MBB Ready for Showdown in Staples
12/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2016
#8/8 Gonzaga (7-0) vs. #16/15 Arizona
SATURDAY, DEC. 3, 2016 | 2:30 PM | LOS ANGELES | STAPLES CENTER
TV: ESPN
Radio: Gonzaga IMG Radio Network
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
TV: ESPN
Radio: Gonzaga IMG Radio Network
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
ABOUT THE SERIES
- This is the eighth all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Arizona.
- The Wildcats have won six of the previous seven matchups, including the latest, 68-63, last season in Spokane on Dec. 5.
- Kyle Wiltjer led GU with 33 points, while Josh Perkins dished out 5 assists. Gabe York led Arizona with 18 points.
- The Zags' lone victory in the series came in the 2011 Battle in Seattle, 71-60.
- Arizona won the first-ever meeting, 101-87, in Tucson on Nov. 29, 2000.
- This will be the fifth meeting during the month of December, and the fifth on a neutral floor.
ABOUT ARIZONA
- The Wildcats ride into the weekend off of a 85-63 win over Texas Southern Wednesday.
- Lauri Markkanen led five Wildcats that finished in double-digit scorers with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, including 5-of-6 from three-point range. He added six rebounds and five assists.
- Kadeem Allen scored 14 points, grabbed six rebounds, and had seven assists in the victory.
- Markkanen leads the Wildcats with an average of 18.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
- The freshman is making 54 percent of his shots from the field and has made a team-high 15 three-pointers.
- Kobi Simmons and Rawle Alkins are chipping in 13.0 and 10.9 points per outing.
- Parker Jackson-Cartwright is dishing out 5.3 assists and adding 8.2 points per game.
- This will be Arizona's fourth game of the season on a neutral floor.
THE HOT START
- This is just the fifth time since the 1958-59 season that Gonzaga has started the season 7-0.
- The Zags opened 2014-15 winning their first seven games, before falling in overtime at Arizona, 66-63.
- In fact, two of the four 7-0 starts have been followed by losses to Arizona.
- The 2008-09 GU team suffered a 69-64 setback at the Duel in the Desert in Phoenix.
- In 2012-13, the Bulldogs started the season 9-0 before falling to Illinois.
- Gonzaga began the 1994-95 season by winning its first eight games, before losing at Wichita State in overtime.
NEW BALANCE
- In the Zags' seven games this season, they've been led by seven different scorers.
- GU has been led by Silas Melson (17, Utah Valley), Jordan Mathews (17, San Diego State), Przemek Karnowski (22, Bryant), Johnathan Williams and Zach Collins (13, Quinnipiac), Josh Perkins (18, Florida), Williams-Goss (18, Iowa State), and Perkins and Melson (15, Mississippi Valley State).
- Six players have led in steals in a game. Eight players have led in blocked shots.
- Gonzaga currently has seven different players averaging between 8.3 points per game and 12.3 points per game.
DOWN TO 15 ...
- Gonzaga is one of just 15 teams that remain unbeaten this season in NCAA Div. I.
- The Zags are one of four teams on the West Coast that are still undefeated (USC 7-0, St. Mary's 6-0, UCLA 6-0).
- GU's seven-game win streak ranks third in the country, behind Villanova's 13 and UCLA's eight victories.
- Thirteen of the 15 unbeaten teams play Saturday, including two matchups of perfect records, UCLA at Kentucky and Xavier at Baylor.
ZAGS RISE TO THE TOP
- The Bulldogs reached the top of the daily RPI on ESPN.com on Wednesday.
- Gonzaga had a season-high RPI rating of .7399.
- The Zags' strength of schedule was listed as fifth.
- GU slid to 12th following Thursday's win over Mississippi Valley State.
- The Bulldogs boast wins over Florida (currently 6th in RPI), San Diego State (No. 47), Utah Valley (57) and Iowa State (106). Arizona is currently No. 43 in the RPI.
YOU GET A 3, YOU GET A 3, AND YOU GET A 3
- Gonzaga has poured in its fair share of three-pointers over the last two games, totaling 25 in the recent victories.
- The Zags have made 25 of their 57 shots (43.9 percent) from behind-the-arc in the wins over Iowa State and MVSU.
- In just the first half of the last two games, GU is 17-of-29 (58.6 percent) from three-point range.
- The Bulldogs have scored 49 points in both of the last two first halves, with 51 total points coming from three-pointers.
- Nine Zags have made at least one three-pointer in the last two games, and the other three that played have shot one.
- Nigel Williams-Goss (8-of-11, 72.7 percent) and Josh Perkins (8-of-13, 61.5 percent) have led the barrage the last two games.
PERK GOES TO WORK
- Josh Perkins has totaled 73 points over the past five games, an average of 14.6 per contest.
- He is shooting 55.8 percent (24-of-43) from the field over the last five games.
- The redshirt sophomore has made 16 of his 28 (57.1 percent) shots from three-point range during the same stretch.
- He has dished out 17 assists, an average of 3.4 per game, over the last five outings.
JUST FINE FROM THE LINE
- Nigel Williams-Goss has made all but two of his free-throws this season (19-of-21).
- The redshirt junior's 90.5 free-throw percentage ranks third in the West Coast Conference.
- His percentage also currently ranks 41st in the country.
J THREE OVER THE LAST FIVE
- Johnathan Williams is really settling into the program after sitting out last season following a transfer from Missouri.
- He has scored 66 points over the past five games, an average of 13.2 per outing.
- The redshirt junior has made 26 of his 36 shots (72.2 percent) from the field during the five-game stretch.
- He started the season 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) through the first two games.
- Williams was named to the AdvoCare Invitational All-Tournament Team after averaging 12.7 points per game in Orlando.
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