Coming into the game Gonzaga had to do a great job guarding the perimeter against the unique offensive system Pepperdine is employing this year. The Waves offense is predicated on shooting only 3 pointers or lay-ins, and features four guards constantly attacking and looking to take the first open shot. This system creates mismatches and is much different than any other offense Gonzaga has faced this year, but Gonzaga more than met the challenge, forcing Pepperdine to under 20% shooting and holding them to only five 3 pointers, both season lows for the Waves. From the opening tap PMAC, Derek, and Pargo did a nice job of keeping the Waves’ guards from driving to the basket and contesting the numerous 3 point shots, and the big guys all did a fantastic job of rotating into help side and blocking shots if Pepperdine did get to the basket. Heytvelt was the most impressive of Gonzaga’s inside players at the defensive end, blocking three shots almost immediately upon entering the game and sending the message that there would be no easy lay-ups for the undersized Waves. The Bulldogs were able to finish up their defensive possessions with a monstrous rebound effort, in which they beat a very small Pepperdine squad by 20 boards. Pepperdine's constant attacking style, based on a dribble weave with guards looking to penetrate, get back cuts or shoot the 3 can be hard to prepare for and difficult to guard, as demonstrated by the fact they are averaging 81 points a game, but tonight the Zags did a nice job of challenging everything the Waves did and changing defenses in order to keep Pepperdine off balance. Statistically tonight’s defensive effort was the best of the year and one of the best in the program’s history.

Not only is Pepperdine difficult to prepare for offensively, their defense is equally hard to face because it is also extremely unique. The Waves play a high-pressure full court defense, where they constantly look for steals and double-teams, making it almost impossible for any offense to run their half court sets. What this defense does, or at least attempts to do, is make the opponent get out of their comfort zone and make poor choices, leading to bad shots and turnovers. Since Pepperdine’s chaotic defense makes set plays difficult to execute, the way to attack it is take care of the ball and look for easy shots created by Pepperdine mistakes when they gamble and miss, or to take advantage of mismatches inside because of the Waves lack of interior size and strength. Early in the game Gonzaga made a point to attack inside, where Mallon, Heytvelt and at times Pendo had significant height advantages. Mallon once again got off to great start and had another very solid all-around game, his fourth huge game in a row, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Josh came in early, due to foul trouble on Kuso, and instantly made his presence felt in a huge way, both offensively and defensively. Josh dominated the game as he had some of the earlier preseason games, and hopefully tonight’s huge game will bolster his confidence and he will continue to score, rebound and block shots like he did tonight and become the most imposing interior player in the WCC. Pendo also took advantage of being guarded by a Pepperdine guard and attacked the basket strong in the first half, on his way to contributing 10 points. The 45 points that Gonzaga’s big men produced tonight were the key offensively to the Zag’s win, because they needed to contribute with their distinctive height advantage in order for Gonzaga to control the game. While the Bulldog’s backcourt struggled to score, outside of Derek who once again led the Zags with 19 points and caught fire in the middle of the second half, they played well in other aspects of the game. As mentioned earlier, all four GU guards played very well defensively, while Derek and Jeremy were great on the glass and dishing the ball, especially Pargo who had an extremely impressive 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Gonzaga also did a much better job as a team tonight at limiting their turnovers. While the Zags did have 15 turnovers which is slightly higher than optimal, it was a huge improvement over recent games, especially considering the high pressure defense Pepperdine plays which usually creates a high turnover count.

After an impressive opening weekend to WCC play at home, the Zags now hit the road and must take with them the good play they had this weekend, especially at the defensive end where they gave up only a 114 points in two games. To date Gonzaga has struggled on opponents’ home floors, but if the Zags can continue to get the great individual performances they received this weekend and play well as a team they should be able to win on the road, which is where league championsips are won.