Orleans Arena – Las Vegas, NV
Tip-off: Monday, 9:00 p.m. ET
Line: Gonzaga -14.0

#7 Gonzaga looks to breeze past Pepperdine Monday in order to advance to the West Coast Conference Tournament Finals.

Pepperdine is coming off of a 50-47 victory as a 2-point underdog against San Diego on Saturday. The Waves have won-and-covered in their past two games and three of their past four. They are also 4-1 ATS in their past five games. #7 Gonzaga, meanwhile, is coming off of an 81-72 victory over San Francisco as a 16.5-point favorite. It was the Bulldogs’ first game since losing 73-70 at home against BYU on Feb. 28. While Gonzaga is 5-1 SU in its past six games, the team is just 2-4 ATS in those contests. It is not playing as well offensively as it usually does, averaging just 70.0 PPG over the past four games. These two teams have met twice this season, with Gonzaga winning both games SU but losing both ATS. Gonzaga has dominated this head-to-head series, winning 28 games SU against Pepperdine. The Bulldogs are also 25-11-2 ATS in their past 38 meetings with the Waves. This season, however, this Pepperdine team is 8-0 ATS after a combined score of 115 points or less. Gonzaga, meanwhile, is 8-1 ATS after failing to cover four of five of its past six games over the past three seasons. F A.J. John (Illness) and G Amadi Udenyi (Achilles) are out for the season for Pepperdine. Gonzaga, meanwhile, could be without F Kyle Wiltjer (Hip), who is questionable after hurting himself in the Bulldogs’ last game. The team will already be missing G Josh Perkins (Jaw), who is out indefinitely.

Pepperdine has done a great job on the defensive end this season, allowing just 61.0 PPG (46th in NCAA). Where the team really struggles, however, is on the offensive end. The Waves are averaging just 63.8 PPG (269th in NCAA) on 42.7% shooting (218th in NCAA). F Stacy Davis (15.9 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.1 BPG) is this team’s most important offensive player. Davis has been on fire as of late, scoring 19+ in each of the past three games and also averaging 10.3 RPG and 1.7 BPG in those contests. Davis is very good when attacking the basket and can also knock down the outside shot (31% 3PT). He had 13 points and four rebounds when he played at Gonzaga on Feb. 14 and the team will need him to play even better in order to pull off an upset in this game. G Jeremy Major (8.5 PPG, 3.6 APG, 3.4 RPG, 1.5 SPG) is also going to need to play very well for Pepperdine in this one. Major is the team’s best remaining passer and playmaker after the team dealt with a blow to their backcourt due to injuries. He had just six points (3-for-16 FG, 0-for-7 3PT) at Gonzaga on Feb. 14, and was absolutely awful in that one. He is going to need to shoot the ball a lot better on Monday or the Waves won’t have much of a chance of advancing. F Jett Raines (10.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG) also struggled in the most recent loss to Gonzaga. He played 32 minutes and had just six points (3-for-9 FG) in a game where he didn’t shoot the ball well. Raines is a good player when he gets near the basket and he must earn some easy buckets on Monday.

Gonzaga has struggled offensively over the past few games but this is a team that averages 78.8 PPG (14th in NCAA) on a remarkable 52.4% shooting (1st in NCAA). The Bulldogs pass the ball extremely well (16.5 APG, 9th in NCAA) and also make their presence felt on the glass (37.9 RPG, 32nd in NCAA). They’ve been playing great on the defensive end this season, allowing just 60.5 PPG (37th in NCAA). F Kyle Wiltjer (16.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.0 APG) is the leading scorer for this team. Wiltjer is capable of scoring around the basket, but is also one of the best shooters in the nation from the outside (45% 3PT). If he were to sit this one out then it would be a major blow to the Bulldogs. With Wiltjer either out or playing banged up, F Domantas Sabonis (9.6 PPG, 7.0 RPG) could see a slight increase in minutes. Sabonis had just four points and seven boards in 21 minutes against San Francisco on Saturday, but he had averaged 11.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG in the previous two contests. He is one of the best finishers around the rim and is shooting the ball extremely accurately this season (68% FG). Once he gets two feet in the paint he is nearly impossible to guard and he will need to abuse Pepperdine down low in this one. G Kevin Pangos (11.6 PPG, 5.0 APG, 1.3 SPG) is also going to need to end his struggles as a scorer if Wiltjer isn’t ready to play at a high level. Pangos, like Wiltjer, is one of the better shooters in the nation (44% 3PT) and he will need to knock down some shots on Monday. G Gary Bell Jr. (8.1 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.0 APG) is averaging just 5.5 PPG (3-for-10 FG) over the past two games. He is a veteran that this team will be relying on to produce in the NCAA tournament and he will need to find his stroke in the WCC tournament in order to head into the dance with some confidence. C Przemek Karnowski (10.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.0 BPG) had 24 points, four rebounds and two blocks in 29 minutes against San Francisco. His size is going to give him a major advantage over whoever he is matched up against the rest of the way, and he’ll need to perform at a high level Monday.