It was not the most beautiful of efforts, but it is such a standard that the Gonzaga Bulldogs have set for themselves this season that a 95-70 victory over Pepperdine Waves seemed a below average result for the country’s No. 1 team.
Gonzaga’s Big Four produced 80 of the team’s 95 points. Corey Kispert led all scorers with 23 points and 8 rebounds, while Drew Timme (20 points, 7 rebounds), Joel Ayayi (19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals) and Jalen Suggs (18 points) each took different positions. points in the evening to help the Zags end the game.
Gonzaga did not seem to be the best attack in the country in the first minutes of the game. Based on the action on the ground, it looked like Gonzaga, not Pepperdine, was the team that was playing their first game in 23 days.
The beautiful basketball we saw this season took a while to get out of the gates. Fortunately for Gonzaga, the Waves were unable to capitalize on the host’s slow start, as they only managed three goals in the first seven minutes of the game.
Whether it was Pepperdine’s defense (it wasn’t) or the Zags just hitting each other with a disgusting basketball (it was), there wasn’t much to like during the first half. Both teams ground up a bunch of disconnected offensive objects that hurt my eyes. This is not uncommon for the Waves, who suffered consecutive losses before their break at COVID, but it is shocking to see that from Gonzaga simply because of the infrequency that this happens.
Even with Pepperdine’s Colbey Ross (9 points on 2-10 FG, 7 assists and 6 spins) on the bench for several minutes to end the first half thanks to problems, Gonzaga failed to make a run for a significant split. Outside Ayayi (14 points, 4 steals), it was a first time to forget Gonzaga, who had a 43-39 lead in the break with the low margin thanks to a bell hitting three from Pepperdine’s Darryl Polk Jr., that it was inexplicably allowed to run freely across the floor in the final seconds to get a straight shot.
The start of the second half featured some promising possessions from the Zags, which exhibited the expected execution and completion of the country’s top team. Even so, Gonzaga failed to open the game and was soon back to the intriguing game that marked the first half – good plays here and there peppered with wrong passes and low percentage shots to kill the momentum.
Despite what seemed inevitable, Waves held on for much longer than expected and continued to put pressure on the Zags to keep the game going.
Part of Pepperdine’s success in keeping pace with Gonzaga was his success in bottling Timme for the first 25 minutes. The sophomore pivot was in the middle of his worst game of the season before making a consecutive conversion and a circus stroke in the second half that started his game and his team.
Kispert was also a monster during the second half, showing the ability to throw the bow that elevated him to the elite of college basketball and to the consideration of the NBA Draft lottery.
The final score will make it look like it was another routine victory for the Zags, but the Waves fought bravely. Although the dam that is Gonzaga’s offense eventually broke through on them, they looked like the team at the beginning of the season that could be the third best team in the conference.
For the Zags, the coaching staff will have a lot of footage of this effort to highlight during training in the coming weeks, to keep them on the lookout as they prepare for the tournament game.