By Jeff Faraudo

Drew Timme had another one of those games on Saturday night where it felt like he didn’t miss a shot. Well, he missed one. The sophomore forward was 7 for 8 from the field and scored 21 points in 22 minutes as top-ranked Gonzaga ran its record fo 22-0 with a 106-69 sprint past San Diego.

A week ago at USF, he attempted 12 shots and made 11 of them.  Ridiculous stuff.

Timme has achieved what seemed unlikely a month ago, turning himself a legitimate candidate for West Coast Conference Player of the Year. For most of the season, that honor seemed certain to go to his teammate, senior Corey Kispert. 

But Timme has been as accurate as a Swiss timepiece the past 11 games, averaging 20.4 points on far-fetched 71-percent shooting from the field.

So, Mark Few, who would get your vote for Player of the Year?

“I’m always partial to seniors so I think it would be pretty easy for me. I’d go Corey Kispert,” the Zags coach said. “I just know how valuable he is on and off the floor. That’d be how I go.”

Through 22 games, Timme is averaging 19.1 points and Kispert is at 19.0. Virtually dead-even. But there’s no denying Kispert rose up in two of Gonzaga’s biggest non-conference games, scoring 23 points in a season-opening win over Kansas, then 32 in a rout of Virginia. 

Few appreciates the overflow of riches on his roster, also including Jalen Suggs, Joel Ayayi and others. But Kispert stands out to him.

“Incredible worker and an incredible player. He’s played himself into a high pick in the draft and it’s all because of the work he’s put in,” Few said of Kispert. “Gosh, he’s like the poster child for Gonzaga basketball.”

PLENTY AT STAKE THIS WEEK: WCC teams close out the regular season this week with seeding on the line for the conference tournament that is scheduled to run March 4-9 at Las Vegas.

The conference modified the final week’s schedule on the men’s side, adding games on Monday and Tuesday to create a 12-game slate. The women will play out their originally scheduled games.

Seeding this year will be determined by Ken Pomeroy’s newly created adjusted winning percentage formula, involving strictly results from WCC games. The change is intended to level the playing field in a season where COVID-19 cancellations led to scheduling disparity. 

Gonzaga and BYU are firmly entrenched as the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds for both the men and women, and they will receive byes into the tournament semifinals.

The Nos. 3 and 4 seeds are given byes into the quarterfinals, and the Pepperdine men and San Diego women are in good shape to lock up the No. 3 spots. But the No. 4 slots still are up or grabs.

On the men’s side, Loyola Marymount (.493 per Sunday’s updated adjusted winning percentage), Saint Mary’s (.486) and Pacific (.485) all will pursue the No. 4 seed.

LMU plays twice this week: at Pepperdine on Thursday, at Gonzaga on Saturday. Saint Mary’s has three games: vs. Pepperdine on Monday, vs. Pacific on Thursday and at BYU on Saturday. Pacific also plays three: at San Diego on Tuesday, at Saint Mary’s on Thursday and vs. USF on Saturday.

The battle for the No. 4 spot in the women’s bracket looms as a duel between rivals Santa Clara (.541) and USF (.538). USF beat Santa Clara on Saturday, leaving both teams with matching 9-7 conference marks. They play identical schedules this week, each with home games against BYU and San Diego.

As a result, assuming both teams win or both lose, their positions will probably remain the same. And that is the most likely outcome. But if their results differ, the final seedings ladder could be altered.

Stay tuned. This week should be fun for all, except perhaps nervous coaches.

LONG-AWAITED VICTORY: The Santa Clara men hadn’t posted a win in their past seven scheduled games. The first five of those were scratched due to COVID-19 issues and the Broncos lost to Loyola Marymount and San Diego earlier this week to remain winless since Jan. 23.

Powered by 26 points and nine rebounds by Josip Vrankic, the Broncos (10-8, 4-4) ended the drought on Saturday with an 86-82 win over a Pepperdine that had won four of its previous five games.

UP TO THE CHALLENGE: Coming off their first defeat of the WCC schedule two days earlier at BYU, the Gonzaga women traveled to San Diego to take on the league’s most disruptive team. The Toreros are top-5 nationally in both steals and turnovers forced.

But the Zags (19-3, 14-1) won decisively, 69-47, in part because they were largely immune the USD’s pressure. Gonzaga coughed up just 14 turnovers — 10 fewer than San Diego opponents have averaged all season.

"Our team did a really good job handling pressure against a problematic defensive team," coach Lisa Fortier said. "I'm proud of the way we rallied and adjusted throughout the game.”

San Diego (12-6, 9-4) played without senior guard and steals leader Jordyn Edwards, who felt ill before the game. The Toreros shot just 28 percent and had 18 turnovers of their own.

A SENIOR BLOSSOMS: BYU’s Paisley Johnson Harding has found her rhythm and the Cougars are playing their best ball. BYU (16-3, 12-2) has won seven straight games and over the past six Harding has averaged 17.7 points. That’s a leap from 11.8 points through the season’s first 13 games.

The Cougars wrapped up their first unbeaten home record (9-0) in five seasons on Saturday with a 75-68 victory over defending WCC tournament champion Portland. Harding had 18 points and eight assists, while Shaylee Gonzales scored 26 and Lauren Gustin logged her 12th double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds.

KRIMILI KILLING IT: The USF women (13-9, 9-7) won for the eighth time in nine games with their 87-64 victory over Santa Clara (13-9, 9-7) on Saturday, and redshirt freshman guard Ioanna Krimili continues to be one of the reasons.

The native of Greece scored 20 points, including 6 for 8 on 3-point shots, and now owns the Dons’ single-season record with 78 baskets from beyond the arc.

Krimili has climbed to the top spot on the WCC scoring chart (18.3 points), and also leads the conference in 3-point accuracy (45.6 percent), 3-pointers per game (3.55) and free throw percentage (88.7).

GROUNDED PILOT: It’s been a difficult season all around for Portland, still looking for its first WCC victory. But it’s tougher still when senior guard Ahmed Ali is not on the floor.

The WCC’s third-leading scorer at 18.0 points per game, Ali has helped the Pilots average 71.4 points in the 16 games he’s played. He sat out the past games with foot issues and without him in four games this season the team’s offensive production skidded to 57.5 points per game.