Gonzaga-San Diego key matchup: Isaiah Pineiro, Rui Hachimura back for more

It’s tempting to go with Olin Carter III, the sharp-shooting guard who scored 42 points in two losses to Gonzaga last season. He has returned from an abdominal injury that left him on the sidelines in GU’s 85-69 win two weeks ago.

But the nod still goes to senior forward Isaiah Pineiro. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound Pineiro torched the Zags for a career-high-tying 30 points two weeks ago. He showed off his perimeter touch with five 3-pointers and his ability to create and finish in the lane. Pineiro has five consecutive double-doubles and 11 this season.

Rui Hachimura drew the defensive assignment and acknowledged losing Pineiro behind the 3-point arc a few times, but he also helped slow Pineiro as the game progressed. Pineiro didn’t have much luck defending Hachimura, who scored 32 points.

Pineiro, the Toreros’ leading scorer, can expect to see a lot of Hachimura, some of Brandon Clarke, and possibly Jeremy Jones.