Gonzaga Handles Pepperdine 96-56 in WCC Opener

Gonzaga opened WCC play Sunday night in Malibu by blowing the game open early and never letting it narrow. The 96-56 win over Pepperdine moves the Zags to 13-1 on the season and extended one of the longest win streaks in college basketball to 50-0 as Pepperdine kept searching for its first win over the Zags since 2002. The night nudged Gonzaga up to No. 4 in KenPom and pushed its defensive efficiency to second nationally, trailing only Michigan. It was a one-sided affair from start to finish despite some ugly ugly performances by a few Zags looking to get back on track and some stellar performances from a few now hitting their stride.

Pepperdine spent most of the night searching for workable offense while failing to even theorize about a workable defense. The Waves shot 34% from the field (26% from deep), struggled to find space inside, and were outscored 50-18 in the paint despite Graham Ike and Braden Huff combining for just 23 of Gonzaga’s total points.

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There were still moments that wandered and stretches that lacked polish, and games this lopsided tend to blur rather than sharpen evaluation, but Gonzaga’s night in Malibu left far more to build on than to pick apart.

Defense Shines

Pepperdine struggled to create space against Gonzaga throughout the night, with most possessions ending in rushed decisions or heavily contested looks. Pepperdine’s Aaron Clark and Styles Phipps combined to go 3-22 on the night while the Waves finished 5-19 from three, a credit once again to the Emmanuel Innocenti / Jalen Warley combo that’s been locking everyone down from the perimeter. Similarly, turnovers piled up often enough to flip the floor, with Gonzaga converting 14 of them into 24 points. Much of the disruption came from activity around the rim, where Tyon Grant-Foster recorded a team-high four blocks, including a couple of recoveries that erased shots late in the possession after initial breakdowns. Throughout the game, there were moments where help arrived a beat…

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Publish date : 2025-12-29 05:30:00

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