by Jim Young
 
Whoever was the first to depart the wisdom, "learn from the past, live in the present and hope for the future," was either a wise, old sage or a college basketball coach preparing his team for a conference tournament.
 
The WCC Championships in Las Vegas provides USF the opportunity to apply all of the lessons it has learned over the course of a 29-game season into one game – then hopefully another, and another. First up is Saturday's quarterfinal matchup with Pepperdine, a team the Dons split with during the regular season. Tip-off is set for approximately 3:00 p.m. from Orleans Arena.
 
The two games between the Dons and Waves were a stark contrast to each other and perhaps speak to the mercurial nature of both teams. In the first meeting on the Hilltop on Jan. 16, the Waves made eight of their first 10 three-point attempts and built a 23-point lead at halftime en route to a 98-84 victory in a game that quite honestly was not as close as the final score might indicate. The loss presented the low point in USF's season, considering it had suffered a four point home loss two nights earlier to Loyola Marymount team which had suffered five straight conference losses before its visit to San Francisco.
 
In the return game a month later in Malibu, the Waves were riding high following a pair of road wins at Saint Mary's and Pacific but were cooled off by a USF team that played arguably its best 40 minutes of the season to win for the fourth consecutive year at Firestone Fieldhouse, 82-72. However, two days later, the Dons stumbled and dropped a 100-87 overtime decision at Loyola Marymount, which was playing without its leading scorer Adom Jacko. Losses to Pacific and Saint Mary's followed leaving USF with an 8-10 conference mark for the season.
 
Pepperdine lost two of its last three games to end the season, including a double overtime thriller against Loyola Marymount, to finish with a 17-12 overall record and a 10-8 conference mark.
 
Quarterfinal matchups involving the No. 4 and 5 seeds are tenuous by nature and both teams will be looking for renewed energy in Las Vegas after stumbling a bit down the stretch.
 
"It's definitely a new season," said USF head coach Rex Walters. "We lost to Loyola Marymount and thought we played hard against Pacific and Saint Mary's but not necessarily well. If we play well, we'll have the opportunity to play one more game."
 
USF's chances of advancing to the semifinals for the fourth time in the last six years will hinge largely on the Dons' shot selection and their ability to neutralize Pepperdine's two leading scorers Lamond Murray, Jr. and Stacy Davis. USF shot just 40.4 percent from the field over its last three games of the regular season, including 31.9 percent from long distance. At the same time, opponents have clipped the nets at just under 50 percent and 37 percent from long distance.
 
"We've watched a lot of tape this week so hopefully guys have a better idea of what we are looking for," said USF head coach Rex Walters. "We've been a good effort team all year and now it's about trying to squeeze everything out of them as far as concentration and being more efficient in what we do.
 
"We also have to make them work for their catches, especially Murray, Davis and Jett Raines," said Walters. "We also have to be disciplined with our close out defense, boxing out and rebounding. They are an older and more veteran team so possession of the ball will be huge for us. Offensively, we have to get the shot that we want by using screens and spacing the floor."
 
Tournament experience is definitely on Pepperdine's side. Only Tim Derksen and Devin Watson have played significant minutes in previous WCC Championships while Montray Clemons made a brief appearance in the Dons quarterfinal win last year over Pacific. Walters isn't as worried about the team's lack of tournament experience as much as its ability to execute under in a win-or-go-home situation.
 
"For me it's more about or game and what we are trying accomplish offensively and defensively," said Walters. "You do have to experience it once before you fully grasp it, but hopefully Tim and Devin can share their experiences with our younger players. The only thing you can control is between those four lines in terms of concentration and effort."
 
The Dons will face a veteran Pepperdine team that handed Saint Mary's two of their four losses on the season, own a home win over BYU and played Gonzaga to the wire before falling 69-66 at home. The Waves rank higher than fourth in only one WCC statistical category (2nd; three-point field goal defense) and outside of Davis ranking second among the conference rebound leaders, aren't widely represented in any of the individual categories. So what makes the Waves tick?
 
"They have a lot of juniors and seniors who have been through the wars," said Walters. "They have a good understanding of the league, who they are playing against and what it takes to be successful. At times, I've gotten the feeling they were really ready to bust through. They are a veteran team and have been pointing their entire season to these three games. They have dominant scorers in Davis and Murray and get good guard play from Jeremy Major and Amadi Udenyi. They beat our conference champion twice and have a win over BYU. There's not a lot of unknowns with them."
 
The only constant for the Dons in their two previous games with Pepperdine this season has been the play of Ronnie Boyce, who scored 25 points in both contests on 57.5 percent shooting from the floor. However, after scoring 25 points in the Dons win over Malibu, Boyce scored just seven total points over the last three games of the season in which he has made just 3-of-26 shots from the floor, including 1-of-10 from long distance.
 
Boyce's ability to get back on track offensively will improve the Dons chances immensely for an extended stay in Las Vegas.
 
"I think teams have loaded up to him a bit and he's had to make adjustments," said Walters. "He's a big part of what we do offensively and other teams have forced him into some real tough shots. He also has to understand what we want defensively. He has had some really good practices this week."
 
Dons Doings
USF's traveling party will depart for Las Vegas on Friday and will practice late in the afternoon upon arrival…USF is 17-28 all-time in the WCC Championships dating back to the first event in 1987…the Dons have reached the semifinals on nine occasions and have advance to the championship game twice (1997 and '98)…USF's lone title came in 1998 with a 80-67 victory over Gonzaga at Santa Clara's Toso Pavilion…USF has posted at least one win in four of the last five WCC Championships and have advanced to the semifinals three times in the last five seasons…USF is 1-6 against Pepperdine in WCC Championship competition…Saturday's quarterfinal game will be carried in the Bay Area on CSNBA and nationally in BYUtv…Brent Musburger and Dick Vitale will be on the call for one of the semifinal games on Monday.
 
A 1985 USF graduate, Jim Young returned to his alma mater as associate athletic director for communications in October of 2012. He previously headed up communication departments at Santa Clara University, the Oakland A's and Stanford.