GARRETT WAIT
Sports Editor
Have we ever seen an offensive display like we saw this weekend? No, not Kobe Bryant’s ridiculous 81-point performance that proves he is the anti-Jordan, I mean the anemic performances seen on the floor of Firestone Fieldhouse.
In Pepperdine’s 23-point loss to Saint Mary’s, the Waves took 63 shots, 16 more than the Gaels. Unfortunately, the Gaels made six more shots than the Waves. Does this make any sense?
Pepperdine shot 33.3 percent from the field, a figure that should be frightening to Waves fans. However, it’s become somewhat of the norm to see this kind of display. In fact, 33.3 percent isn’t close to the lowest shooting percentage we’ve seen this season.
If you were here for the game against Oklahoma State on Jan. 3, you saw the Waves drain just 27.1 percent of their shots.
Frightening, indeed.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. Pepperdine couldn’t hit shots from anywhere on the court, including the free throw line. Fifty percent on free throws in the first half just doesn’t cut it. But something about the line-ups is a little awry too. The player having the best shooting night of anybody, junior Derick Grubb, got just 13 minutes of playing time.
The shooting performance Saturday night was enough to get Head Coach Paul Westphal to vary his line-up a little bit against Santa Clara. Apparently it worked since the Waves shot a sizzling 50.9 percent from the floor in the second half.
However, there’s still the first half of the game to talk about. Pepperdine clanked 22 of its 29 shots, leaving Westphal so befuddled as he walked off the court that he was heard joking that Pepperdine was an “offensive machine” in the first 20 minutes.
Lucky for us, Pepperdine was up against Santa Clara on Monday, who stunk up the gym for 40 minutes. The Broncos were so bad that some people started debating whether or not they could be beaten by an A-league intramural team. Thank goodness they couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, especially from three-point range where they went 3-for-18 on the night.
It was almost as though the rims weren’t big enough for the ball to fit through. That would be one of the only excuses for a game in which the halftime score is 24-17. The defense was incredible, the offense stunk. Only Larry Brown would love a game like that.
Pepperdine’s defense has been light-years ahead of its offense in most games this season. That hasn’t necessarily been the case in the past few seasons. Last season, we were dead last in scoring defense and third in scoring offense. Now the roles have been reversed. We’re dead last in scoring offense at just 64.3 points per game through 18 games this season while allowing 71.5 points per game, good enough for fifth in the league.
Fifth still isn’t great, but it’s a far cry from last. That’s something to build on as Pepperdine begins the second half of its conference season after a home date against cross-town rival Loyola Marymount. Unfortunately, offense may be the least of our worries against the Lions.
I’m starting to worry that we’re going to reverse roles with LMU. For years, we’ve been the dominant team in the rivalry, losing last season for the first time in seven years against the Lions. However, they’re 5-1 in the West Coast Conference and look as though they might clinch the second seed in the WCC tournament at the same time that Gonzaga clinches the top seed.
If our offense doesn’t find some sort of higher level Saturday, I’m afraid our defense won’t be able to hold off the Lions. Whether it’s through prayer, some sort of blessing, witchcraft or voodoo, these Waves need a higher power to intervene and force the ball into the hoop. Either that or shoot 1,000 jump shots a day in practice before the game.
Practicing jump shots may not make anybody playing for Pepperdine look like Kobe Bryant, but I’m sure any Waves fan would be happy with 81 points as a team at this point.
01-26-2006
