#1/1 Gonzaga (7-0) at RV/RV Creighton (6-1)
DEC. 1 | 11 A.M. PT | OMAHA, NE | CHI HEALTH CENTER
TV: FOX
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP-OFF:
- In its first true road game of the season, Gonzaga travels to Creighton on Saturday, at 11 a.m. Pacific Time.
- The Bluejays own a 6-3 lead in the series, but GU won the most recent meeting, 91-74, last season on Dec. 1, in Spokane.
- The No. 15 Zags trailed No. 25 Creighton at halftime, 44-37, but outscored the Bluejays, 54-30, in the second half. Three Bulldogs scored 20-plus points, led by Killian Tillie's 22 and Zach Norvell Jr.'s 21.
- Brandon Clarke tops the nation with 29 blocks, and Josh Perkins leads the country with 56 assists.
- The Zags are coming off of a 102-60 win over North Dakota State in Spokane Monday. Six Zags finished in double-digit scoring and GU made 63.8 percent from the field, including 15-of-28 from three-point range.
 
SERIES NOTES:
- The Bluejays own a 6-3 lead in the series, but GU won the most recent meeting, 91-74, last season also on Dec. 1, in Spokane.
- The No. 15 Zags trailed No. 25 Creighton at halftime, 44-37, but outscored the Bluejays, 54-30, in the second half. Three Bulldogs scored 20-plus points, led by Killian Tillie's 22 and Zach Norvell Jr.'s 21.
- GU opened the second half on a 20-4 run, and made 62 percent of its shots in the final 20 minutes.
- Creighton has won five of the six matchups in Omaha, but the teams have not played in Nebraska since 1975.
- GU's lone win at Creighton came on Jan. 4, 1955, 96-85.
- Gonzaga is 14-17 all-time versus current members of the Big East. Under Mark Few, the Bulldogs are 12-4 against current Big East competition.
- GU lost its last matchup with a Big East member, falling to Villanova in Madison Square Garden last season.
 
SCOUTING THE BLUEJAYS:
- Creighton is coming off of a 98-72 home win over Montana Wednesday. The Bluejays outscored UM by 17 points in the second half.
- Creighton made 13 of its 24 three-point attempts, and finished 60.4 percent from the field in the game.
- Five Bluejays finished in double-digit scoring led by Damien Jefferson's 18 points. Martin Krampelj had 17 points and six rebounds, while Marcus Zegarowski had six assists.
- Ty-Shon Alexander is averaging a team-high 18.3 points. Jefferson adds 11.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Mitch Ballock and Zegarowski chip in 11.0 and 10.1 points.
- Ballock has dished out a team-high 26 assists.
- Creighton's lone loss was to Ohio State at home, 69-60, but the Bluejays have won four straight since.
- CU took the Cayman Islands Classic title with an 87-82 win over then-ranked No. 16 Clemson in the championship.
 
A ZAG WIN WOULD ...
- Extend Gonzaga's win streak to eight games.
- Extend GU's win streak in true road games to 10.
- Be the 21st straight over an unranked opponent.
- Improve the Bulldogs' record to 13-4 against current Big East members under Mark Few.
- Make Gonzaga 104-40 in December games under Mark Few.
- Improve Josh Perkins' record to 108-15 in games he has played in for Gonzaga.
 
EFFICIENT ZAGS:
- Gonzaga made 63.8 percent of its shots from the field in the 102-60 win over North Dakota State.
- The Zags were 72.4 percent from the field in the first half, including 7-of-12 from behind-the-arc (58.3 percent).
- GU finished the game 15-of-28 from deep (53.6 percent).
- Inside-the-arc, the Bulldogs finished 22-of-30 (73 percent).
 
PERFECTION FROM CLARK:
- Brandon Clarke finished a perfect 9-of-9 from the field versus North Dakota State.
- It was the most makes by a Zag without a miss, since Zach Collins was 9-for-9 against South Dakota on Dec. 21, 2016.
- Clarke improved to 77.8 percent from the field on the season, which ranks fifth in the nation and tops the conference.
- With his 18 points against NDSU, Clarke eclipsed 900 in his career and is now at 903.
 
ASSISTING IN THE WIN:
- Gonzaga dished out 25 assists in the victory over NDSU.
- Zach Norvell Jr. threw a career-high eight assists with no turnovers, while Josh Perkins had six assists and Greg Foster Jr. had a career-high five.
- As a team, GU had eight turnovers.
 
SIX DOUBLE DIGIT SCORERS:
- Six Zags finished in double-figures in the win over North Dakota State, led by Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura, who both scored 18 points.
- The last time six players scored double-digits in the same game was last season's win at BYU.
 
STAYING AHEAD:
- So far this season, Gonzaga has trailed for only 22 minutes and 41 seconds in the possible 280 minutes. If you do not include the Arizona game, the Zags have only trailed their other five opponents for two minutes and 45 seconds.
- In the Maui Invitational semifinal, Arizona led the Zags for 19:56. Gonzaga led for 16:43.
- In the Maui Invitational Championships, Duke led for only 12 seconds early in the game.
- So far in four home games, GU has trailed for 2:11.
 
OUTSHOOTING OPPONENT:
- Since the beginning of the 2016-17 season, Gonzaga has finished with a better percentage from the field than their opponents in 69 of the last 80 games.
- The Zags have held 21 consecutive opponents under 50 percent from the field.
- The last time an opponent shot 50 percent against the Bulldogs was San Francisco in Spokane last season. The Dons were 28-of-55 (51 percent) from the field in an 82-73 Gonzaga win.
- GU has held 77 of its last 81 opponents under 50 percent from the field.
 
PERK'S GOING TO WORK:
- Josh Perkins leads the West Coast Conference with 56 assists and 8.0 assists per game.
- His 56 assists are the most in the nation, and his 8.3 average per game ranks fourth in the country.
- During the Maui Invitational, the redshirt senior averaged 8.3 assists and 12.3 points per game.
- Perkins dished out 11 assists in the win over Texas Southern, with only two turnovers.
- Jeremy Pargo was the last Zag to dish out 11 assists in a game in 2007.
- Perkins has only 16 turnovers to 56 assists through the first six games.
 
BIG MAN BC:
- Brandon Clarke averaged 15 points per game in the Maui Invitational, shooting 82.6 percent from the field (19-of-23).
- The transfer from San Jose State also averaged five blocks per outing during the tournament.
- Against No. 1 Duke's big men, Clarke blocked six shots and scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.
- This season, he's averaging 15.9 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game, which ranks ninth in the conference.
- Clarke's 29 blocks are the most in the country, and his 4.1 blocks per game ranks fourth in the nation and tops the WCC.
- The redshirt junior leads the WCC and is fifth in the nation, shooting 77.8 percent field. He is second in the league making 77 percent from inside-the-arc.
 
WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY:
- Not only is Clarke a national leader in blocks, but as a team, Gonzaga ranks third in the country with 45 blocked shots.
- The Zags' 6.4 blocks per game rank fifth in the nation.
- GU tops the conference in both blocks per game and total blocked shots.
- The Bulldogs have blocked 10 shots twice already this season. The program record for most blocks in a game is 11.
- Austin Daye currently owns the single-season program record with 70 blocks in 2008-09. Clarke has 29 through seven games.
 
OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING:
- Gonzaga is averaging 97.7 points per game, which is the most in the West Coast Conference and third in the nation.
- The Zags are third in the country with 142 assists, and seventh averaging 20.3 assists per game. GU leads the conference in both of those stat categories.
- GU's 54.5 field goal percentage tops the WCC and is third in the nation.
- The Bulldogs are third in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency according to KenPom at 118.9.
- Gonzaga is first in the nation shooting 63.8 percent inside-the-arc.