#1/1 Gonzaga (6-0) vs. #16/15 Virginia (4-1)
SATURDAY, DEC. 26 | 1 P.M. PT | DICKIES ARENA | FORT WORTH, TEXAS
TELEVISION: CBS
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga meets Virginia in a battle of top-20 ranked teams in the country on Saturday, at 1 p.m. Pacific Time, in Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
- This is the fourth all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Virginia. All three of the previous meetings were under Head Coach Mark Few. The Zags won two of the three.
- According to KenPom, GU boasts the nation's second most efficient offense, and Virginia is fourth on the defensive side of the ball.
- The Zags have traveled 8,390 miles so far this season during their unbeaten start. Including the trip to Fort Worth, GU will travel 12,106 miles before WCC play.
- The Zags beat Northwestern State for the second straight night Tuesday at GU, 95-78. Drew Timme paced Gonzaga with 25 points and nine rebounds. The Bulldogs made 58 percent of their shots from the field.
- GU is third in the nation in scoring offense (94.7), fourth in field goal percentage (55.1), and eighth in assists (20.8).
- The Bulldogs 10 consecutive wins dating back to last season is tied for the third-longest active streak in nation.
- Gonzaga currently owns the nation's longest home win streak at 41 straight victories. The Zags, Baylor and Bradley own the country's longest neutral win streaks at six.
- Jalen Suggs was named the WCC Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week for his efforts versus Iowa.
- Per ESPN stats and info, with (1) Gonzaga's win over (3) Iowa, the Bulldogs became just the third team all-time to beat three AP Top-15 opponents in their first four games of a season, joining 1974-75 Indiana and 1968-69 UCLA.
- Gonzaga has never beat four ranked opponents in the same season prior to opening conference play.


SERIES NOTES
- This is the fourth all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Virginia. All three of the previous meetings were under Head Coach Mark Few.
- The Zags won two of the three previous matchups.
- GU won the first meeting between the programs, 86-85, in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament in Memphis, Tenn. The Bulldogs were the 12-seed, and got the game-winning basket from Casey Calvary with 9.2 seconds left. Gonzaga's Dan Dickau scored 21 of his game-high 29 points in the first half.
- The Zags won the second meeting on Dec. 17, 2005, in Spokane, 80-69. The following season, the Cavaliers won the rematch in Charlottesville, 108-87.
- The Zags are 15-10 against Atlantic Coast Conference competition, including 14-10 under Mark Few. GU won its latest matchup versus an ACC opponent, beating North Carolina in Spokane last season on Dec. 18, 94-81.
 
SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS
- Virginia has opened the season by winning four of its first five games. Its lone loss was to West Coast Conference foe in Connecticut, 61-60, on Nov. 27.
- The Cavaliers opened the season at No. 4 in the AP poll, and have had games against Top-10 opponents Michigan State and Villanova postponed and canceled.
- Virginia boasts the fourth-best scoring defense in the nation, holding opponents to 54 points per game. The Cavaliers are second in the country committing only 12.6 fouls per game and turning over the ball 8.4 times per outing. UVA's defense is 15th in the nation limiting opponents to 36.3 percent shooting from the field.
- Three Cavaliers are averaging double-digit scoring per game, led by Sam Hauser's 13.4 points per outing. Jay Huff and Trey Murphy III are both scoring 11.6 points per contest.
- Huff leads the team grabbing 6.2 rebounds per game, and he has 13 blocks this season.
- Kihei Clark has a team-best 15 assists.
 
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 (119.0).
- GU is shooting 64.1 percent from inside-the-arc, which ranks fourth in the country.
- The Zags are third in the nation averaging 94.7 points per game, and fourth shooting 55.1 percent from the field.
- Gonzaga ranks fifth in the nation shooting 36.1 percent of its shots in transition.
 
SUGGS SWEEPS WCC WEEKLY HONORS
- The West Coast Conference has named Gonzaga's Jalen Suggs its University Credit Union Men's Basketball Player and Freshman of the Week for Dec. 21.
- Suggs exploded onto the national scene with a career-high 27 points in just his fourth collegiate game against No. 3/3 Iowa in front of national audience on CBS.
- The freshman led No. 1/1 Gonzaga to a 99-88 victory over the Hawkeyes in Sioux Falls, S.D. Seven of his eight made shots from the field were from three-point range, going 7-of-10 from behind-the-arc.
- The West St. Paul, Minn., native, added seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.
- For his efforts, Suggs was named NCAA "March Madness" National Player of the Week.
 
ANYONE, ANYTIME, ANY PLACE
- The Zags have traveled 8,390 miles so far this season during their unbeaten start.
- Including the trip to Fort Worth for the game versus Virginia, GU will travel 12,106 miles before WCC play.
2,931 miles: Spokane - Ft. Myers, FL
1,108 miles: Ft. Myers, FL - Indianapolis
1,951 miles: Indianapolis - Spokane
1,200 miles: Spokane - Sioux Falls, SD
1,200 miles: Sioux Falls, SD - Spokane
1,858 miles: Spokane - Ft. Worth, TX
1,858 miles: Ft. Worth, TX - Spokane
 
GONZAGA AT NO. 1
- The Zags are No. 1 for the sixth time in program history.
- GU sits atop the Associated Press Poll for a program record fifth straight week.
- 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 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.
- The Zags have now been ranked No. 1 in five of the last nine seasons.
- Gonzaga boasts a 31-5 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.
 
LIFE ON THE ROAD:
- Since the 2005-06 season, Gonzaga is 220-66 in road or neutral games. The Zags' 76.9-win percentage in road or neutral games tops the nation over that span.
- Also since the 2007-08 season, the Zags are 107-26 in true road games. GU's 80.2-win pct. in true road games is best in the nation over that span.