Men's Basketball John Crumpacker, #WCChoops Columnist

Crumpacker: What We Learned - Week Seven of #WCChoops

Reviewing the penultimate week of #WCChoops

2018-19 #WCChoops Schedule | What We Think 2/20/19  |  Crumpacker 2018-19 Archives

By John Crumpacker
#WCChoops Columnist

As was discussed in this space a week ago and becomes even more compelling now as the West Coast Conference reaches the final week of the regular season, there is a good chance of seeing a three-way tie for second place behind You Know Who.

Saint Mary’s is currently in second at 10-4, followed by BYU at 10-5 and San Francisco at 9-5. This is where it gets interesting, since the top two teams secure a double bye into the semifinals of the WCC Tournament.

Saint Mary’s figures to defeat winless Portland and lose to No. 1 Gonzaga in Moraga for a mark of 11-5. Likely.

BYU will finish 11-5 with a win over San Diego on Saturday night in Provo. Likely.

USF can also ascend to 11-5 by defeating San Diego and LMU on the Hilltop. Probable.

However, the Dons should be nothing if not supercharged with incentive since finishing at 11-5 would give them the tiebreaker over BYU and Saint Mary’s because they went 2-0 vs. the Cougars while the Gaels split their games with BYU.

“We’ve still got to win (two) games,’’ USF point guard Frankie Ferrari said. “We knew it was going to be a dogfight, and it is.’’

In that scenario, USF is second, Saint Mary’s third and BYU fourth.

However, Saint Mary’s can claim second place if it takes care of Portland on Thursday and rallies the troops for a significant upset of Gonzaga on Saturday for a mark of 12-4. If that happens and USF and BYU finish 11-5, the tiebreaker, and third place, goes to the Dons, with the Cougars in fourth.

The highly technical term for such drama in the final week of the regular season is “good stuff.’’ McKeon Pavilion will be packed on Saturday night by partisans as well as a smattering of Gonzaga fans, perhaps to the point where the mythical fire marshal is summoned to Moraga.

After beating BYU in Provo 77-71 on Thursday night, the Dons did not have enough left for their Saturday game at Santa Clara, falling 68-65 to the Broncos. How USF must rue that result, given what’s at stake among the WCC’s current second-, third- and fourth-place teams.

The top four teams in the WCC are in the most recent NET rankings top 100, with Gonzaga at 1, Saint Mary’s at 38, USF 51 and BYU 83.

What We Learned
  1. BYU has a player worth watching the remainder of this season and in seasons to come in freshman forward Gavin Baxter, a homegrown talent from Provo. Baxter did not play much earlier in the season, but he has started the last seven games as his talent makes it impossible for coach Dave Rose to keep him on the bench. Baxter is an athletic 6-foot-9 and 210 pounds with a sturdy frame, able to score inside and defend the rim. Baxter is shooting .644 from the field, averaging 4.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in limited time. He’s a good ‘un for the Cougars.
  2. Speculation by the talking heads on ESPN during the BYU-Gonzaga game on Saturday night was that this might have been Rui Hachimura’s final home game for the Zags, as he is projected to be a likely NBA draft lottery pick. As the Japanese-born Hachimura’s English has improved, so has his ability on the court. The 6-8 forward plays with a fluidity that allows him the ability to bring the ball up court on occasion. He’s third in the conference in scoring (20.5) and sixth in rebounding (6.6). Gonzaga is on the road for its final two WCC games (Pacific, Saint Mary’s) and then off to the conference tournament and an expected deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
  3.  There’s drama in the bottom half of the conference standings just as there is near the top. Portland (0-14) and Pacific (3-11) are both going to be playing in the first round of the WCC Tournament on March 7, to be joined by teams finishing 7 and 8. Candidates for those positions are Pepperdine (6-9), San Diego (6-8), LMU (6-8) and Santa Clara (7-7). Expect to see competitive games involving those four teams in the last week of conference play. 
Stat Line of the Week
It’s rare for a player to be accorded SLOTW honors who scored fewer than 10 points in a game, but Pacific’s Jahlil Tripp is that rare player. In a 63-56 loss to Loyola Marymount, Tripp had 7 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals while playing a subservient role offensively to teammate Roberto Gallinat, who had 31 points.

Runners-up are Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks vs. Pepperdine, Gonzaga’s Hachimura with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal in the same game, and BYU’s Yoeli Childs with 28 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists in a loss to USF.

Move of the Week
In a play that will surely be replayed over and over in his team’s film study/review, Gonzaga’s Geno Crandall practically faked BYU’s Nick Emery out of The Kennel and into the cold as he used a crossover step in the key to shake his defender on the way to a layup that put the Zags up 71-53 in a game they would go on to win 102-68. Better still, the ball circled the rim twice before dropping in.




Quote of the Week
“It is about body of work. It’s not the name of the league.’’
That’s new WCC Commissioner Gloria Neverez, interviewed at halftime of the BYU-Gonzaga game as she referred to four conference teams in the top 100 of the most recent NET rankings.
 
Tweet of the Week



Follow the three dots…
Gonzaga’s Josh Perkins is closing out a career that would be the envy of just about every college basketball player. With the month of March about to unfold, Perkins is 128-17 in his time in Spokane. He was named WCC Player of the Week for helping the Zags complete an undefeated home schedule. He had 31 points and 16 assists as Gonzaga beat Pepperdine and BYU. Perkins also established a program record for career assists with 677, and counting. … In a damaging 68-65 loss to Santa Clara, USF did not score a point in the final 3:24. … Portland’s Josh McSwiggan found his shooting stroke in a loss to Pepperdine, converting 6 of 7 shots from behind the arc and finishing with 20 points. … The WCC’s Human Pogo Stick, Gonzaga’s Clarke, has more than twice as many blocked shots than anyone else in the conference. He’s at 85 and counting. Next best is 42 by San Diego’s Yauhen Massalski. … On Saturday night, USF’s Ferrari and LMU’s James Batemon both reached 1,000 points in their careers. Said LMU coach Mike Dunlap of his player, “He has shined for two years and he is one of the better players in our league. He’s also going to get a degree and has a chance to play professionally.’’