#17/16 GONZAGA (12-1, 1-0 WCC) at BYU (7-5, 2-0 WCC)
JAN. 2 | 6 P.M. PT | MARRIOTT CENTER | PROVO, UTAH
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THE TIP-OFF
- Gonzaga will look to improve to 13-1 overall on the season Thursday at BYU. With a win, Gonzaga will post a 13-1 start to the season for the second time in program history and the second-straight season.
- The Zags' current 12-1 mark ties for the best start in program history.
- GU is currently on a 10-game win streak, the longest of the season so far. The Bulldogs longest win streak in program history is 23 games, a feat they accomplished from Dec. 10, 2004 to March 6, 2005. The longest recent streak is 15-straight victories which occurred between Dec. 17, 2017 and Feb. 8, 2018.
- Gonzaga broke into the Associated Press Top 25 poll at No. 23 following a 76-70 overtime loss at Stanford on Nov. 17. This week, GU held steady in the Associated Press Top 25 at No. 17 while moving up one spot in the Coaches Poll to No. 16.
- Thursday will mark the 14th time the Bulldogs have played on Jan. 2. GU carries a 10-3 overall mark on the date. It will also be the first time since the 2015-16 season that the Zags have taken the court on Jan. 2. That season, GU rang in the new year with a 53-44 victory over Santa Clara inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- Gonzaga currently ranks second in the nation in percent attendance capacity. The Zags average 93.18 percent capacity; that's an average of 5,630 fans that fill McCarthey Athletic Center every game. 
- Gonzaga returns two starters and seven letter-winners from last season's squad that claimed the Zags' third consecutive and 15th overall West Coast Conference regular season title.
- In 2018-19, the Bulldogs advanced to their third-straight NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Second Round.
 
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
- BYU returns its top two scorers in Paisley Johnson and Brenna Chase-Drollinger from the 2018-19 season, along with Sara Hamson who led the Cougars in rebounds and blocks a season ago. Last season's top scorer, Shaylee Gonzales, suffered an injury in the offseason and has not seen the floor this season.
- This season, BYU is 7-5 through 12 games with a perfect 2-0 start to WCC play. The Cougars picked up wins at LMU (59-44) and at Pepperdine (65-47) last weekend to open WCC play.
- As a squad, BYU averages 63.5 points per game shooting 38.8 percent from the floor and 33.2 percent from long range. BYU also carries a 69.6 percent shooting average from the charity stripe.
- Johnson leads the Cougars in scoring this season at 14.7 points per contest, while Chase-Drollinger adds 12.1 points per game. Senior Jasmine Moody chips in 8.0.
- The Cougars average 42.3 rebounds per game, led by a team-leading 8.2 from Hamson. BYU's 42.3 rebounds per game ranks second in the conference, behind only LMU at 43.2 rebounds per game.
- BYU leads the conference and ranks 20th in the nation with 5.5 blocks per game. Hamson leads the charge for the Cougars with 3.7 blocks per contest; that mark also leads the league and is nearly 2.0 blocks per game higher than the next closest player.
- After starting the season 3-4, the Cougars have won four of their last five and are currently on a two-game win streak.
 
SERIES REVIEW
Overall: Gonzaga leads 15-12
Road: BYU leads 6-4
Home: Gonzaga leads 9-3
Neutral: BYU leads 3-2
First Meeting: BYU won 80-63 during the 1983-84 season
Last Meeting: BYU won 82-68 in the WCC Championship on March 12, 2019
Streak: BYU, Won 3
 
WCC OPENING SUCCESS
Sunday's WCC-opening victory over Portland marked the third-straight season and 15th time in the last 17 seasons the Zags have opened WCC play with a victory.
 
THE POWER TO ERASE
On Dec. 29 against Portland, Gonzaga found itself down 20 points to the visiting Pilots in the second quarter. GU outscored Portland 38-20 in the second half to erase the deficit and pull out the win. The 20-point deficit was the largest that the Bulldogs have erased in a victory under head coach Lisa Fortier. Gonzaga limited Portland to just four points in the final 10 minutes, the fewest points scored by an opponent in a single quarter against the Zags this season.
 
SHARP-SHOOTER
As of Dec. 31, Katie Campbell leads the WCC and ranks tied for fourth nationally in three-point shooting percentage, shooting a killer 50.0 percent from long range. The senior guard has sunk 29 treys from long range off 58 attempts to average 2.2 made threes per contest.