By Jeff Faraudo
WCC Columnist
For West Coast Conference basketball fans, Thanksgiving week brought more treats than turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie.
ESPN calls it “Feast Week” and WCC teams provided enough triumph and drama to satisfy the most gluttonous hoops fanatic.
No regular-season game all year may get the national attention that unbeatens No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 5 Duke commanded on Friday night in Las Vegas. Courtside seats were going for nearly $8,000 prior to tipoff and the crowd of 20,389 at T-Mobile Arena — including sports celebrities Brooks Koepka and Floyd Mayweather Jr. — was the largest to ever watch a basketball game in the state of Nevada.
Duke outlasted the Zags, winning 84-81 in a game that left no one disappointed. And while Duke put a blemish on Gonzaga’s record, the game only enhances the Zags’ big-picture resume as a program willing to take on anyone anywhere anytime.
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas says the heavyweight nature of the game further convinces him these teams will play deep into the NCAA Tournament come March.
“This isn’t football. You can take a loss and still win a national championship,” Bilas said. “Both of these teams are good enough to win it all. I have a feeling these teams are going to be playing (each other) again.”
Coach Mark Few schedules games like this — and last Tuesday’s 83-63 win over 2021 Final Four opponent UCLA — because they are good for the game. He also knows they provide the moments his players will long remember.
Gonzaga star Drew Timme didn’t sound defeated after the game. Instead, he seemed thrilled to have experienced such a high-level challenge in a game played in November.
"It felt like a Final-Four type game. The atmosphere was great. It was two Goliaths going at it,” he said.
The Zags (6-1) did lots of good things in the game, getting a 20-point performance from Julian Strawther and showing off their passing skills that led to 22 assists. Freshman Chet Holmgren, after a slow start, wound up with 16 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.
But Gonzaga’s first regular-season loss since Feb. 22, 2020 (at BYU) also exposed areas the coaching staff will work to correct going forward. The Zags struggled to stop dribble penetration and their 17 turnovers against the Blue Devils’ defensive pressure led to a 23-2 edge for Duke in points off turnovers.
There was much more for WCC fans to chew on all week. Here are some of the highlights:
— No. 18 BYU (6-0) posted a 75-64 road win over previously unbeaten in-state rival Utah on Saturday. It was the Cougars’ fourth win in their past five meetings with the Utes.
— The BYU women (7-0) moved into the Top-25 for the first time in three years after beating a pair of ranked opponents in the same week for the first time in program history to capture the St. Pete Showcase. The Cougars, who made the trip to Florida without head coach Jeff Judkins after he tested positive for COVID-19, are ranked No. 21 in Monday's AP poll.
The Cougars toppled No. 17 Florida State on Thursday then won the title by taking down No. 22 West Virginia 58-57 on Saturday. Shaylee Gonzales put the finishing touches on a tournament MVP showing by making two decisive free throws with 3.1 seconds left. She scored 44 points in the two wins.
"Shaylee was unbelievable, said assistant coach Lee Cummard, filling in for head coach Jeff Judkins who was unable to make the trip. "Her effort is always off the charts. She’s proven time in and time out that she loves the big moment and isn’t afraid of it. Get her the ball and get out of the way.”
— The BYU basketball teams contributed to an impressive “no-loss November.” Men’s basketball (6-0), women’s basketball (7-0), football (3-0, including a win over USC), women’s volleyball (7-0) and women’s soccer (6-0 and a berth in the College Cup national semifinals) combined to go 29-0 in November.
— Saint Mary’s trekked to Vegas last week . . . to play in the relocated Maui Invitational for the first time. The Gaels (6-1) got no beach time but posted wins over Notre Dame (first ever) and Oregon to reach the championship game, where they were up by as many as 10 points in the second half before losing 61-55 to Wisconsin.
Coach Randy Bennett had a tough time being too disappointed after playing three games that will boost their strength-of-schedule rating. "That's why you come to this, the best college basketball tournament in the country, to play against really good teams," he said.
— The USF men defeated Morgan State then downed Towson and UAB to win the Las Vegas Invitational and reach 8-0 for the first time the 1976-77 season — 45 years ago. Those Dons, led by Bill Cartwright, started 29-0 and were No. 1 in the nation before losing to Notre Dame in their regular-season finale, then to UNLV in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
USF’s win over UAB on Friday night came courtesy of 23 points and 13 rebounds from Yauhen Massalski, a transfer from San Diego. “When we got him in the summer, I knew our team would get a lot better very quickly,” Dons coach Todd Golden said.
— Portland, hoping to begin a turnaround under first-year coach Shantay Legans, lost to Montana State 69-66 on Friday to open the Incarnate Word Tournament in San Antonio, then won twice on the weekend, including a comeback from 12 points down with less than 10 minutes left on Sunday vs. the tournament host. The Pilots are now 7-2. They won six games all of last season.
— The San Diego women got an unexpected lift from junior guard Ayanna Khalfani to beat Fresno State 68-64 on Friday. Khalfani had played just one game previously this season and was scoreless on the year as USD entered the fourth quarter trailing the Bulldogs 51-41.
The Toreros outscored Fresno 27-13 in the fourth, with Khalfani scoring her first 10 points of the season off the bench.
LAST WEEK’S BIG THING: Take your pick from any of the above. Our choice is Gonzaga’s 20-point win over UCLA in a rematch of their 2021 Final Four semifinal. The Zags left everyone breathless, no one more than ESPN’s Dick Vitale, who made a triumphant return to the sidelines after a battle with cancer.
THIS WEEK’S BIG THING, PART 1: Saint Mary’s get two stiff tests this week, starting Thursday at Utah State (5-1), which owns a win over Oklahoma. On Saturday the Gaels play at Colorado State (7-0), the preseason favorite in the Mountain West Conference.
THIS WEEK’S BIG THING, PART 2: Gonzaga will play its fourth Top-25 opponent of the season on Saturday night when it tangles with No. 10 Alabama in the Battle in Seattle.
ACCORDING TO THE COMPUTER: Gonzaga remains No. 1 in Ken Pomeroy’s national computer ratings. Duke is No. 6 and UCLA is No. 7.
BYU has climbed to No. 21, with USF and Saint Mary’s at Nos. 35 and 37, respectively.
AILING STAR: Santa Clara’s men are 5-2 after a 5-0 start while playing the past four games without senior forward Josip Vrankic, who is battling mononucleosis. A 2021 All-WCC first-team pick, the 6-foot-9 forward is averaging 16.3 points and 6.7 rebounds this season and is just 25 points shy of reaching 1,500 points for his career. The Broncos await his return.
STAT OF THE WEEK: Senior guard Lindsey VanAllen, in her 92nd career game at Santa Clara, scored a career-high 26 points as the Broncos improved to 4-1 with a 67-53 win over Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday.