Gonzaga turns page to Pepperdine after big win over San Francisco

Feel free to play along: Which game might Gonzaga be tempted to overlook in its rugged closing stretch of the regular season?

A). Pepperdine. B). Washington State. C). Saint Mary’s. D). Santa Clara. E). San Francisco.

Trick question. The correct answer is F). None of the above, not if the Zags want to make a run at the West Coast Conference title and cement their NCAA Tournament credentials.

OK, it’s probably Pepperdine, but the Waves certainly should have Gonzaga’s undivided attention in Saturday’s meeting at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Zags’ 89-82 win in Malibu, California, in late December still represents the closest margin in Gonzaga’s 19 victories this season. In fact, Arizona State (88-80) is GU’s only other single-digit win.

The rub is Gonzaga’s remaining schedule is packed with Quad 1 games (Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara and San Francisco) and a Quad 2 (WSU) while Pepperdine, No. 229 in the NET rankings, checks in as a Quad 4.

Motivation won’t be an issue for Gonzaga senior forward Michael Ajayi, who played two seasons at Pepperdine before transferring to GU last March. Plus, he struggled in the first meeting with just two points and no rebounds in the December meeting.

“That’s the game I’m circling,” said Ajayi, who posted his second double-double (12 points, 10 boards) of the season in Thursday’s 88-77 win over San Francisco and reached double digits in scoring for the fourth time in the past six games. “Y’all watch out, going to be really aggressive. Good to play against my old team again. It’s going to be a fun game, for sure.”

Ajayi won’t see too many familiar faces in Pepperdine uniforms. The Waves have two returners – starting forward Boubacar Coulibaly and reserve guard David Mager. First-year head coach Ed Schilling brought in 12 newcomers, including seven transfers and four freshmen.

The Waves (10-16, 4-9 WCC) share eighth place with Portland after being picked last in the coaches’ preseason poll. They’ve swept last-place San Diego, including an 88-81 home win Thursday, and 10th-place Pacific.

The 6-foot-10 Coulibaly leads Pepperdine in rebounding (7.0) and is part of one of the tallest starting lineups Gonzaga has encountered this season. He’s joined by point guard Moe Odum, 6-8 forward Stefan Todorovic, 6-9 guard/forward Dovydas Butka and 6-10 Danilo Dozic. Pepperdine won the boards 47-33 against San Diego.

The Zags will be much shorter at a couple of spots if they stay with their recent starting five. Senior Khalif Battle, at 6-5, and either 6-foot Ryan Nembhard or 6-2 Nolan Hickman will likely defend somebody 6-8 or taller.

Todorovic ranks second in the WCC in scoring behind USF’s Malik Thomas at 19.0 points per game. The San Francisco transfer ranks tied for fourth with 2.1 made 3-pointers per game. Hickman is third at 2.2.

Todorovic scored 16 points in the home loss to GU but was just 5 of 15 from the field. He’s averaged 23.7 points over the past three games, including 30 vs. Washington State and 24 against San Diego. He’s elevated his 3-point accuracy to 39.4% by hitting 10 of his last 20. He also makes 85.4% at the foul line.

Odum torched Gonzaga for 24 second-half points and finished with eight assists. Freshman wing Jaxon Olvera scored 27 points, but he’s come off the bench in the past seven games and has only played more than 19 minutes once.

The Zags (19-7, 10-3) are one win away from their 28th straight season with at least 20 wins. They’ve defeated Pepperdine 48 consecutive times, the longest active streak and third longest in Division I history. The Waves’ last series win was 88-79 in January 2002.

“We can only control the one game that we have in front of us,” Zags senior post Graham Ike said. “Each and every time we have that one game we’re going to go out there and give it our all. That’s what we did (against San Francisco) and we’ll look to continue to do that. Even every day in practice, man, we only go so many of those.”