Key matchup: WCC’s top facilitators will go head to head when Gonzaga takes on Pacific

STOCKTON, Calif. – Through 21 games this season, eight players have led Pacific in scoring and nine more in rebounding. At 6-15 overall and 0-6 in West Coast Conference play, the Tigers won’t give Gonzaga the same headaches they’ve encountered game planning for teams in the upper tier of the conference, but their offensive balance can still make things difficult, especially on short prep.

It also makes things challenging for key matchup purposes.

After sorting through the options, which included senior guards Judson Martindale, Nick Blake and Donovan Williams, we landed on an underclassman in Leonard Perry’s backcourt: sophomore point guard Moe Odum.

Odum may be as good a bet as anyone else to lead Pacific in scoring when the Tigers host Gonzaga on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Alex Spanos Center, but the second-year starter is nearly a guarantee to be their top distributor. Only five players have led Pacific in assists and Odum’s done it in 15 of the team’s 21 games, averaging 4.7 assists per game to go with 8.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and a team-high 1.3 steals.

A Bronx, New York, native, Odum was the only player on Pacific’s roster to earn all-conference honors last season, on the five-player All-WCC Freshman Team. It’s been tough sledding for Odum and the Tigers this season, particularly on the offensive end of the floor, where Pacific ranks No. 335 nationally, averaging only 65 points per game.

Saint Mary’s became the latest team to neutralize Pacific, holding the Tigers to 10 field goals in a 76-28 romp in Moraga, California, Thursday night. The Gaels eliminated Odum as an offensive threat, holding the sophomore to three points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field and limited him to two assists – the point guard’s fewest since he had zero assists in a Feb. 9 game against Fresno State.

Saturday’s game in Stockton will still feature the conference’s assist leaders, with Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard (6.4 apg) going head-to-head against Pacific’s Odum. If only conference games are taken into account, Nembhard’s averaging 7.8 assists per game and owns an assist-to-turnover ratio of 6.7. The GU point guard is also averaging 13.2 ppg in the WCC.

Nembhard and backcourt mate Nolan Hickman were able to contain a bigger point guard on Thursday against USF, limiting 6-foot-8 Dons sophomore Mike Sharavjamts to three points and one assist. Expect those two to take turns guarding Odum Saturday night.