West Coast Conference Second Round Preview | |||
Preview by Mitch Schneider (7) Loyola Marymount vs. (3) Pepperdine Tonight’s showdown should be another close one as both LMU and Pepperdine carry plenty of momentum into Santa Clara’s Leavey Center. The Lions have won four of six and are enjoying their first winning season since 1996. Not to be outdone, the Waves have won five of six and boast the league’s leading scorer in junior forward Yakhouba Diawara (18.5 ppg). There’s much at stake for both the Lions and Waves since both are in desperate need of a victory to keep their post-season hopes alive. Hoopville prediction: LMU 73, Pepperdine 70 (5) Santa Clara vs. (4) San Francisco Fortunately the Broncos have home-court advantage in this one, and they also have nine competent players who can rotate in and out to defend against USF’s solid starting five. If Santa Clara can continue its offensive prowess and keep the Dons’ John Cox (8.0 rpg) and Tyrone Riley (7.1 rpg) off the glass, the Broncos could stampede into Sunday’s semifinal with top-seeded Gonzaga. Hoopville prediction: Santa Clara 65, San Francisco 57
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