Gonzaga looks to extend impressive streak against Pepperdine on Sunday in Malibu

The Bulldogs will begin conference play on Sunday evening against Pepperdine

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (15). | Photo by Myk Crawford

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs are travelling to Malibu to take on the Pepperdine Waves on Sunday evening, the first game of GU's final season in the West Coast Conference.

Gonzaga and Pepperdine will tip off at 5:00 PM PT on ESPN+, part of a marathon of WCC games with all 12 teams in action Sunday, Dec. 28, to kick off conference play.

Gonzaga (12-1) glided through their non-conference slate with one major hiccup against the Michigan Wolverines in the Players Era Festival. Otherwise, this Zags group was nearly flawless, picking up eight wins over power conference opponents, including Alabama, Kentucky, UCLA, Creighton, and Oregon, with only the game against the Ducks finishing within single digits.

The Zags will play 18 WCC games, and likely two more in the WCC Tournament, before moving on to the new look Pac-12 starting in 2026-27. Gonzaga will be joined by Oregon State and Washington State, as well as Texas State and five members of the Mountain West: San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State, Utah State, and Fresno State.

It will end a 40+ year run of fun for Gonzaga in the WCC, a conference they have dominated for the entirety of coach Few's tenure in Spokane. That dominance extends to every team in the league, but most notably this Pepperdine squad, who have now gone 23 years without defeating the Zags.

Pepperdine (5-8) will have a tough time collecting a win against Gonzaga after a rough start to coach Ed Schilling's second season in Malibu. The Waves boast an anemic offense that currently ranks 295th in offensive efficiency at KenPom, with significant turnover issues and just a 30.8% clip from the three-point line.

Still, conference road games are never a gimme, and Gonzaga will need to avoid a post-Christmas lull to ensure they begin their final ride in the WCC with a win.

Below is a look at three key things to watch for in Sunday's battle with the Waves:

1. Can Gonzaga make it 50 in a row?

Gonzaga dropped two out of three games against Pepperdine at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu back in 2000 and again in January of 2002 before Few and the Zags decided enough was enough.

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few. | Photo by Myk Crawford

Since then, Gonzaga has rattled off an extraordinary 49 straight wins over the Waves, one of the longest winning streaks over a conference opponent in college basketball history.

Considering Gonzaga comes into this game as heavy favorites, it sure looks like they will join a very exclusive club with a 50-game winning streak over an opponent. It's a great club for Gonzaga and not so great for Pepperdine, which has finished in last place two of the past four years in the WCC.

2. Can Braden Huff keep his own streak alive?

Braden Huff has his own streak on the line in Malibu on Sunday. The 6'10 big man has scored 20 or more points in each of Gonzaga's last five games, which includes 20 against Kentucky, 21 against UCLA and 20 against Oregon, while also dropping a career-high 37 on 16-18 shooting against Campbell.

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Braden Huff (34). | Photo by Myk Crawford

Huff is Gonzaga's leading scorer at 19.1 points per game, and his 66.7% field goal percentage is sixth in the country. Pepperdine has very little size on the interior, and the bigs they do have will have their hands full dealing with preseason All-American Graham Ike, which should free Huff up to score at will near the rim.

3. Former Zag now with the Waves

Former Gonzaga forward Pavle Stosic will be on the floor Sunday for Pepperdine, marking the third time Gonzaga has faced a former player in conference play in the last three seasons. First, it was Dominick Harris at LMU in 2023-24, and then it was former walk-on Colby Brooks at San Diego in 2024-25.

This year, Gonzaga will see Stosic at Pepperdine and Jun Seok-Yeo at Seattle U, a sign of the changing times in the transfer portal era.

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Pavle Stosic. | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Stosic came to Gonzaga from Serbia ahead of the 2023-24 season and appeared in 14 games, playing 47 total minutes and scoring 14 points with 11 rebounds and three blocks. He transferred to Utah State and redshirted in 2024-25 before transferring again and landing in Malibu to play for coach Schilling.

The 6-9 forward started seven of Pepperdine's 12 games this year and is averaging 3.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks in 18 minutes per game and will have the unenviable task of trying to slow down his former teammates Huff and Ike on Sunday.