Waves hope to crash down on 24th-ranked Bulldogs

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - Malibu, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Coast Conference foes meet in Malibu tonight, as the 24th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs pay a visit to the Pepperdine Waves.

Gonzaga was recently re-admitted into the AP Top-25 after winning four in a row from January 14-26, but the team is likely to fall out of the next poll after suffering an 83-73 loss at BYU on Thursday night. Despite that setback, the Bulldogs are enjoying another stellar campaign, as they come into this clash at 17-4 overall and 7-2 in conference. They have proven to be mortal on the road though, going 3-3 to this point in the season, and they currently trail first-place Saint Mary's-CA by two games in the WCC standings.

At the other end of the spectrum sits Pepperdine, a team that has won just eight of its 22 games this season, and only two of its 11 WCC bouts. The Waves have only one victory in 2012, having lost nine of their last 10, with the only win coming last Saturday in a 74-62 decision against visiting Santa Clara. Pepperdine is an even 5-5 at home this season, and prior to last week's win over the Broncos, the team had lost three straight in front of the Firestone Fieldhouse faithful.

This is the second meeting of the season between these two teams, with Gonzaga easily winning the January 5 encounter in Spokane, 73-45. As a result, the Zags own a 41-31 lead in the all-time series, and they have won each of the last 21 matchups. The Waves' last win over the Bulldogs was at home in 2002.

Gonzaga's first-ever trip to Provo, Utah to face BYU didn't go quite according to plan, as the Bulldogs shot just 3-of-19 from three-point range and committed 19 turnovers in what turned out to be a double-digit loss. Perimeter shooting has been a problem for the Zags recently, as in addition to the poor showing against the Cougars, they went just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc against Portland in their previous outing. For the season however, the team is shooting 36.2 percent from long range. Elias Harris (13.3ppg, 7.9 rpg) heads a list of four players averaging double figures in scoring for Gonzaga, which puts up 73.8 ppg while allowing 63.7 ppg. With Harris leading the way, the Bulldogs are +6.6 in rebounding margin, coming up with more than 37 rpg. Sam Dower came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points in the loss at BYU, while Gary Bell, Jr. added 14 points, Marquise Carter had 13 and Robert Sacre chipped in with 11. Bell scored 15 points to lead Gonzaga to its blowout win over Pepperdine last month, while Kevin Pangos and Sacre added 11 points apiece.

Pepperdine is one of the worst scoring teams in the country, as it averages just 59.0 ppg in hitting 39.3 percent of its field goal attempts and 32.5 percent of its three-point tries. The Waves have done a solid job on the glass, laying claim to a +3.2 rebounding margin, but they are -3.1 in turnover differential. They have been decent at the defensive end, yielding 63.8 ppg on typical shooting outputs of 42.1 percent overall and 34.0 percent from beyond the arc, but again, offensive ineptitude has been the team's biggest problem. There is only one double-digit scorer on the roster, but even Taylor Darby's 12.1 ppg on 47.2 percent field goal efficiency isn't going to scare anyone. Darby poured in 18 points and Joshua Lowery added 11 more, but it wasn't enough as Pepperdine fell at Loyola Marymount earlier this week in a 67-57 final. The Waves made good on only 38.2 percent of their total shots, missing 13 of their 15 three-point attempts along the way.

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Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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