"We absolutely got cooked": Mark Few calls out Gonzaga’s second-half struggles in win against Pepperdine

Mark Few and the 19th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs added another win to their tally on Monday by beating Pepperdine 89-82. However, their play wasn't perfect as the coach criticized the team's struggles in the matchup.

The Bulldogs (10-4) had a 20-point lead at halftime, but they were loose with the ball as they committed multiple turnovers that allowed Pepperdine (6-9) to cut the deficit down to single digits. Gonzaga used its inside offense to pull away for the win, but that didn't stop Few from calling out the issues after the game.

"We did this to ourselves," Few said. "We had some silly, silly, silly turnovers at the start of the second half. Just really bad turnovers, which they let get (Pepperdine) going. Great stretch of defense the last 12 minutes of the first half that got us the lead ... and then we got cooked. We absolutely got cooked, especially out there on the perimeter.

"We did not do a great job, especially guarding their perimeter players. Some of them were tough shots, but at some point, you got to step up and get some stops, so. We had a great defensive first half, I mean they were at .8-something (points per possession), which is excellent.

"The turnovers led to transition, which led to easy baskets, and then I think it really helped them start feeling good about themselves."

Mark Few, Gonzaga slide down in AP Top 25

Mark Few and Gonzaga have done well throughout nonconference play. However, a 65-62 loss to then-No. 22 UCLA on Saturday made the Bulldogs drop in the AP Top 25.

The Associated Press released its new rankings on Monday, which showed that the Bulldogs went down to the 19th spot. It marked a five-spot decrease from the 14th spot they had last week.

Gonzaga has wins over Baylor, San Diego State, West Virginia and Indiana. They put up 87.3 points on 49.7% shooting, including 33.3% from beyond the arc, beating opponents by a convincing margin of 17.3 ppg.

Mark Few and Gonzaga will prepare for their first matchup of 2025, hosting Portland in Spokane, Washington, at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday.