Did you do that? Don't lie to your computer screen. Did you? Okay, now that we've gotten the holiday out of the way let's get right into the WCC action for today.
7:00 PM PST
Loyola Marymount Lions at Pepperdine Waves
Firestone Fieldhouse, Malibu, California.
LMU is 8-15 on the season, 1-10 in WCC play and currently on an eight game losing streak.
Pepperdine is 11-13 on the season, 3-8 in WCC play and currently on a one game winning streak.
Radio: KXLU 88.9 FM in the Los Angeles area.
Online: Live video from WCC Digital and live audio from KXLU.
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Portland Pilots at San Francisco Dons
War Memorial Gymnasium, San Francisco, California.
Portland is 9-17 on the season, 2-9 in WCC play and currently on a one game losing streak.
San Francisco is 11-13 on the season, 4-7 in WCC play and currently on a two game winning streak.
Radio: KPDQ 800 AM in the Portland area.
Online: Live video from WCC Digital and live audio from KPDQ.
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San Diego Toreros at Santa Clara Broncos
Leavey Center, Santa Clara, California.
San Diego is 13-13 on the season, 6-5 in WCC play and currently on a one game losing streak.
Santa Clara is 17-8 on the season, 5-5 in WCC play and currently on a two game losing streak.
Radio: KDOW 1220 AM in the Bay Area and XX 1090 AM in San Diego.
8:00 PM PST
#5/#3 Gonzaga Bulldogs at Saint Mary's Gaels
McKeon Pavilion, Moraga, California.
Gonzaga is 23-2 on the season, 10-0 in WCC play and currently on a six game winning streak.
Saint Mary's is 21-4 on the season, 10-1 in WCC play and currently on a nine game winning streak.
TV: ESPN2 and ESPN Australia.
Radio: KGA 1510 AM in the greater Spokane area, KMAS 1030 AM in the Puget Sound area, KALE 930 AM in the Lower Columbia Basin and 1490 AM in the Walla Walla area.
Online: Live video from WatchESPN, Live audio from KGA.
LMU at Pepperdine
Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount will be battling for the PCH Cup. This might not be an intense or well known rivalry, especially in comparison to the nightcap game tonight, but it is a rivalry. As the two schools state "Two schools, one road, 19.1 miles of rivalry." They are very close to each other, seriously. I drove from LMU to Pepperdine after the WCC Tip-Off event back in October and was shocked that, even at the start of rush hour, it only took 20 or so minutes. That was one of the most beautiful drives I've ever been on, I can see why they fight this turf war.
I don't want to give up on a team but it's pretty hard not to give up on LMU at this point. Thank goodness they have that inexplicable win over Santa Clara because otherwise the Lions would be looking at a very possible win-less WCC season. After Pepperdine the only real chance at a win they have left this season is when San Francisco visits in one week.
Pepperdine has a pretty bad defense and LMU has a pretty bad offense. However, the Waves have a stingy two point defense (68th in the nation) and the Lions are absolutely awful at making twos (312th in the nation).
Anthony Ireland is a great guard but it's been shown all season long that he can't make wins on his own. There is a decent amount of talent on the Lions roster but it just hasn't come together this year.
Portland at San Francisco
The Dons' De'End Parker is the reigning WCC Player of the Week thanks to his 23 point effort in the Dons' come from behind upset of BYU, 99-87, last week. The Dons' offense is one of the best in the WCC and that's saying a lot considering the three offenses above them are range from very good (BYU) to elite (Saint Mary's) to best in the nation (Gonzaga). They lead the WCC and are sixth nationally in three point percentage and rank in the top 100 in the nation of most tempo-free offensive statistics. However, they can't grab an offensive rebound to save their life. The Dons are 341st out of 347 teams in OR%. A bad shooting night from the Dons can keep the Pilots in the game.
That is, if the Pilots offense can keep them in the game. The Pilots offense ranks last in the WCC in FG%, eFG%, 2pt%, 3pt%, Floor% and points per possession. The only things the Pilots are good at are getting to the line and grabbing offensive rebounds. However, they only shoot 67.9% from the line. Couple that with their horrible shooting from the field and you get 35.3, that's the percentage of possessions that result in points for the Pilots. It's going to take a really awful shooting night from the Dons for the Pilots to outscore them at that rate.
Keep an eye on Cole Dickerson and Ryan Nicholas battling for boards, it's really the only even match up in this game.
San Diego at Santa Clara
How the heck is this game, at this point in the season, still set to be really good? Santa Clara has been playing well all season long. San Diego, not so much... they did get off to a hot start in conference play but that was against the WCC cellar. They're just .500 overall right now. Doesn't matter, they've got a lead in the conference standings over Santa Clara for the fourth spot in the standings. With BYU stumbling whoever wins this game has a shot at third place by the end of the season. Whoever loses probably misses out on a bye in the WCC Tournament.
San Diego has their duo of stellar sophomore guards Johnny Dee and Christopher Anderson. Santa Clara has their version with Evan Roquemore and Kevin Foster. Pretty even match up there. However the Toreros have no match for the third big name for the Broncos, Marc Trasolini. That said, the Toreros front court has been stepping up lately. They battled the Zags as well as any team has this year.
I've looked at stats for the other games today, but this one doesn't need stats. It's a do or die for both teams involved. The team that plays with the better emotion will win. There's no stat for wanting it more but that's what this one comes down to. These two squads can't get away from each other in the conference standings despite their vastly different overall body of work. Tonight is when the tangle of these two comes undone.
Gonzaga at Saint Mary's
This game gets its own article.
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