By Curran McCauley
As February nears its end, all eyes are on the West Coast Conference and the race to the conference tournament in Las Vegas from March 5-10. Of course, No. 2/3 Gonzaga has stolen most of the headlines in the conference this season, with Mark Few calling the 26-win team by far the best in his tenure at the school and Gonzaga well on its way to an undefeated run through conference play. However, across the conference we’ve seen great performances throughout the season, with last week being no exception. Let’s take a look at the top ten players in the WCC from a week ago.
1. Kyle Wiltjer / Jr. Forward / Gonzaga
Wiltjer takes home the top spot this week after earning West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors. He scored in double figures against both Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine, averaging 17 points and eight rebounds over the weekend. In a rout over LMU, Wiltjer recorded a double double. Wiltjer has 10 games this season scoring 20+ points.
2. Kyle Collinsworth / Jr. Guard / BYU
Collinsworth had a pair of great games against Saint Mary’s and Pacific as BYU picked up two home wins. Collinsworth went for 17 points and nine rebounds against the Gaels and then returned on Saturday against Pacific and came within one assist of a sixth triple-double (12 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists). Collinsworth will be the key for the Cougars as they chase down an at-large bid. Feb. 28 is the big showdown in Spokane between BYU and Gonzaga.
3. Kevin Bailey / Sr. Guard / Portland
Bailey moves up the rankings after a fourth-straight game scoring in double figures for the Pilots. In wins over Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount, Bailey recorded 15 and 14 points, respectively. Bailey, a senior from Clovis, a Fresno suburb, has helped the Pilots to four straight wins and five in the last seven.
4. Domantas Sabonis / Fr. Forward / Gonzaga
Sabonis continues to impress in his freshman season for GU, appearing mostly off the bench for the Bulldogs. In wins at home over LMU and Pepperdine, Sabonis registered double-digit scoring totals (10 points in each game) and 13 total rebounds.
5. Tyler Haws / Sr. Guard / BYU
Haws makes the rankings despite scoring under 20 points against Saint Mary’s on Thursday, just the first time since Jan. 1 at Santa Clara that Haws has failed to hit the 20-point plateau. That’s a ridiculous stat for the most prolific scorers (third in the nation!) on the nation’s number one scoring offense (84.8 ppg).
6. Brad Waldow / Sr. Forward / Saint Mary’s
The Saint Mary’s big man scored 17 points in a loss to BYU and 22 points in a win over San Diego, totaling 12 boards on the weekend. on Monday, Waldow was named one of fifteen candidates for the inaugural Kareem Abdul-Jabbar award, which will be given to the nation’s top center.
7. Kevin Pangos / Sr. Guard / Gonzaga
Pangos remains at the top of the WCC in assist/turnover ratio with a 3.5 ratio (130 assists /37 turnovers) and is in the top-10 in steals, three-point field goals, scoring and minutes played. His success in March will go a long way for a Zags team looking for a place in Indianapolis in April.
8. Tim Derksen / Jr. Guard -Forward / San Francisco
Derksen came up big for the Dons in their travel partner matchup with Santa Clara on Thursday, giving USF the win with a bucket in the final minute of overtime. Derksen had 18 points to lead the effort for San Francisco, who snapped a five-game losing streak.
9. Przemek Karnowski / Jr. Center / Gonzaga
Karnowski stays in the top ten this week after solid performances against Loyola Marymount (11 pts, 5 rebs) and Pepperdine (4 pts, 7 rebs). He is one of four players for the Zags that have been awarded WCC Player of the Week so far this season.
10. Evan Payne / So. Guard / Loyola Marymount
Payne gets the nod at the 10 spot in this week’s rankings because of his simply outstanding performance in the final minute of play against Portland on Saturday. Payne had 14 of his game-high 23 points in the final 56 seconds of regulation as he almost willed the Lions past the Pilots.
Conference Tidbits
Pepperdine continued to play well against Gonzaga, despite the loss in Spokane…The Waves lost by just two back in Malibu during a January contest and were tied 30-30 at the half on Saturday despite playing without three key contributors…San Francisco, Loyola Marymount and Pacific will almost certainly play on the first day of the West Coast Conference tournament…Santa Clara, Portland and San Diego will fight to get a first round bye at the Orleans Arena….
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