Gonzaga (0-0) vs. West Georgia (0-0)

SATURDAY, NOV. 5, 2016 | 6 PM | SPOKANE | MCCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER

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- This is the first all-time meeting between Gonzaga and West Georgia.

- Head coach Michael Cooney returns to his hometown of Spokane for the school's first-ever matchup with Gonzaga.

- Cooney graduated from Gonzaga in 1985, and has 144 wins in nine years of coaching at West Georgia.

- West Georgia, an NCAA Div. 2 school, has defeated three Div. I programs under Cooney, including an 87-78 win over Jacksonville State in last year's opener. Savannah State (2014) and Kennesaw State were the other two Div. I programs.

- The Wolves return four of their five starters from a team that went 22-9 last season and had their year end in the first round of the NCAA South Regional. They won the Gulf South Conference title in 2015-16.

- All four returning starters are seniors that have been a part of back-to-back conference titles and 22-9 seasons.

- Steph Branch (G, 6-3, 185) is the top returning scorer (13.4 ppg) and rebounder (6.2). He added a team-high two steals per game last season as well. He was named Second Team All-GSC Men's Basketball Team and All-Region Team.

- Shannon Fowler (F, 6-8, 225) chipped in 10.9 points and six rebounds per game last season, along with 27 blocks.

- The Zags have a history of cruising in their season-opening exhibition games.

- Gonzaga has an average margin of victory of 38 points in exhibition wins over the past 10 seasons, including four victories over NCAA Div. 2 programs.

- Last season, GU beat Eastern Oregon, 90-58, led by Kyle Wiltjer's 33 points and 14 rebounds. Przemek Karnowski added 11 boards.

- For the 16th straight season, the Gonzaga men's basketball team was selected as favorites in the West Coast Conference preseason coaches' poll.

- The annual poll, along with the WCC Preseason Team, was released at the sixth annual #WCCHoops Tip-Off event at the Spectrum Sports Studios Monday.

- The Bulldogs have been first place in every West Coast Conference preseason poll since 2001.

- GU received seven of the league's 10 first place votes in this year's poll.

- Saint Mary's collected the other three. The Zags had 79 points in the poll, while SMC totaled 75.

- The Gaels and Gonzaga shared the conference regular season title last season, before the Zags beat SMC in the WCC Tournament Championships.

- BYU was third in the preseason poll with 65 points, while Pepperdine and Santa Clara rounded out the top-half of the league with 53 and 49 points.

- The Zags' Przemek Karnowski and Josh Perkins were both named Preseason All-WCC.

- Karnowski makes the list for the third straight season, while Perkins appears for the first time.

- Karnowski returns to the Bulldogs after he missed all but five games in 2015-16 due to a back injury sustained early in the season. In those five games, he averaged 8.8 points and 5.4 rebounds.

- Perkins was named to the league's All-Freshman Team last season after averaging 10.1 points and 4.1 assists per game.

- Przemek Karnowski returns for his redshirt senior season after last season's back injury.

- The Torun, Poland native became the 39th player in program history to top 1,000 points for his career last season.

- He also stands just 19 rebounds shy of becoming the 14th player with at least 600 rebounds.

- The combination of 1,000 points and 600 rebounds has only been achieved by eight players in school history.

- Gonzaga was ranked No. 13 in the USA Today Preseason Coaches' Poll.

- The Bulldogs had 371 points in the poll, two spots behind Arizona at No. 11 with 468 points. The Wildcats and GU matchup in Los Angeles on Dec. 3.

- WCC foe, Saint Mary's, received 203 points and were ranked No. 19. The Bulldogs and SMC faceoff on Jan. 14 and Feb. 11.

- The Zags were ranked 11th in last year's USA Today preseason coaches' poll, before ending the season at No. 21.

- Gonzaga is ranked in the preseason coaches' poll for the seventh consecutive season, and opens in the top-15 for the fourth straight year.

- The Bulldogs were No. 13 in the 2014-15 USA Today Preseason Coaches' Poll before finishing the season in the Elite Eight with a program record 35 wins.

- GU received its highest ranking ever in the Preseason Coaches' Poll in 2005-06 at No. 7, with 540 points.

- In the Associated Press Top 25 Preseason Poll, the Zags were ranked No. 14, with 699 points.

- Arizona was No. 10 (1,004 points), while Saint Mary's was No. 17 (512 points).

- The Zags were ranked ninth in last year's AP preseason poll. GU received eight votes in the final poll.

- The Bulldogs' best showing in a preseason AP Top 25 poll was No. 8 at the beginning of the 2005-06 season.

- Duke topped both polls, and other 2016-17 GU opponents, San Diego State and Washington received votes in both polls.

- Jordan Mathews was named one of 20 candidates for the 2017 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.

- Named after Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its third year recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I men's college basketball.

- Mathews averaged 13.5 points per game last season at Cal. He made 89 threes in 2015-16, 28 more than anyone else on the roster. He averaged 2.62 three-pointers made per game at 41.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

- Nigel Williams-Goss was named to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List.

- Named after Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy, the annual honor is in its 14th year recognizes the top point guards in Division I men's college basketball.

- Williams-Goss, a redshirt junior from Happy Valley, Ore., is one of 20 players on the list, and is the lone player from the West Coast Conference on the list.

- The transfer from Washington averaged 15.6 points and 5.9 assists per game for Washington in 2014-15.

- Williams-Goss was one of 16 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award in 2014-15.

- The creation of PK80 -- Phil Knight Invitational, a 16-team, early-season men's college basketball tournament honoring Nike co-founder and 2012 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Phil Knight in advance of his 80th birthday, will take place over Thanksgiving week in 2017 from Portland, Ore.

- One of the largest regular-season tournaments in college basketball history, sporting a field featuring some of the top schools in the nation, will be played Nov. 23, Nov. 24 and Nov. 26, in the Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

- Participating schools include Arkansas, Butler, Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Portland, Portland State, Stanford and Texas.

- Two eight-team events -- consisting of three games per team -- will run simultaneously in the two buildings with the crowning of two bracket champions. All games from Portland will be televised on ESPN networks.

- The 2018 Maui Jim Maui Invitational, America's premier early season basketball tournament, will feature eight Division I programs for the first time in its 35-year history when Arizona, Auburn, Duke, Gonzaga, Illinois, Iowa State, San Diego State and Xavier visit the island.

- The 2018 Maui Jim Maui Invitational will be played November 19-21 at Maui's famed Lahaina Civic Center.

- Gonzaga returns to the Maui Invitational for the fifth time (2002, 2005, 2009, 2013).

- The Zags won the 2009 tournament title behind co-Tournament MVP performances from Steven Gray and Matt Bouldin.