#1/1 Gonzaga (3-0) vs. #3/3 Iowa (6-0)
SATURDAY, DEC. 19 | 9 A.M. | SANFORD PENTAGON | SIOUX FALLS, S.D.
TELEVISION: CBS
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga meets Iowa in a battle of top-three ranked teams in the country on Saturday, at 9 a.m. Pacific Time, in the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
- This is the fourth all-time meeting between GU and Iowa. The Zags won the last meeting in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament in Seattle. The Hawkeyes won the first two meetings in 1984 and 1985.
- GU (No. 2) and Iowa (No. 2) boast the top-two most efficient offenses in the nation according to KenPom.
- This will be the first time Gonzaga has played a game in the state of South Dakota since joining Div. 1 in 1958-59.
- GU is 3-4 all-time versus third-ranked AP teams.
- The Zags are coming off of an 87-82 win over No. 11/15 West Virginia in the Jimmy V Classic in Indianapolis on Dec. 2. Joel Ayayi matched his career-high with 21 points.
- Coach Few reached 600 wins in his career with the win over Kansas. He tied Roy Williams as the fastest to 600 wins in years coaching (22). Few boasts the best winning percentage among active head coaches at 82.8 percent.
- Corey Kispert joined Gonzaga's 1,000-point club in the win over Kansas. He needed nine points to reach the milestone and finished with 23. He is two made three-pointers from joining the program's Top-10 career makes.

SERIES NOTES
- This is the fourth all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Iowa.
- The Zags won the last meeting, 87-68, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Seattle.
- Iowa won the first two meetings, in Iowa City in 1984
(62-40) and in Spokane in 1985 (84-64).
- Gonzaga is 3-3 all-time versus Div. 1 schools from Iowa.
- The Zags are 15-20 against Big Ten Conference competition, including 14-14 under Mark Few.
- In its latest meeting with a Big Ten foe, GU fell to Michigan in the 2019 Battle 4 Atlantis Championships.
 
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES
- Iowa has opened its season with six straight wins, beating its opponents by an average of 32 points. All six victories have been at home in Iowa City, Iowa.
- The Hawkeyes defeated Northern Illinois Sunday, 106-53. Iowa made 12 three-pointers and 56 percent from the field.
- Luka Garza scored a game-high 23 points for the Hawkeyes, while Joe Wieskamp added 20 points.
- Iowa leads the nation in assists per game (24.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4). The Hawkeyes are second in scoring offense averaging 100.5 points per outing.
- Garza tops the nation averaging 29.2 points per game, and has made a national-best 65 shots from the field at 69.1 percent, which ranks 18th in the country. He's adding a team-high 9.0 rebounds per outing. He's blocked 13 shots.
- Wieskamp adds 15.2 points per game and has made 12 of his 24 shots from behind-the-arc.
- Iowa is coming off a 20-11 season, and a fifth-place conference finish with a mark of 11-9.
- All-American center Luka Garza is back for his senior season, and the Hawkeyes have six other players returning with starting experience, including upperclassmen all-conference honorees Jordan Bohannon and Joe Wieskamp, and Connor McCaffery, who led all Division I players in assist-to-turnover ratio a year ago.
 
ZAGS VERSUS A TOP THREE RANKED FOE
- Gonzaga is 3-4 all-time versus teams ranked third in the Associated Press poll.
- The Zags last played a No. 3 ranked team on Dec. 6, 2015, falling at Arizona, who was ranked third in the AP and Coaches' polls, 66-63 in overtime.
- GU last beat a team ranked third in the AP poll on Dec. 28, 2004, defeating Oklahoma State, 78-75, in Oklahoma City.
- Other matchups with top-three-ranked opponents included;
Dec. 6, 2015 - #3/3 at Arizona, L, 63-66 (OT)
March 27, 2009 - #2/3 vs. North Carolina, L, 77-98
Dec. 20, 2008 - #2 vs. Connecticut, L, 83-88 (OT)
Nov. 26, 2008 - #1 at Memphis, L, 73-81
Nov. 22, 2006 - #2 vs. North Carolina, W, 82-74
Nov. 23, 2005 - #3 vs. UCONN, L, 63-65
Dec. 28, 2004 - #3 vs. Oklahoma State, W, 78-75
Dec. 18, 2004 - #3 vs. Georgia Tech, W, 85-73
Dec. 13, 2003 - #3 vs. Missouri, W, 87-80 (OT)
March 22, 2003 - #2 vs. Arizona, L, 95-96 (2OT)
March 23, 2001 - #3 vs. Michigan State, L, 62-77
Nov. 16, 2001 - #2 at Illinois, L, 58-76
Dec. 4, 1999 - #1 vs. Cincinnati, L, 68-75
March 20, 1999 - #3 vs. UCONN, L, 62-67
Dec. 1, 1980 - #2 at DePaul, L, 56-74
Feb. 4, 1960 - #2 Bradley, L, 69-80
 
GONZAGA AT NO. 1
- The Zags are No. 1 for the sixth time in program history.
- Last season, Gonzaga spent four consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the AP poll, before finishing No. 2 with a first-place vote.
- In 2018-19, GU was the top-ranked AP team for five weeks, after winning the Maui Invitational for two weeks and three straight weeks late in the regular season.
- The Zags have now been ranked No. 1 in five of the last nine seasons.
- The Bulldogs were No. 1 in in the last three rankings of the 2012-13 season, prior to the NCAA Tournament.
- GU climbed to No. 1 after a 22-0 start to the 2016-17 season. The Zags were No. 1 for four straight weeks, before finishing the regular season 29-1, and advancing to the national championship game.
- Gonzaga boasts a 29-5 record all-time as the No. 1 ranked team in the AP Poll.
- In total, the Bulldogs have spent 20 weeks at No. 1 in the AP Poll in program history.
- GU has been ranked No. 1 in five of the last nine seasons.
 
ZAGS ARE GETTING OFFENSIVE
- Gonzaga boasts one of the top offenses in the country. The Bulldogs have the second most efficient offense in the nation according to KenPom.com (117.7).
- GU is shooting 65.3 percent from inside-the-arc, which ranks second in the country.
- The Zags are seventh in the nation shooting 55.3 percent from the field, and seventh averaging 93 points per game.
- Drew Timme (23.3 ppg) and Corey Kispert (22.3 ppg) are 11th and 17th in the country in points per game.
- Gonzaga ranks 20th in the nation shooting 34.7 percent of its shots in transition.