#6/6 Gonzaga (10-1) at #15/14 Arizona (10-1, 0-0 PAC-12)
DEC. 14 | 7 P.M. PT | McKALE MEMORIAL CENTER | TUCSON, ARIZ.
TELEVISION: ESPN2
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP OFF:
- Gonzaga and Arizona meet for the tenth time on Saturday, at 7 p.m., in the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson.
- The Wildcats have a 6-3 advantage in the series all-time, but GU has won the last two matchups, including the latest last season in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational, 91-74.
- The Zags are 39-17 against Pac-12 competition under Mark Few. GU has won its last eight meetings against Pac-12 foes.
- The Bulldogs are coming off of an 83-76 win at No. 22/23 Washington Sunday. All five GU starters scored in double-digits led by Filip Petrusev's 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ryan Woolridge added 16 points and three steals.
- Gonzaga hit 10 wins in a season by Dec. 8 for the first time in program history.
- The Zags' 10 straight true road wins is currently the longest active streak in the nation. (Wichita State 7)
- Gonzaga's 28 consecutive wins at home is the second longest active streak in the country (Tennessee 30), and fifth longest in program history.
- The Zags are fourth in the nation in scoring margin (20.9) and scoring offense (85.9), sixth in total assists (188), eighth in total rebounds (460), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.49), and ninth in rebound margin (10.5).
- Joel Ayayi's 3.00 assist-to-turnover ratio is 21st in the nation. He has 42 assists to 14 turnovers.
- Filip Petrusev currently leads the West Coast Conference in rebounds per game (8.5), and is second in blocks per game (1.2), and offensive rebounds per game (3.1).
 
SERIES NOTES:
- This is the 10th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Arizona, and the third in Tucson.
- The Wildcats have a 6-3 advantage in the all-time series, winning both of the previous meetings at Arizona.
- The last meeting in Tucson was a 66-63 overtime win for the Wildcats on Dec. 6, 2014.
- Gonzaga won the most recent meeting, last season in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational, 91-74. Corey Kispert (3 pts, 3 rbs, 3 asts in 33 min) and Filip Petrusev (4 pts, 3 rbs in 9 min) are the only current Zags that played in that game.
- The two teams finish a home-and-home series next season in the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane.
- Three of the previous four matchups between the programs have all been decided by single digits.
- Arizona won the first-ever meeting, 101-87, in Tucson on Nov. 29, 2000.
 
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS:
- Arizona is coming off of a dominant 99-49 home win over Nebraska-Omaha Wednesday.
- Josh Green and Chase Jeter had 15 points each for the Wildcats. Nico Mannion had 13 points and 11 assists, and Dylan Smith scored all 14 of his points in the first half.
- Arizona shot 58 percent from the field, had 25 assists on 38 field goals and had a 44-20 advantage in the paint.
- The Wildcats were coming off of their first loss of the season, a 63-58 setback at Baylor.
- Arizona currently ranks third in the nation scoring margin (22.4), fourth in total assists (194), seventh in scoring offense (85.5) and eighth in field goal percentage (51.2).
- Zeke Nnaji averages a team-high 15.9 points per game, and shoots 70.7 percent from the field, which ranks fourth in the nation. Mannion dishes out 6.2 assists per game, and has 68 assists this season, which is the 10th-most in the country.
 
A ZAG WIN WOULD ...
- Make Gonzaga 112-42 in December games under Mark Few.
- Extend GU's true road win streak to 11, currently the longest active streak in the country.
- Improve the Bulldogs' record against the Pac-12 under Mark Few to 40-17.
- Be the ninth straight over a Pac-12 foe.
 
LIFE ON THE ROAD
- Since the 2005-06 season, Gonzaga is 210-65 in road or neutral games. The Zags' 76.3-win percentage in road or neutral games tops the nation over that span.
- Also since the 2007-08 season, the Zags are 101-25 in true road games. GU's 80.2-win pct. in true road games is best in the nation over that span.
- The Bulldogs have won 32 straight WCC games on the road, the longest active streak in the country. GU's last loss to a conference opponent on the road was at Saint Mary's, 70-67, on Jan. 21, 2016.
- The Zags have won 45 of their last 46 road games in conference play. Since 2014-15, GU is 43-1 in WCC road games.
- If you include the WCC Tournament, GU has won 59 of their last 62 road or neutral league contests.
 
AY YI YI JOEL:
- Joel Ayayi has reached double-digit scoring in five of the last six games. Prior to the last six outings, he had one double-digit scoring effort in 28 career appearances.
- In the last six games, the redshirt sophomore is averaging 13.5 points (third on the team), 3.83 assists (first) and 6.5 rebounds (second) per outing, while shooting 51.9 percent from the field, including 13-of-31 from three-point range.
- He scored a career-high 21 points in the Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinal win over Southern Mississippi.
- He also grabbed 12 rebounds, one shy of his career-high.
- In the season-opening win over Alabama State, the redshirt sophomore dished out seven assists with no turnovers.
- In the win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, he grabbed a game and career-high 13 rebounds.
 
BALANCING ACT:
- Five Zags are currently averaging double-digit scoring, with another two at 9.9 and 9.7 points per game.
- Five different Zags have already led the team in scoring in a game this season.
- Eight Bulldogs have already had multiple double-digit scoring games, with five GU players reaching 20 points this season.
- Six Gonzaga players averaging at least four rebounds per outing, and five dishout at least two assists per game.
- The Zags have had six different players lead a game in assists so far this season.
- GU has had at least four double-digit scorers in all but two games this season. (Four in 3 games, Five in 4 games, Six in 1 game and Seven in 1 game)
 
QUITE THE STRETCH:
- Gonzaga is facing ranked opponents for the first time since falling to No. 7 Tennessee and No. 12 UNC last season.
- The last time GU had back-to-back wins over ranked opponents was in the 2005 Maui Invitational, when the Bulldogs beat No. 24 Maryland in the quarterfinals and No. 12 Michigan State in the semifinals in back-to-back days.
- Gonzaga hosts North Carolina in the McCarthey Athletic Center Wednesday. The Tar Heels are currently No. 17 in the AP poll. The last time the Bulldogs faced a ranked opponent in three straight games was that 2005 Maui Invitational when it fell to No. 3 UConn in the Championships, 65-63.
 
SOMETHING ABOUT EARLY DECEMBER:
- The Zags are no stranger to stretches of tough games in early to mid-December.
- Last season, GU won at Creighton on Dec. 1, beat Washington on Dec. 5, fell to No. 7 Tennessee in Phoenix on Dec. 9 and lost at No. 12 North Carolina on Dec. 15.
- The season before, the Bulldogs beat No. 25 Creighton in Spokane on Dec. 2, lost to No. 4 Villanova in New York City on Dec. 5, and won at Washington on Dec. 10.
- In 2016-17, Gonzaga beat No. 16 Arizona in L.A. on Dec. 3, defeated Washington in Spokane on Dec. 7, and took down Tennessee in Nashville on Dec. 18.