West Coast Conference Notebook
by Brad Best
With six of the eight teams in conference sweeping their opponents or getting swept, there is a little more separation from top to bottom in the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga continues to power its way through the conference schedule as Adam Morrison and J.P. Batista unleash a combined total of nearly 50 points a night on their foes. San Diego evened up its conference record and Pepperdine came away with two surprising victories. Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara are competing for the biggest disappointment award as both have just one victory in conference.
Gonzaga (17-3 overall, 7-0 WCC) Last week, 2-0.
The only real question is whether Gonzaga will go undefeated in the West Coast Conference. They had a scare down in San Diego recently but other than that they have handled the rest of the field in short order. Maybe someone will catch them on an off night when they see them for a second time this season. A top-ranked Gonzaga is good for the WCC, but it is discouraging for the remainder of the pack.
Loyola Marymount (8-13, 5-2) Last week, 1-1.
After beating up on St. Mary’s, the Lions were tamed by Pepperdine on Saturday. So how good are these Lions? Certainly they’ve shown themselves to be more formidable than their 3-11 non-conference record would indicate. All indications are that they are for real and will finish in the top half of the conference. How they do this week will be telling as they must go on the road to face San Francisco and San Diego.
San Francisco (8-11, 4-2) Last week, 1-1.
As expected the Dons lost to Gonzaga but managed to beat Santa Clara last week. This team should do no worse than 1-1 this week with an away game at Saint Mary’s followed by a home game against Loyola Marymount. If they can continue to play .500 or better, they should set themselves up for a decent run in the conference tournament. Considering that they started the year 4-9, they’ve had a nice turnaround and come together just in time for conference play.
San Diego (13-6, 3-3) Last week, 2-0.
Winning one at home and notching their first conference road win of the season, the Toreros are back to .500 in conference. If they go and do likewise this week, they’ll be back in the hunt for second place. Ross DeRogatis has 10 three pointers in the last two games and freshman Gyno Pomare has made big contributions from the bench. This helps ease the burden of team scoring leader Nick Lewis.
Pepperdine (7-12, 3-4) Last week, 2-0.
With two solid wins last week, the Waves lifted themselves out of the conference cellar and moved ahead of three teams that went 0-2 for the week. Not bad. Tashaan Forehan-Kelly scored a career-high 35 points to lead the Waves to victory over Loyola Marymount. But Forehand-Kelly and Michael Gerrity can’t do all the work. Someone else will need to join them in double figures for them to continue their winning ways. Let’s see if last week was the start of something special or merely one good week.
Portland (8-11, 2-5) Last week, 0-2.
With their second-leading scorer, Darren Cooper, sidelined with an injury, the Pilots came up a little short against San Diego and were overmatched by Gonzaga. Pooh Jetter is a scoring machine, but the Pilots need to find more ways to slow down the competition. Marcus Lewis came off the bench against San Diego and proved to be a good scoring option down low. He posted 15 points against San Diego and 16 against Gonzaga. Only one game this week, and it’s at home against lowly Saint Mary’s, so the Waves will have a good opportunity to inch their way away forward.
Saint Mary’s (8-10, 1-5) Last week, 0-2.
The expectations were high for the Gaels this season following their impressive run a year ago, but this is largely a new crop of players and they haven’t found ways to win the games that are within their grasp. They couldn’t hold the lead at home against San Diego last week and now the future looks dim. Daniel Kickert continues to post solid numbers every night and is the lone bright spot in a tough season.
Santa Clara (8-10, 1-5) Last week, 0-2.
Having dropped their last five games and with two tough foes on this week’s schedule, the Broncos appear to be down for the count. They did battle mightily against USF last week and could prove to be a spoiler down the stretch if other teams look past them. The Broncos will likely be 1-7 and have the cellar all to themselves by the end of the week.
