guards.
That’s nice depth to go with a familiar and potent starting lineup of
Josh Perkins,
Zach Norvell Jr.,
Corey Kispert,
Rui Hachimura and Clark.
Gonzaga remains a powerhouse. Shed no tears for these Zags.
What We Learned
- The final six conference games of the regular season will surely test Saint Mary’s resolve following a humbling 48-point defeat at Gonzaga on Saturday night. Will the Gaels manage to put that 94-46 game behind them and rally over the course of the next five games? Their slate is at Santa Clara, home vs. Pepperdine, at Pacific, at San Diego and home vs. Portland. Saint Mary’s finishes up with Gonzaga at McKeon Pavilion on March 2.
- If BYU is going to maintain second place in the WCC and hold off Saint Mary’s and San Francisco, it will probably need to split a pair of tough games next week, at home vs. USF on the 21st and at Gonzaga on the 23rd. At 8-3, the Cougars have a 1 ½-game lead over the Gaels (6-4) and Dons (6-4). That’s not to say BYU’s schedule this week is a walk in the park, as the Cougars play at San Diego on Thursday and at Loyola Marymount on Saturday. Both the Toreros (5-5) and Lions (5-6) are more than capable of rising to the challenge.
- The WCC is more than holding its own nationally. In addition to having five teams in the top 100 NET rankings (Gonzaga 1, Saint Mary’s 50, USF 52, BYU 86, San Diego 100) of conference teams and individuals can be found high in several national statistical categories. Gonzaga is first in the NCAA in scoring at 91.4 per game. Pepperdine’s Colbey Ross leads in free throws attempted (206), is second in free throws made (174) and sixth in assists per game (7.3). Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke (more on him below) is third in blocks per game (3.1) while the Zags as a team are fifth in blocks (5.6).
Stat Line of the Week
It’s hard to ignore the pair of games Gonzaga’s Clarke had last week. In fact, it’s impossible to ignore. In the Zags’ 30-point win vs. USF (92-62), Clarke had 20 points, 16 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 assists and 2 steals. He had more of the same in a 94-46 rout of Saint Mary’s: 24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, 1 steal. That’s 44 points on 17-of-25 shooting, 22 rebounds, 8 blocks, 4 assists and 3 steals as his team won by an average of 39 points.
That also made Clarke an easy choice for WCC Player of the Week.
Runner-up is the combo line turned in by the Edwards brothers of Pepperdine. The Waves defeated San Diego 70-67 with Kessler contributing 15 points, 10 rebounds and 1 assist while Kameron had 12 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals. The brothers combined for 20 of Pep’s 37 total rebounds.
Quote of the Week
“God said raise girls, coach boys.’’
That’s San Diego coach
Sam Scholl, father of three daughters, in a halftime segment produced by Sammy O’Brien of TheW.tv during the “WCC Game of the Week” broadcast of San Diego at Pepperdine.
Tweet of the Week
Simple but heartfelt advice from LMU’s Mike Dunlap, the philosopher-coach of the WCC.
How about that?
It was while watching Saturday’s Santa Clara-USF game that we learned that the Broncos’ 6-11 freshman, Ezekiel Richards, played lacrosse in high school and that his mother, Kellen Richards, works on The Ellen Show, as in Degeneres. Must have been quite a sight, seeing a fellow that tall coming at you with a stick.
Follow the three dots…
The first rebound secured by Gonzaga in its Thursday game at LMU will be its 1,000th of the season. The Zags are sitting at 999. … At 12-13 overall, Pepperdine has already won twice as many games as it did in 2017-18, and LMU at 17-8 has six more victories than it did last season. … Thank goodness for high-definition TV. Without it, we could not have made out the lettering on a fan’s maroon sweatshirt in a random shot during the San Diego-Pepperdine game. It proclaimed “Reykjavik’’ on one line and “Iceland’’ on the other. Nice. … The Toreros welcomed back guard Olin Carter III last week after he missed five games with an abdominal injury. … With 77 rejections, Gonzaga’s Clarke broke the school record for blocks in a season, with more get-that-stuff-outta-here’s to come.