No. 20 MBB Hosts Big-Time Tilt with UCLA
12/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STORYLINES
- Gonzaga beat UCLA twice in 2014-15, once in Westwood (87-74) and once in Houston in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen (74-62).
- Gonzaga was without center Przemek Karnowski (back) for the third straight game against Montana.
The Washington State game was Karnowski's first-career game missed due to injury.
- Kyle Wiltjer and Domantas Sabonis have carried the load in three games without Karnowski, combining for 38.0 points per night, which amounts to 59.1 percent of the offense in those games.
- Against Arizona, Wiltjer and Sabonis combined to score 51 of Gonzaga's 63 total points.
- With the Montana win, GU has now followed up its last six losses with a win (dating back to 2/22/14), and followed 19 of its last 20 losses with a win (dating back to 12/10/11).
- HBO has begun filming a special on Gonzaga Basketball chronicling the season. More info to come in the near future from HBO and IMG.
ABOUT GONZAGA
- Gonzaga has had a higher field goal percentage than all eight opponents and outrebounded seven of eight opponents this season.
- Domantas Sabonis is averaging a double-double at 14.4 points and 10.4 rebounds/game while shooting .632 from the floor.
- Sabonis posted his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Montana. He's missed a double-double by either one point or one rebound three other times this season.
- Gonzaga is 5-1 when Sabonis scores double figures, and 1-1 when he scores less than 10 points.
- Kyle Wiltjer leads the team in scoring at 20.6 points per game, and has had 20-plus four times this season and double figures in all eight.
- Wiltjer had the second-highest scoring game of his career with 33 against Arizona. He had 20 in the first half for the second straight game.
- Head coach Mark Few is the winningest active coach in NCAA Division I by percentage at .809 (444-105).
- Gonzaga was picked to win the WCC regular season title by the league's coaches receiving all nine possible first-place votes.
ABOUT UCLA
- Head coach Steve Alford is in his third season at UCLA and has compiled a 56-26 record back-to-back appearances in the Sweet Sixteen.
- The Bruins are on a three-game win streak including an 87-77 win over No. 1-ranked Kentucky on Dec. 3.
- Coach Alford's son Bryce Alford is UCLA's leading scorer at 16.2 points per game and is averaging 5.4 assists per game.
- In the paint, the Bruins' Tony Parker has been a force, compiling six double-doubles this season and averaging 14.0 ppg and 10.9 rpg.
- The Bruins starting five plays most of the minutes, each averaging between 28.4 and 36.4 minutes per game.
HOME COOKIN'
- Gonzaga's student section goes by the name "The Kennel Club" and is 1,200 strong, 15 rows deep along the sideline opposite the benches.
- Gonzaga is 44-2 in its last 46 games at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- Gonzaga has sold out 214 straight home games, dating back to the last 50 games in the Martin Centre.
- Gonzaga is 154-10 (.939) in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
PRZEMEK-LESS
Gonzaga is 2-1 in three games without senior center Przemek Karnowski, with the lone loss coming to current No. 13-ranked Arizona. The defense, which has been the staple hasn't suffered as GU opponents averaged 60.8 points per game with Karnowski in the lineup and are averaging 62.0 without. The biggest differences have come on the offensive end and in minutes played for Wiltjer and Sabonis. With Karnowski, GU was averaging 81.2 points per game, but since the injury are only averaging 64.3. Wiltjer and Sabonis have also seen big increeases in the time they've spent on the floor. Wiltjer minutes jumped from 29.4 before Karnowski's injury to 38.0 in three games since, while Sabonis' jumped from 23.2 to 33.3 in the same span.
FREE THROW IMPROVEMENT
After shooting 64 percent (59-92) from the free throw line in the first five games of the season, the Zags have made 75 percent (27-36) of their trips to the charity stripe in the last three games. GU was especially good from the line in a three-point win over Montana, going 13-17 in the game and 6-7 in the final 66 seconds to seal the victory.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
In chronological order:
- Sabonis: 15 points, 14 reb. vs. Mount St. Mary's, 11/21/15
- Wiltjer: 24 points, 11 reb. vs. Washington, 11/25/15
- Sabonis: 18 points, 16 reb. vs. Arizona, 12/5/15
- Sabonis: 16 points, 10 reb. vs. Montana, 12/8/15
JUST WIN
Gonzaga consistently ranks among the nation's top programs when it comes to its win total over any span of seasons in the last 15 years, but even more so recently. Since the start of 2011-12, GU has racked up 153 wins, the seventh-highest total in the NCAA. Over the last two-plus seasons, Gonzaga is tied for the fourth-highest win total of 70 with Villanova and behind only Kentucky, Wisconsin and Arizona.
20 IN A HALF...TWICE
Senior Kyle Wiltjer has had two of the hottest streaks of his high-scoring career at Gonzaga in the last two games. Against Arizona and Washington State, Wiltjer scored 20 points in the first half of both games. Most recently against UA, Wiltjer knocked down just two threes, but was 8-for-12 from the field with a dizzying array of post moves and mid-range buckets. in the first 10:00 of the Washington State game, he also poured in 20 points, including four three-pointers. He had 20 of the first 27 Gonzaga points in the game and had GU out to a 27-14 lead to open the game. During the span, Wiltjer made 8-of-11 from the field and 4-of-5 from downtown.
TWO-MAN WRECKING CREW
Kyle Wiltjer and Domantas Sabonis combined for 51 points against Arizona on Dec. 5, the highest teammate total for GU since Wiltjer (45) and Gary Bell Jr. (12) combined for 57 at Pacific. Against Arizona, Wiltjer poured in 33 and Sabonis added 18, while the pair had GU's first 26 points (Wiltjer 16, Sabonis 10) of the game. Three nights later, the duo combined for 32 of GU's 61 points in a win over Montana.
MORE Kyle Wiltjer SCORING NOTES
- Scored in double figures in all eight games
- Scored 20-plus four times in seven games (30-plus once)
- Scored 33 against Arizona, second-highest total of career (45 at Pacific 2/19/15)
- Only had one game this season with less than 16 points (12 vs. Mount St. Mary's 11/21/15)
- Dating back to last season, Wiltjer has double figures in nine straight games and 14 of the last 15
Domantas Sabonis: REBOUNDING MACHINE
After leading the team in rebounding as a freshman last season at 7.1 per game, forward Domantas Sabonis is averaging a team-best 10.4 rebounds per game this season. He's already had three games with at least 14 rebounds, including a career-high 16 against then-19th-ranked Arizona on Dec. 5. Sabonis has three double-doubles this season and has missed a double-double by one point or one rebound on three other occasions.
REBOUNDING AND DEFENSE RANKS
Rebounding
Defensive Rebounds per game - 9th (31.75)
Rebound margin - 29th (+9.0)
Total Rebounds per game - 22nd (43.13)
Defense
Scoring defense - 21st (61.3)
FG pct. defense - 16th (36.4)
3FG pct. defense - 3rd (23.8)
