MBB Hosts Akron Saturday in Search of 10-0 Start
12/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 8, 2016
#8/8 Gonzaga (9-0) vs. Akron (7-2)
SATURDAY, DEC. 10, 2016 | 5 PM | SPOKANE | MCCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER
ABOUT THE SERIES
- This is the second all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Akron.
- The Zags and Akron met in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament in Portland.
- GU won that meeting, 77-64, behind 22 points and eight rebounds by Josh Heytvelt.
- This is the Bulldogs' fifth all-time meeting against a current member from the Mid-American Conference.
- Gonzaga has won three of the four meetings against current MAC members, with the lone loss coming to Toledo in 1964.
- The latest matchup versus a MAC program was a 78-58 GU win in the 2011 Ronald McDonald House Charities Classic in the Spokane Arena over Western Michigan.
ABOUT AKRON
- The Zips roll into Spokane off of an 87-63 win over Coppin State Wednesday.
- Jimond Ivey led five Akron double-digit scorers with 20 points. Kwan Cheatham Jr. pulled down 12 rebounds.
- Three players are averaging double-digit scoring led by Isaiah Johnson's 15.2 points per game. He is making 70 percent of his shots from the field. He has dished out a team-high 25 assists this season.
- Antino Jackson and Noah Robotham are adding 12 and 10.1 points per game.
- Kwan Cheatham Jr. averages a team-best seven rebounds per game, along with 9.4 points.
- Akron is one of just five programs, including Gonzaga, that has won at least 21 games in the past 11 seasons.
- Head Coach Keith Dambrot is three wins away from tying the all-time winningest coach in program history at 289.
- Dambrot was the high school coach of Lebron James at Akron's St. Vincent-St. Mary High School from 1998 to 2001.
- The Zips were selected as the preseason favorite to win the Mid-American Conference title by the league's coaches.
- Akron returns three starters and nine letterwinners from last season's MAC Regular-Season Championship squad (26-9).
THE HOT START
- With a win Saturday, GU will have its best start since joining NCAA Div. I in 1958-59.
- This is just the second time since the 1958-59 season that Gonzaga has started the season 9-0.
- In 2012-13, the Bulldogs started the season 9-0 before falling to Illinois.
OUT OF THE GATES
- Gonzaga has got off to great starts in recent games, jumping out to leads early in some recent victories.
- The Zags have outscored their opponent, 183-110, an average of 45.8-27.5, in the first half over the last four games.
- GU has shot 56.9 percent in the first half over the past four games, while opponents shot 33.3 percent.
- In the same span, from three-point range, the Bulldogs are 52.9 percent (27-of-51), and opponents are 21.2 percent (7-of-33).
- Gonzaga has 45 assists on its 70 made field goals in the first half over the past four games. Opponents have 12.
- Jordan Mathews is averaging a team-best 9.5 points in the first half during the four-game stretch.
- Gonzaga has got off to great starts in recent games, jumping out to leads early in some recent victories.
- The Zags have outscored their opponent, 183-110, an average of 45.8-27.5, in the first half over the last four games.
- GU has shot 56.9 percent in the first half over the past four games, while opponents shot 33.3 percent.
- In the same span, from three-point range, the Bulldogs are 52.9 percent (27-of-51), and opponents are 21.2 percent (7-of-33).
- Gonzaga has 45 assists on its 70 made field goals in the first half over the past four games. Opponents have 12.
- Jordan Mathews is averaging a team-best 9.5 points in the first half during the four-game stretch.
TOP DOGS
- Gonzaga cruised to a 27-point victory over Washington in Spokane Wednesday, 98-71.
- The Zags and Huskies met in a scheduled contest for the first time in 10 years.
- GU led by as many as 34 points in the game, shot 64 percent from the field in the first, before finishing at 54 percent.
- In the 45th meeting between the programs all-time, the Bulldogs enjoyed their largest margin victory in the series since 1943.
HOME SWEET HOME
- The Zags have dominated the five opponents they have faced inside the McCarthey Athletic Center so far this season.
- Gonzaga is averaging a 93-64 victory over its opponent through the first five home games.
- The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents, 227-141 (45.4-28.2), in the first half over the same five-game span.
- GU is shooting 50.3 percent from the field and holding its opposition to 36 percent in the five home games.
NEW BALANCE
- Through the first eight games of the season, GU has seven players averaging between 7.9 and 13.7 points per game.
- In the Zags' nine games this season, they've been led by seven different scorers.
- Seven players have led in steals in a game. Eight players have led in blocked shots.
- Six players are averaging at least 20 minutes per game, and eight are at least 14.9 minutes per outing.
DOWN TO NINE ...
- Gonzaga is one of just nine 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 8-0, St. Mary's 6-0, UCLA 9-0).
- GU's nine-game win streak is tied for second in the country, but behind Villanova's 15 victories.
- Four of the remaining unbeatens play Saturday, including a matchup of two, No. 1 Villanova at No. 23 Notre Dame.
- The West Coast Conference is one of only three conferences that have two teams that are still unbeaten.
CHECKING IN ON THE RPI
- Gonzaga is currently seventh in the RPI on NCAA.com.
- The Zags are 4-0 against top-100 RPI teams.
- GU boasts wins over Florida (currently 6th in RPI), Arizona (No. 48), Iowa State (76), Utah Valley (96) and San Diego State (No. 102). Saturday's opponent, Akron, is No. 116.
- The Bulldogs reached the top of the daily RPI on ESPN.com on Nov. 30.
Players Mentioned
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