Gonzaga is the remaining unbeaten team in conference play in WCC Basketball. The Bulldogs look to remain that way against the Portland Pilots.
TV schedule: Saturday, January 19, 10:00 pm ET. Check Local Listings
Arena: Chiles Center in Portland, Oregon
Coming off of a thrilling road win at the very talented San Francisco Dons, Gonzaga Basketball 17-2 (4-0) returned home this Thursday to handle LMU, 73-55. Zach Norvell Jr. led all scorers with 17 points, while Brandon Clarke was perfect from the field (5/5) while adding three more blocks to the Bulldog‘s all-time record.
Gonzaga is the lone unbeaten team in conference play but will start a three-game road trip beginning this weekend at Portland 7-12 (0-4). As expected, the Pilots are at the bottom of the WCC, with three of the four losses coming by 12+ points. They’re coming off of a 76-55 home loss to San Diego, where sophomore Marcus Shaver led all scorers with 21 points. He was the only Portland player to reach double figures in the game.
Shaver is the Pilot’s leading scorer at 15.2 ppg, with Jojo Walker and Josh McSwiggan also averaging 12.6 and 11.6 ppg respectively. But this isn’t a high scoring team, ranked near the 300’s at 68.7 ppg. That’s a near 30 point difference to the Bulldogs, nearly dropping 100 a game.
As mentioned before, this is the first of a three-game road swing for Gonzaga, with trips to Santa Clara and BYU coming to round out the month. It’s the beginning of a tough stretch for the Bulldogs, with home games against San Diego, San Francisco and Saint Mary’s to follow.
In a pair of blowouts last season, Gonzaga averaged around 100 ppg in the two wins over Portland, and not much seems to have changed. In a battle between the best and the worst in the WCC, it should be a no-contest from the get go to the Bulldogs’ delight.