GAME NOTES: The Gonzaga Bulldogs will try to make it four wins in a row tonight, as they take on the Pepperdine Waves in West Coast Conference action at Firestone Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs extended their win streak to three games on Saturday, as they trounced Loyola-Marymount, 91-68, in their WCC opener. With the victory, Gonzaga improved to 12-4 overall and a perfect 2-0 in true road games. Following tonight's bout, the Bulldogs will return back home, where they will host two games in a row, starting with San Diego on Saturday. As for Pepperdine, it kicked off the WCC part of its schedule on Saturday as well, losing to the University of Portland, 82-78. It was fifth loss in the past six outings for the Waves, who dropped to 6-11 overall and an even 2-2 at home. Upon conclusion of this tilt, Pepperdine will take to the road for two straight contests, beginning with Saint Mary's-CA on Saturday. As for the all-time series, Gonzaga owns a 32-31 edge over Pepperdine and it has won the last 12 meetings dating back to 2001-02 season.

The Bulldogs shot a blistering 65.4 percent from the floor, as they coasted past Loyola-Marymount in their WCC opener on Saturday. The team also converted 6-of-12 attempts from long distance and 17-of-21 at the foul line in the triumph. Josh Heytvelt led the charge with 19 points and five rebounds, while Matt Bouldin turned in 17 points, eight assists and five steals. For the season, Bouldin tops the roster in both scoring (14.9 ppg) and steals (19) and he is also collecting 4.4 rpg. Heytvelt, in five games, has averaged 12.6 ppg, while Austin Daye and Jeremy Pargo chip in with 11.1 ppg. Pargo has also been in charge of running the offense, dishing out a team-high 5.8 apg. As a team, Gonzaga has had success at both ends of the court, averaging 74.4 ppg on 46.6 percent shooting from the floor, while holding its foes to just 63.4 ppg and only 39.0 percent shooting overall.

Pepperdine lost the battle on the boards, 43-32, and it was also outscored in the paint, 32-24, in a four-point loss to Portland on Saturday. The Waves hit on 41.7 percent of their field goal attempts, but they allowed Portland to shoot an even better 44.6 percent from the floor. Tyrone Shelley paced the team in defeat with 23 points and six rebounds, while Jason Walberg and Rico Tucker posted 14 points apiece. For the season, Shelley leads the Waves in scoring at 15.6 ppg and he is also grabbing 6.1 rpg. Malcolm Thomas is next in line at 13.9 ppg and he is ripping down a team-best 9.2 rpg. Overall, Pepperdine is averaging a hardy 79.4 ppg this season, but it is allowing its foes to score an even higher 82.1 ppg.

Gonzaga is the bigger and more physical team here and it should be able to dominate the paint, en route to the victory tonight.