Tag: WCC Basketball

Pepperdine star Houston Mallette among first big transfer portal targets

Pepperdine guard Houston Mallette has reportedly entered the NCAA transfer portal, among the first college basketball stars to do so.

One day after it was announced the Pepperdine Waves were firing longtime head coach Lorenzo Romar, star junior guard Houston Mallette reportedly entered the NCAA transfer portal to look for a new school to play out his final year of college basketball eligibility.

Mallette is one of many outstanding players to have played for Romar at Pepperdine – although the influx of talent did nothing to help the Waves in the win column: an unfortunate trend that followed Romar his entire career particularly while as the head coach of the Washington Huskies.

Mallette just wrapped the best season of his career in 2023-24, averaging a career-high 14.7 points along with 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting a blistering hot 41.5% from beyond the arc.

Mallette’s former teammate, Mike Mitchell Jr, transferred last offseason to Minnesota where he averaged 10.6 points and 2.7 assists while shooting an even 40% from three, so certainly a handful of Power-6 programs will take a look at Mallette and his sharp shooting ways this offseason.

Mallette initially committed to Penn State in 2020 before decommitting and enrolling at Pepperdine, and the 6’5 guard from Newport Beach also had interest from Washington State, James Madison, and Santa Barbara out of high school.

Additionally, programs like Washington, USC, San Diego State, and Colorado who are expected to lose multiple backcourt players after this season could show interest as well.

Gonzaga’s win at San Francisco protected 25 year streak of making NCAA Tournament

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs likely stamped an at-large bid in the 2024 NCAA Tournament with a win over San Francisco on Thursday.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs entered the final week of February and the start of March in unfamiliar territory: on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

They knew they needed at least one win in the final week of the WCC regular season, but road games against San Francisco and St. Mary’s looked daunting.

So far, so good for the Zags however, as Mark Few’s team took their first lead of the game with under a minute to go in the first half and never once looked back – destroying the Dons in the first seven minutes of the second half and coasting to an 18 point victory.

Graham Ike was outstanding, potentially locking up the WCC Player of the Year award by posting 26 points on 9-12 shooting, along with seven rebounds and two blocks and a perfect 8-8 performance at the free throw line.

Gonzaga moves to 23-6 overall and 13-2 in WCC play, cementing themselves as the No. 2 seed heading into the conference tournament which gives them a double-bye. They are now 2-5 in Quad 1 games, a still unremarkable record but one that comes with being No. 19 in the NET and No. 17 at KenPom.

With only one regular season game remaining, on the road against the No. 17 ranked Gaels of St. Mary’s, the Zags have positioned themselves to earn a bid in the Big Dance regardless of how things play out on Saturday and next week in Vegas.

Of course, Gonzaga would like nothing more than to avenge a two point loss at home and spoil St. Mary’s perfect regular season record – and a win in Moraga gives the Zags even more wiggle room and could lead them to as high as a six or seven seed if they win out and take the WCC autobid.

Gonzaga has not missed the NCAA Tournament since 1998, the third longest current streak, and Thursday’s second half against the Dons likely insured that streak won’t end in 2024.

Ben Gregg lifts Gonzaga over Pilots in homecoming for Portland native

Gonzaga forward Ben Gregg had a huge first half to lead the Bulldogs over the Portland Pilots in college basketball Thursday night action.

Growing up a Gonzaga fan while living in the Portland area, Ben Gregg was already plenty familiar with the Chiles Center from his many trips to see the Zags play the Pilots when he was a kid.

Now the junior forward is making his presence felt on the floor, instead of on the sidelines, after dropping 13 points and four rebounds – most coming in the first half – in an 86-65 win for Gonzaga on Thursday evening.

It is the fifth straight win for the Zags and gives them a 21-6 record ahead of a huge trio of remaining conference games: first at home against Santa Clara on Saturday followed by a Bay Area road trip to face San Francisco at the Chase Center and then a huge game in Moraga against the St. Mary’s Gaels, the nation’s only undefeated team in conference play.

Gonzaga got off to a pedestrian start this season, with a trio of new starters including freshman Dusty Stromer, who filled in when presumed starter Steele Venters tore his ACL just two days before the team’s opener.

However, Mark Few’s club has gotten back on track in large part because of Gregg, who replaced Stromer in the starting lineup on January 18 – a stretch in which the team’s offensive efficiency and rebounding dramatically improved.

Gregg is averaging 10.1 points and 6.9 rebounds since entering the starting lineup, and Thursday was just another example of how impactful he is – now that he’s the one on the court wearing the uniform, instead of sitting in the crowd.

WCC to add Oregon State and Washington State in basketball for next two years

The WCC is expected to vote to confirm Oregon State and Washington State as affiliate members for the next two seasons, giving Gonzaga a regional rivalry with the Cougars.

The expectation has long been that Oregon State and Washington State, the two remaining Pac-12 programs, would merge with the Mountain West Conference in all sports. After all, the two sides already reached a scheduling agreement for football, and line up as logical geographic and athletic partners in most sports.

However, reported logistical and ongoing legal concerns made a move difficult, and instead the two programs will reportedly join the West Coast Conference as affiliate members – playing a conference schedule in all sports except football and baseball – for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, according to Matt Norlander of CBS.

League presidents and athletic directors are expected to vote and approve the measure on Thursday morning. This move will bring the WCC from nine schools to 11, helping alleviate the recent loss of BYU and bringing more brand recognition and scheduling appeal to the conference while they attempt to hold on to powerhouse basketball program Gonzaga, who have been in realignment rumors with the Big 12 for nearly a year now.

This move creates a regional rivalry between Gonzaga and Washington State, located 75 miles from each other in Eastern Washington, and while neither WSU or OSU are particularly elite at men’s basketball they add to the depth of the conference.

The addition of the Cougars and Beavers will inflate the league’s basketball schedule to 18 or 20, according to Norlander, and tweaks to the WCC Tournament format are likely coming as well – while financial payouts for NCAA Tournament units have not been disclosed.