by Curran McCauley
The West Coast Conference has completed its third weekend of action, as No. 6 Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s are currently sitting pretty at 5-0 on top of the conference action. The Zags won their 34th straight home game, Saint Mary’s sneaked away with a victory despite scoring just 54 at Pacific and Pepperdine (4-1) swept a weekend conference road swing for the first time since 2002. Let’s take a look at the top ten individual efforts this weekend in this week’s player power rankings.
10. Devin Watson – Fr. / Guard / San Francisco
Watson enters the power rankings for the first time after a career high 21 points against Portland on Saturday. The freshman from Oceanside, Calif. excelled from the charity stripe, going 12-14 in the Dons’ 89-77 road victory.
9. Alec Wintering – Soph. / Guard / Portland
It’s becoming impossible to ignore the season that Wintering is putting together in the Beaver State. The Charlotte, N.C. product scored 26 against Santa Clara on Thursday and then added 12 points and 8 assists in a loss to USF on Saturday. His production will be key for Portland’s outside hopes for a conference title.
8. Kyle Wiltjer – RS Jr. / Forward / Gonzaga
Wiltjer has been just what the Bulldogs have needed so far this season, complementing Karnowski nicely in the starting frontcourt for the No. 6 team in the nation. This weekend, the Kentucky transfer recorded 15 points (3-5 from downtown) on Saturday against USF and went for 16 against Santa Clara. Next up for Gonzaga, a showdown with Stacy Davis and Pepperdine (4-1) on Thursday night.
7. Kyle Collinsworth – Jr. / Guard / BYU
Kyle is one of those special players who can have a “down” week and still easily crack these rankings. The Provo native registered just four points and three rebounds in a loss to Pepperdine, as the Waves led wire-to-wire. He bounced back in a major way, just missing his fourth triple-double of the season (13 pts, 10 rebs, 8 assists) against LMU on Saturday. Collinsworth will have his next chance to tie the NCAA record for triple-doubles in a single season on Thursday at Pacific (8:00 pm, ESPNU).
6. Chris Anderson / Sr. / Guard / San Diego
This week, the No. 6 spot goes to the conference assist king, who had six helpers in both games over the weekend. Anderson averages 6.5 assists per game (117 in 18 games played).
5. Kevin Pangos / Sr. / Guard / Gonzaga
Pangos led the Zags with 17 in a blowout victory over San Francisco and added 13 against Santa Clara. Plus, he’s pretty dope at pop-a-shot.
4. Tyler Haws / Sr. / Guard / BYU
Haws remains the conference’s leading scorer, averaging 22.1 ppg. Despite the loss to Pepperdine on Thursday, Haws connected on a season-high 11 field goals. His game-high 26 points elevated the senior to third place on BYU’s all time scoring list. Haws had another 26 points in the victory over Loyola Marymount on Saturday.
3. Przemek Karnowski – Jr. / Center / Gonzaga
The reigning conference Player of the Week followed up the announcement with another solid week. He led the Zags with 18 points and added nine rebounds against Santa Clara on Saturday. Thursday against San Francisco, Karnowski had 16, one shy of Pangos’ 17.
2. Brad Waldow – Sr. / Forward / Saint Mary’s
Waldow was a force in the paint for the Gaels this week. In a non-conference tuneup against MEAC foe Morgan State, the Shingle Springs, Calif. resident went for 14 points before recording a double-double at Pacific on Saturday night (21 pts, 11 rebs). It’s safe to say the ballers from Moraga wouldn’t be sitting at 5-0 in WCC Play without Waldow’s presence under the basket.
1. Stacy Davis – Sr. / Forward / Pepperdine
Davis is the hottest player on the conference’s hottest team. The Phoenician shifted into a bench role for this weekend’s games and excelled pushing his Waves to a huge road win against BYU (23 points) before heading to San Diego and easily dispatching the Toreros (18 pts). His matchup against the imposing Gonzaga posts enumerated earlier in this countdown will be crucial if the Waves have any chance to topple the Bulldogs.
Tidbits
Emmett Naar is a freshman to watch for Saint Mary’s, a very versatile player who can knock down a three-pointer or get inside the paint with ease. He sits at third in the conference in assist-turnover ratio (2.4)….Admittedly, the blocked shot has not gotten enough love on the power rankings, but Netherlands product Jito Kok of San Diego needs to be recognized for a program game-high of eight blocked shots against Loyola Marymount on Thursday……Speaking of LMU, Evan Payne had a chance to crack the rankings after scoring 13 against San Diego but was held out of the BYU game.….Santa Clara freshman Matt Hubbard is another player that just missed the rankings. He had a goose egg against Portland on Thursday but led the Broncos with 15 against Gonzaga on Saturday…..He’ll get a chance to pad the stat-line against non-NCAA opponent Saint Katherine on Tuesday night .…Pacific sophomore Sami Eleraky had a career high eight points against Saint Mary’s on Saturday. The 7-0 Denmark native gives the Tigers the advantage on nearly every opening tip-off.
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