No. 5 Gonzaga preps for lone matchup with Portland

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While Portland must play No. 5 Gonzaga on Saturday, the Pilots face the Bulldogs only once and they do it at home because of the West Coast Conference's reduced schedule from 18 games to 16 this season.

When the schools met at Portland's Chiles Center last year, Gonzaga won 95-79, a much more respectable outcome for the Pilots than the 103-57 loss to the Bulldogs in Spokane, Wash.

Gonzaga (17-2, 4-0 WCC) comes into the game with losses only to No. 3 Tennessee and No. 13 North Carolina. The Bulldogs also have a win over No. 1 Duke to their credit.

The Bulldogs defeated Loyola Marymount 73-55 at home on Thursday night before boarding the plane for Portland.

The 73 points is only the second time the Bulldogs, averaging 91.2 points per game, have been held to less than 80 points this season. The other time was against Tennessee in a 76-73 loss. They lead the nation in field-goal shooting, making 52.6 percent of their shots.

Gonzaga talked more about Loyola Marymount's 55 points after the game, including holding leading scorer James Batemon to 12 points, six points under his average.

"Batemon is their guy," said guard Josh Perkins, who leads the WCC with 6.7 assists per game. "Coaches did a great job with the scouting report, and a lot of credit goes to the whole team."

Portland (7-12, 0-4) is at the other end of the spectrum from Gonzaga, coming off scoring only 55 points Thursday night in a 76-55 loss at home to San Diego.

"Nothing went well with the team offensively, we got good looks we just didn't knock them down tonight," said sophomore guard Marcus Shaver Jr., who led Portland with 21 points, four rebounds and four assists. "We're in a bit of a shooting rut."

Portland shot only 30.9 percent from the field, 25 percent from 3-point range.

"We didn't bring the type of energy and effort we needed at the defensive end," Portland coach Terry Porter said. "I want to see us come back and respond at both ends of the floor."

Junior forward Rui Hachimura has emerged as Gonzaga's top player, making the Wooden Award Men's Midseason Top 25 list. Last year against the Pilots, he struggled at Portland with only two points after scoring 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the first match up at Gonzaga.

Gonzaga redshirt junior post player Brandon Clarke is one of the best shot-blockers in college basketball, swatting 3.2 shots a game. He had three blocks against Loyola Marymount on Thursday.

Clarke, who finished with 13 points, four assists and three blocks, said of his performance, "I worked on my strength a lot in the offseason, and I try not to get bullied much."

Perkins leads the WCC in assists per game at 6.7.

Two players who have dealt with injuries all year, junior Killian Tillie and redshirt senior Geno Crandall, are slowly returning to form.

And then there is guard Zach Norvell Jr., who led Gonzaga with 17 points in the win over the Lions on Thursday. His three made 3-pointers give him 54 this season.

Portland, expecting better days ahead because no seniors are on the roster, feature a backcourt with sophomores Shaver and Jojo Walker who combine to score 27.9 points a game.

--Field Level Media