Jan. 24, 2005
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WCC Player of the Week
USF's Jerome Gumbs Earns Weekly Honor
San Francisco junior wing Jerome Gumbs is this week's WCC Player of the Week after posting a pair of double-doubles in the Dons' wins over No. 11 Gonzaga and Portland. Gumbs scored a team-high 18 points to go along with a career-high 13 rebounds in USF's 73-70 win over the Zags. He followed that performance up with a career-high 27 points to go along with 11 rebounds in USF's 74-70 overtime win over UP. On the week, the Virgin Islands native averaged 22.5 ppg and 12 rpg. In addition, Gumbs shot an impressive 61 percent (17-28) from the field and didn't commit a single turnover in 74 minutes of action.
Upcoming Schedule
Jan. 27
# San Diego at Saint Mary's - 7:00 pm
# San Francisco at Santa Clara - 7:00 pm
Jan. 29
# San Diego at Santa Clara - 7:00 pm
# Pepperdine at Loyola Marymount - 7:05 pm !
# Portland at No. 17 Gonzaga - 8:00 pm $
Jan. 30
# San Francisco at Saint Mary's - 12:00 pm %
# Denotes WCC game; ! Televised live on FSN West 2; $ Televised live on ESPN2; % Televised live on FSN Bay Area
Around The WCC
WCC No. 7/No. 8 In Latest Conference Rankings
The West Coast Conference maintained its No. 7 ranking in the latest Collegiate Basketball News men's RPI ranking. The No. 7 ranking, which the WCC achieved last week, is the highest ever RPI listing in conference history. The WCC improved to No. 8 in the Sagarin conference ratings, up from last week's No. 9 listing. The WCC is also one of just four conferences in the country that boast all of its member institutions with top 150 Sagarin ratings. The ACC, the Big East and the Pac-10 are the others.
WCC Versus The Ranked
With San Francisco's win over No. 11 Gonzaga last week, five different WCC teams have now knocked off a ranked opponent. The five different teams beating ranked opponents puts the WCC in elite company as it is tied with the SEC for the fifth most teams from one conference to knock off a ranked opponent this season. Only the ACC, the Big East, the Big 12 and Conference USA boast more teams with wins over ranked opponents than the WCC. Gonzaga (def. No. 14 Washington, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Oklahoma State), Pepperdine (def. No. 17 Wisconsin), Saint Mary's (def. No. 11 Gonzaga), San Francisco (def. No. 11 Gonzaga) and Santa Clara (def. No. 3 North Carolina) are the WCC teams with wins over ranked opponents.
Double Trouble
Twenty-five different West Coast Conference players have recorded at least one double-double this season. Gonzaga's Ronny Turiaf, Pepperdine's Glen McGowan and San Francisco's Tyrone Riley have each notched six double-doubles to lead the way. WCC players have combined to record 52 double-doubles on the season.
Games To Watch
San Diego at Santa Clara - Sat., January 29 at 7:00 PM
The San Diego Toreros head to Santa Clara to take on the Broncos in a matchup between two teams looking to make some noise in the conference standings. The Broncos sit atop the WCC standings with Saint Mary's with identical 4-1 records, while the Toreros, who are two games back, look to make up some ground with a road win.
Portland At Gonzaga - Sat., January 29 at 8:00 PM
In a matchup between Pacific Northwest rivals, the Portland Pilots head to Spokane to face the No. 17 Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Pilots, who are looking to snap a two-game losing skid, were the last WCC team to defeat Gonzaga in Spokane, handing the Zags a 72-68 loss during the 2002-03 season.
San Francisco at Saint Mary's - Sun., January 30 at 12:00 PM
Bay Area rivals clash as San Francisco, coming off wins over Gonzaga and Portland, heads across the Bay to Moraga to take on the Saint Mary's Gaels. The Gaels enter the week tied with Santa Clara for first place in the conference standings with a 4-1 record. At 17-5, SMC is off to its best start since the 1988-89 season when the Gaels opened the season with a 22-3 mark.
WCC Team Notes
Gonzaga Bulldogs (14-4 / 4-2 WCC) - Head Coach: Mark Few
Gonzaga suffered a 73-70 setback at San Francisco, before bouncing back to defeat San Diego, 68-56 ... The loss to the Dons snapped the Zags' 12-game winning streak versus USF ... Junior Erroll Knight missed GU's game versus USF due to a sprained ankle, but was in the Zags' starting lineup in their win over USD ... Ronny Turiaf notched his sixth double-double of the season, and 20th of his career, versus USF with 18 points and 10 rebounds ... J.P. Batista poured in a career-high 22 points to go along with seven rebounds in the Zags' win over USD. Over GU's last eight games, Batista is averaging 14.9 ppg and 6.5 rpg ... GU returns to Spokane to host Portland on Jan. 29.
Loyola Marymount Lions (9-10 / 1-5 WCC) - Head Coach: Steve Aggers
The Lions' struggles continued last week, dropping a pair of home games to Santa Clara (68-57) and Saint Mary's (83-66) ... The Lions are in the midst of a five-game losing skid ... The Lions, who are already without starters Brandon Worthy and Adoyah Evans-Miller, played without starting power forward Daryl Pegram, who sat with a bad left knee ... Matthew Knight scored a team-high 20 points versus Santa Clara, while senior Charles Brown tossed in 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out seven assists ... Knight and Wes Wardrop led the Lions with 14 points versus Saint Mary's ... The Lions wrap up a short three-game homestand by hosting Pepperdine on Jan. 29.
Pepperdine Waves (12-9 / 2-4 WCC) - Head Coach: Paul Westphal
Pepperdine suffered its first two home losses of the season, falling to Saint Mary's, 70-63, before dropping an 83-71 decision to Santa Clara ... The Waves' loss to the Gaels snapped their nine-game home winning streak dating back to last season ... Yakhouba Diawara scored a game-high 20 points, while Glen McGowan chipped in 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds versus the Gaels ... Alex Acker scored 21 points and had a team-high eight rebounds versus the Broncos. Sophomore Chase Griffin equaled his career-high with 13 points, while Russell Hicks scored eight points and totaled a career-high five blocks against SCU... The Waves make the short trip to LMU to take on the Lions on Jan. 29.
Portland Pilots (13-8/ 2-4 WCC) - Head Coach: Michael Holton
Portland's WCC road woes continued last week, falling, 92-58, at San Diego before suffering a 74-70 overtime loss at San Francisco ... The Pilots, who posted a 4-2 non-conference road record, own a 0-4 record away from the Chiles Center during WCC play ... Sophomore forward Ben Sullivan scored a team-high 14 points versus USD, while Pooh Jeter and Karl Aaker added 13 each ... Jeter paced the Pilots with 20 points and seven rebounds versus USF. Darren Cooper added 12, while Donald Wilson and Marcus Lewis chipped in 10 each. Wilson also tied a career-high with nine rebounds ... The Pilots head to Gonzaga in a Pacific Northwest showdown on Jan. 29.
Saint Mary's Gaels (17-5 / 4-1 WCC) - Head Coach: Randy Bennett
The Gaels picked up a pair of road wins last week and now sit atop the conference standings, with Santa Clara, with a 4-1 record ... Saint Mary's is receiving 10 votes (ranked No. 29) in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll ... SMC is off to its best overall and conference starts since the 1988-89 season when the Gaels started with a 22-3 overall record and a 5-1 mark in WCC play ... Saint Mary's handed Pepperdine its first home loss of the season with a 70-63 win, before rolling past LMU, 83-66 ... The wins mark the first Southern California sweep by SMC since the 1996-97 season ... Paul Marigney led four Gaels in double figures with 16 points in SMC's win over the Waves ... Daniel Kickert matched his career-high with 28 points in SMC's win at LMU. Marigney chipped in 17 points and seven boards, while E.J. Rowland added 14 points, five assists and four steals ... The Gaels host USD on Jan. 27 and USF on Jan. 30.
San Diego Toreros (10-8 / 2-3 WCC) - Head Coach: Brad Holland
San Diego posted a 1-1 record last week, registering an impressive 92-58 win over Portland before falling to Gonzaga, 68-56 ... USD now owns a 7-2 record at home ... In the Toreros' win over Portland, Brandon Gay led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds. Gay was followed by Floyd North who tossed in a career-best 15 points, Nick Lewis (12 pts), Brice Vounang (10 pts) and Corey Belser (10 pts) ... Gay tossed in team-high 22 points to go along with six rebounds versus Gonzaga ... Vounang has reached double figures in 17 of USD's 18 games this season ... San Diego heads to the Bay Area to face Saint Mary's on Jan. 27 and Santa Clara on Jan. 29
San Francisco Dons (12-6 / 3-2 WCC) - Head Coach: Jessie Evans
San Francisco enjoyed a great week, defeating No. 11 Gonzaga, 73-70, before out-lasting Portland, 74-70, in overtime ... The Dons now own a perfect 10-0 home record and are just one of two WCC schools (Gonzaga is the other) with an unblemished home mark ... USF upset a top 20 opponent for the first time since an 82-69 victory over No. 13 Xavier (12/28/98) ... The win over GU also snapped the Dons' 12-game losing streak to the Bulldogs ... Jerome Gumbs registered back-to-back double-doubles, scoring 18 points and grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds versus GU, before tossing in a career-high 27 points to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds versus Portland ... USF plays at Santa Clara on Jan. 27 before heading across the Bay to Saint Mary's on Jan. 30.
Santa Clara Broncos (11-9 / 4-1 WCC) - Head Coach: Dick Davey
The Broncos improved their winning streak to four games with a pair of road wins at Loyola Marymount (68-57) and Pepperdine (83-71) ... The Broncos now find themselves in a first place tie with Saint Mary's in the conference standings with a 4-1 conference record ... Santa Clara's two wins mark the Broncos first road sweep over their Los Angeles area rivals since the 1993-94 season and only the third in the last 21 years ... Senior Kyle Bailey enjoyed two standout games, dropping in a game-high 27 points to go along with five rebounds versus LMU, before scoring 25 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the Broncos' win over the Waves ... Bailey's 25 points led five Broncos in double-digits, marking the first time in three seasons that five different SCU players reached double figures versus a Division I opponent ... Santa Clara hosts San Francisco on Jan. 27 and San Diego and Jan. 29.
