Pepperdine at Gonzaga Preview

Gonzaga forward Michael Ajayi has been playing spectacularly and now welcomes his former team to the Kennel on Saturday, February 15th at 7 PM PT on ESPN+/KHQ.

It was a special night honoring Gonzaga coach Mark Few’s remarkable run with Team USA in the Paris Olympics before an important 88-77 victory over San Francisco. But it’s time to move on and keep this train rolling because the most important stretch of West Coast Conference play against all three Bay Area programs starts next week.

Before that, Gonzaga welcomes Pepperdine to the Kennel and Michael Ajayi has some more sweet satisfaction on the mind against his former team. The 6’7 junior forward has turned on a mental switch in his head and is playing out of this world as of late.

He’s been crashing the glass like no one’s business and locking in defensively while causing shot clock violations. Ajayi’s energy is infectious on the defensive end as this group as whole seems to have changed their habits and mindset on that side of the floor.

Since the 98-60 win at Portland back on January 25th, the Zags have allowed opponents to average just 62.5 points per game through the last six games. Few continues to mess with the lineup and rotation depending on the upcoming matchup to perfection.

Ajayi has also been showcasing his abilities to hit pull-up mid-range jumpers and put back shots off misses. When he scores in double figures, Gonzaga is 6-1 on the season. The floor seems to open up with his offense and the rest falls into place for Few’s group.

One aspect of this team’s offense that continues to look bleak is their inability to hit from beyond the arc. In the last four games, Gonzaga is 14-for-71 on three-pointers which translates to an unattractive 19.7 percent. It starts with Khalif Battle and Nolan Hickman who are just a combined 4-for-31 during that stretch (12.9 percent). This group won’t be able to win games in March with that low of a percentage from those two key cogs.

Player to Watch For:

Moe Odum (junior, guard) – 11.7 PPG on 42.9 FG%/35.9 3PT/82.4 FT%, 7.2 APG (second most in the WCC), 1.5 SPG (tied for seventh in the WCC)

There isn’t just one elite passer in the West Coast Conference this season. This will be a battle of floor generals between Pepperdine point guard Moe Odum and Gonzaga point guard Ryan Nembhard.

The Pacific transfer in Odum is sixth in the country in assists, while the Creighton transfer in Nembhard is first at 9.9 per game. If you love guard play and those who direct the flow of an offense to its highest potential, then this is the matchup for you.

Looking back to the first meeting between these two programs on December 30th, Odum went berserk offensively while dropping 24 points and eight assists. In fact, most of those points came when the Zags gave up a 20-point lead halfway through the second half. Fortunately, Gonzaga pulled out the victory in Malibu to open up conference play, 89-82.

Nembhard had his best all-around offensive performance this season (which is saying a lot) against the Dons this past Thursday night. He put up a season-high 15 field goal attempts while chipping 19 points and 13 assists. That aggressiveness with his own shot selection while still finding his teammates for high-percentage looks is almost impossible to stop for defender. He’s one of the best point guards that the conference has ever seen and is now just within 25 assists of Saint Mary’s Emmett Naar’s single-season record.

It’s worth pointing that in the 31st straight conquer over the Dons, the Zags had six players score in double-figures (Ryan Nembhard with 18 points, Graham Ike with 18 points, Michael Ajayi with 12 points, Braden Huff with 12 points, Ben Gregg with 11 points). Few was especially thrilled to be not as reliant on Ike and Nembhard as they have so much in the past this season.

“Everybody kind of delivered in their own way which was good. We weren’t quite as Graham or Ryan dependent tonight.” – Gonzaga coach Mark Few

Gonzaga (19-7, 10-3) is riding a three-game winning streak and are in sole possession of second place in the conference standings. They currently stand No. 12 in the KenPom rankings and No. 14 in the NET rankings before heading into the weekend. Don’t fall off the wagon and be pushed around by Pepperdine (10-16, 4-9) on Saturday.

The Waves are the fourth best rebounding team in the West Coast Conference at 36.1 per game while the Zags are second at 39.4. Keeping the likes of senior 6’10 forward Boubacar Coulibaly (7.0 rebounds per game), 6’9 sophomore forward Dovydas Butka (6.7 rebounds per game), and 6’8 senior forward Stefan Todorovic (6.0 rebounds per game) in the frontcourt off the glass is important.

Unlike against San Francisco, it would be a truly positive sign to see Gonzaga get off to a fast start out the gates. Definitely saw an improvement on how the Zags can close out opponents in a tight-knit affair.

Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho