Gonzaga-San Francisco key matchup: Zags’ Josh Perkins, Dons’ Frankie Ferrari familiar rivals

Gonzaga’s Josh Perkins and San Francisco’s Frankie Ferrari have been going at it for years, so Saturday’s showdown will be nothing new for the senior point guards.

“First off, he’s got one of the coolest names ever,” Perkins said. “He’s a high-volume guy, he touches the ball a lot. He makes the right play every time, can shoot the 3, loves to hit the roll, real handsy on defense. Tremendous leader and point guard.”

Ferrari’s stats (13.3 points, 5.7 assists) aren’t as eye-catching as his impact. The 6-foot, 188-pounder orchestrates the offense, getting everybody involved and scoring when necessary. He had a rough shooting night against Pepperdine but hit a huge 3-pointer with 14 seconds left. He scored a season-high 19 points in a narrow win over Saint Mary’s. He had 15 of his 17 points in the second half against Stanford.

Ferrari leads the West Coast Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.6), despite posting 11 assists and an uncharacteristic nine turnovers in two wins last week. Perkins is second at 3.3.

The two will probably guard each other at the outset, one of several interesting backcourt battles between GU’s Zach Norvell Jr. and Corey Kispert and USF’s Jordan Ratinho and Charles Minlend. Geno Crandall is an option on Ferrari and any of the Dons’ guards/wings in this clash for first place in the WCC.

“I can remember back when I was a little kid, coming to games and (the Dons) winning, and they’d storm the court,” Ferrari said. “I’m sure it’ll be a great environment and everyone’s pretty fired up.”