It's a fairly tough sell, the word rivalry within West Coast Conference basketball circles. This is what happens when one team owns all others like "American Idol" does television ratings. You can say Gonzaga has dominated its league the past several years, but you would be understating the facts.

The Zags are 32-2 in WCC play over the last three seasons.

Translation: They are Notre Dame in football.

They are everyone's rival.

	Firestone Fieldhouse will be filled with Pepperdine fans when Gonzaga arrives Wednesday night.

"We pretty much sell out every game on the road in conference, and then another team follows us in and barely 1,000 people show up," said Zags coach Mark Few. ''We show up and they're waiting for us when we get off the bus. It has been this way since we made the Elite Eight (in 1999). It's amazing."

And yet one team of late has been capable of generating a rivalry-type atmosphere when playing the boys from Spokane. Pepperdine leads the all-time series 31-23, but over the past three-plus seasons, Gonzaga has won five of the past seven meetings and seven of the past 10 since 1999. Still, when the Waves and Zags play, the national spotlight finds WCC hoops at least a few times each season.

"It would actually be more of a rivalry had we held up our end of the bargain a little more," said Pepperdine coach Paul Westphal. "Gonzaga is clearly the favorite to win our conference most years, and any time you can knock them off is a great statement for your program.

"'One of the greatest things about college basketball, the thing that makes it so much fun, is a rivalry game. Look at teams like Kentucky and Louisville. They love to hate each other, but it's a healthy rivalry. That's fun."

Gonzaga beat Pepperdine 92-72 earlier this season and the teams meet again on Wednesday in Malibu as part of ESPN's Rivalry Week. Injuries and unexpected illnesses have not allowed the Waves to challenge the Zags as most predicted this season, but Pepperdine won the game by 11 at home last year.

The WCC Tournament final went to Gonzaga by a 96-90 final.

The closest game played between the two of late came in the 2000 conference tournament, with the Zags prevailing 69-65 in overtime.

"We get plenty of motivation playing any team in conference, but the Pepperdine game being on ESPN has put the league on the national radar screen more," said Few. ''Our guys are clever enough to know that if they don't get emotionally up for any team, they'll get beat. But playing Pepperdine seems to generate attention for our entire conference, which is good.

"It's always an electric atmosphere when we play them, either home or at their place. There is just an incredible effort from both teams, guys flying around and diving on the floor and flying to the rim and diving into the stands for balls. It gets so loud, you can't hear yourself think during timeouts. That kind of effort and fan reaction is what makes college basketball so great."

Rivalries are built different ways and this one has been aided by Pepperdine doing its best to keep pace with Gonzaga's postseason success. The Waves have secured NCAA Tournament at-large bids two of the last three seasons in a conference annually expected to receive just one invitation.

"I think it has helped that they have also made the NCAAs, that they've had some really good teams," said Gonzaga junior guard Blake Stepp. "You can definitely sense it's a big game when we play them. But we're used to that. We accept it as a challenge that we're going to get everyone's best game.

"As a player, you enjoy a rivalry-type game. It's just another source of motivation to use."

Westphal envisions the rivalry becoming even stronger in the future, two programs that annually push each other to greater heights. Others in the WCC -- Santa Clara, San Diego and San Francisco -- have shown glimpses in recent times of trying to build a contender to challenge Gonzaga's crown. But only Pepperdine has demonstrated a serious ability.

"I think our kids feel that if they play well on a given night, they can beat anyone," said Westphal. "If we're able to win (on Wednesday), that would only validate those feelings. It would be a very big win against a very good team.

"I only see Gonzaga and Pepperdine getting better and better. They're going to remain good and by knowing what players we have in our program and which ones are on the way, I think we'll continue to rise."

Few remembers one conference game in particular from last year. It was on Senior Night, and the crowd was as animated as ever. Gonzaga clinched the league's regular-season title with a 13-point victory.

Guess who the Zags beat? Yeap, Pepperdine. On the Waves' home court.

"'Every player should want to be involved in these types of games," said Few. "You know in the West Coast Conference, the first game anyone is going to talk about each season is Gonzaga and Pepperdine."

It's how a rivalry works.

Even in the Gonzaga-owned WCC.

Ed Graney of the San Diego Union-Tribune is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at ed.graney@uniontrib.com.