Gonzaga on track to get No. 1 ranking (Jan 28, 2017)

Third-ranked Gonzaga is on the brink of two significant accomplishments for a program that is not in a Power 5 conference yet is traditionally competitive.

If the Bulldogs defeat Pepperdine on Saturday in Malibu, Calif., they are on track to become the nation's No. 1 team with top-ranked Villanova and No. 2 Kansas losing this week.

Gonzaga (21-0, 9-0 West Coast Conference) will tie its school record of 22 straight wins, set in the 2014-15 season. The winning streak is the longest in the nation and one those victories was a 92-62 rout in Spokane, Wash., on Dec. 29.

"This group has done an excellent job of focusing on the process and only things we can control," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said when asked about the potential record and No. 1 ranking.

An important stat that proves Few's team keeps its sights on the task at hand: The Bulldogs have played nine straight halves without trailing their opponent. They have not trailed in the last 184 minutes and 31 seconds.

"Our end goal is in March (during the NCAA tournament) to play our best basketball," said guard Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga's leading scorer who is coming a 25-point, five-rebound, five-assist and no-turnover performance in a 79-43 win over San Diego in Spokane on Thursday.

"We have to get better each week."

?? Pepperdine (6-15, 2-7) is the next WCC opponent who will try pull off what seems to be an unachievable upset. Gonzaga is outscoring conference opponents by an average of 84.8 to 58.9.

Senior guard Lamond Murray Jr., an NBA prospect with Pepperdine, leads the WCC in scoring both overall (20.8) and in league games only (22.7). He is the fourth Wave to have scored 20-plus points in six straight games.

In the first game, Murray had 19 points and seven rebounds, and the Waves shot a respectable 45.5 percent from the field. Gonzaga won the rebounding battle 45-27, however, and outscored the Waves 20-3 in second-chance points.

The Waves are coming off achieving their largest margin of victory this season, a 78-60 triumph over visiting Portland on Thursday, behind 22 points and 10 rebounds by Murray. The win snapped a five-game losing streak.

"This is a huge game for us because of the mental side of it," Pepperdine coach Marty Wilson said. "It being a home game, it was important to show the urgency, the courage to do certain things."

The Waves are banking on the win over Portland and the atmosphere at a sold-out Firestone Fieldhouse to get it in the right frame of mind to challenge Gonzaga.

"With this momentum and the crowd we should have, I think it will be a good game," said forward Chris Reyes, a transfer from Utah who is averaging 14.4 points and 8.1 rebounds a game.

The Bulldogs may also be road-weary playing their fifth game in 10 days. Jordan Mathews, a transfer from California, said Gonzaga actually welcomes the busy stretch.

"As long as we don't have to practice, I'm fine with it," said Mathews, who had 15 points in the first game against Pepperdine.