Pepperdine Recap

As some of you have pointed out, my pre-season prediction of Pepperdine's record has proved to be 100% correct, while at the same time picking the wrong team in their matchups 50% of the time. This goes to show my brilliance/ignorance, and either way i will proudly brag about it to all that will listen (for the record autocorrect just informed me that i spelled brilliance wrong).





Much like my record Gonzaga's most recent win should be something that they should brag about, and be ashamed about at the same time. Gonzaga won again, and started its WCC season off on the right foot, however they shot their worst FG % of the season at 43.4 %. Despite the 43% Gonzaga actually shot better than most of Pepperdines opponents, which was holding teams to a WCC best 39%.



Many of the Gonzaga "stars" came out sluggish (or in Olynyks case, didnt really show up till the second half again) and it could be argued that Mike Hart and David Stockton were the MVPs. If the NCAA were to keep +/- stats on playing time I am confident they would be among the leaders for this game. Stockton was able to grab 4 steals while Hart was able to dish out five assists, both team highs despite their limited minutes.

Lorne Jackson would agree with this saying,  'I think he (Stockton) was the difference-maker in the game.  He came out with a lot of energy, got a few steals in the first half and he just got their offense running and going out in transition."

Pepperdine showed plenty of fight during the game and did not seem content to merely just challenge the WCC powerhouse., as many players and coaches expressed frustration at their current losing streak to GU and their plans to take revenge in Spokane.

 Pepperdine will continue to be a tough out this season with their stingy defense and their tough guard play, and I will continue to brag about picking their record (sort of) 100% correct!