#1/1 Gonzaga (4-0, 0-0 WCC) vs. Central Michigan (1-2, 0-0 MAC)
MONDAY, NOV. 22 | 8 P.M. | T-MOBILE ARENA | LAS VEGAS
TELEVISION: ESPNU
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga faces Central Michigan University in the second game of the 2021 Good Sam Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project presented by Continental Tire. It's the first-ever meeting between the programs Monday night at 8, in T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
- The Bulldogs are coming off a 92-50 win over Bellarmine Friday in Spokane. GU held Bellarmine to 40% shooting, including just 3 of 25 from 3-point range, and forced 18 turnovers. Drew Timme scored 25 points.
- The Zags own the country's longest home win streak with a program-record 55 consecutive victories inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- Drew Timme was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week and the NCAA March Madness Player of the Week in the first week of the season. Chet Holmgren was selected as the WCC Freshman of the Week.
- The Zags are No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason poll for the 19th straight time. A 20th straight week would match San Francisco's run from 1955-56 for the fourth-longest streak in the poll's history. Gonzaga leads the country with 97 consecutive appearances in the AP Top 25, with Villanova second at 42.
- In the season-opening win over Dixie State, Chet Holmgren had 14 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and seven blocks. Per ESPN Stats and Info, Holmgren was the first player over the last 25 seasons with 10 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and five blocked shots in his Div. 1 debut.
- Chet Holmgren, Andrew Nembhard and Drew Timme were all named to the preseason Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award Player of the Year preseason watch lists.
- Last season, the Zags advanced to the national championship game following a 31-0 start to the season. Gonzaga won the league regular season title for a national-best ninth straight season. The Bulldogs became the first team in NCAA Div. 1 history to reach 30 wins in five straight seasons.
- In 2020-21, the Bulldogs advanced to their 22nd straight NCAA Tournament, and sixth consecutive Sweet 16, after clinching the program's ninth straight WCC regular season title.
- Gonzaga won 31 games last season, including 15-0 in West Coast Conference play. It was the fifth straight 30-win season, seventh in the last eight seasons and eighth in the last 10 seasons.
 
SCOUTING THE CHIPPEWAS
- Central Michigan opens the season with seven games away from Mount Pleasant, Mich. CMU started the season with a pair of road losses at Missouri and DePaul.
- The Chippewas are coming off a thrilling 62-61 win at Eastern Illinois on Nov. 15. Four CMU players finished in double-digit scoring led by Jermain Jackson Jr. and Cameron Healy, who both came off the bench to score 14 points each. Harrison Henderson added 10 points and eight rebounds.
- Jackson Jr. leads the team averaging 14.3 points per game and has dished out a team-best 13 assists.
- Brian Taylor plays a team-high 34 minutes per game with a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game.
- Central Michigan was picked 10th out of the 12-member Mid-American Conference preseason poll.
- Tony Barbee was named in April to head the program and his 16-player roster includes 12 who will wear a Chippewa uniform for the first time this season. Barbee spent the last seven seasons as an assistant to John Calipari.
- The 12 newcomers – four true freshmen, eight transfers – join four returners including Aundre Polk, a member of the 2021 Mid-American Conference All-Freshman Team.
 
ON THIS DAY IN ZAG HISTORY
- Gonzaga is 11-1 on Nov. 22 since joining Div. 1 in 1958-59.
- The last game on this date was a 109-55 win over St. Thomas Aquinas in Spokane in 2014.
- The Zags opened their Old Spice Classic title run in 2012 with a 57-49 win over Clemson on Nov. 21 in Orlando.
- In 2007, GU edged Western Kentucky 74-71 in the Great Alaska Shootout quarterfinals on Nov. 21.
- In 2006, Gonzaga beat North Carolina, 82-74, in the Preseason NIT in New York City.
- In 2005, the Zags held off Michigan State in three overtimes in the Maui Invitational semifinals, 109-106.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Andrew Nembhard is 41 points from 1,000 in his career.
- Nembhard is 21 rebounds from 300 in his career.
 
GIVING THANKS FOR THESE TOURNAMENTS
- Gonzaga is 40-10 under Mark Few in tournaments during the week of Thanksgiving.
- The Zags are 29-4 in the last seven Thanksgiving week tournaments.
- Under Mark Few, GU has won six tournaments during the week of Thanksgiving, and played in 10 of the 14 tournament championship games.
- Last season, the Bulldogs opened 2020-21 with wins over No. 6 Kansas and Auburn in the Ft. Myers Tipoff over the Thanksgiving break in Florida.
 
VIVA LAS ZAGAS
- The Bulldogs played four regular season games in Las Vegas, falling to UNLV in 1965 and 1977, a loss to Seattle in 1977, and beating No. 3 Georgia Tech, 85-73, in 2004.
- Gonzaga is 28-3 in the WCC Tournament since 2009,
when the event moved to Las Vegas. The three losses in the tournament in Las Vegas have all been to Saint Mary's, the 2010, 2012 and 2019 finals.
- The Bulldogs were 33-13 in the conference tournament prior to it coming to Vegas.
- The Zags have never lost an opening game of the tournament in Las Vegas, winning all 13.
- Gonzaga has won in the WCC tournament semifinals in each of the past 24 years. The Zags last loss in the
WCC semifinals was 1994, 83-75, to San Diego in Santa Clara.
- The Bulldogs are 27-2 in semifinal games at the tournament, winning all 13 in Las Vegas.
- GU has won nine of the last 11 WCC tournaments in Las Vegas.
- Gonzaga is 10-3 in the WCC Tournament finals played in Las Vegas.
- The Bulldogs are 19-8 in championship games at the WCC tournament.
 
TIMME JOINS 1K CLUB
- Drew Timme became the 47th member of Gonzaga's 1,000-point club in the win over Bellarmine.
- The junior has amassed 1,014 points in his three years in a GU uniform. He needed 11 points to reach the milestone and finished with a game-high 25.
- Timme was the fourth-fastest player to reach 1,000 points in his career under Mark Few. He reached the feat in 69 games. Dan Dickau reached the feat in 51 games, which is the fewest amount of games by a player under Few.