#3/3 Gonzaga (7-1, 0-0 WCC) vs. #16/16 Alabama (6-1, 0-0 SEC)
SATURDAY, DEC. 4 | 5 P.M. | CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA | SEATTLE
TELEVISION: ESPN2
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP OFF
- Following four games over an eight-day stretch, No. 3 Gonzaga had a brief break and now hosts No. 16 Alabama in the 2021 Battle in Seattle in the new Climate Pledge Arena Saturday.
- The first-ever meeting between the Zags and Alabama comes in the 14th edition of the Battle in Seattle, but the first since 2015 when GU held off Tennessee, 86-79.
- The Bulldogs are coming off a 64-55 win at home over Tarleton State Monday. Gonzaga's Rasir Bolton scored 17 points and Chet Holmgren added 15. Julian Strawther pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds for the Zags.
- GU currently leads the nation in field goal percentage (54.5), and in total assists (148), fifth in total rebounds (329), sixth in rebound margin (13.0), eighth in total blocks (46) and ninth in scoring margin (24.2).
- Chet Holmgren is second in the country with 32 blocks and fifth averaging 3.9 per game. He is also sixth in the nation shooting 70.1 percent from the field. Andrew Nembhard's 43 assists are ninth in the country.
- The Zags top KenPom's rankings with the nation's most efficient offense and eighth-best defense.
- Gonzaga leads the country with 99 consecutive appearances in the AP Top 25, with Villanova second at 44.
- The Bulldogs own a 12-point win over then-No. 5 Texas and a 20-point victory over then-ranked No. 2 UCLA. GU is just the fifth team in the AP Poll era with multiple wins over Top-5 opponents in November.
- From ESPN Stats and Info, Gonzaga was the first AP No. 1 team to play two Top-5, non-conference opponents in the same week of the regular season since Kentucky did it in the 1954 UKIT (Kentucky Invitational).
- The Zags were named the 2021 Empire Classic champions after cruising to wins over Central Michigan and then-ranked No. 2 UCLA in Las Vegas on Nov. 22 and 23. Andrew Nembhard was named the event's MVP.
 
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE
- Alabama opened the season at No. 14 in the AP Poll, and have won six of its first seven games of the season. The Crimson Tide's lone loss was to Iona, 72-68, in the quarterfinals of the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando.
- Alabama rebounded from the loss with back-to-back wins over Drake and Miami.
- The Crimson Tide is coming off a 96-64 victory over Miami on Sunday in Orlando. Alabama was led by Keon Ellis' 22 points. Jaden Shackelford finished with 15 points, all on three-pointers, while JD Davison had his first career double-double with 13 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.
- Shackelford leads Alabama averaging 18 points per game. Jahvon Quinerly adds 14.6 points per outing, and Ellis is scoring 13.3 points per game.
- Ellis grabs a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game, while Shackelford chips in 6.4 boards. Davison has dished out a team-high 34 assists.
- Alabama currently leads the SEC averaging 85.7 points per game and tops the league making 9.9 three-pointers per outing. Shackelford is eighth in the nation with 25 triples.
- The Crimson Tide were picked second in the SEC Preseason Poll, and Shackelford and Quinerly were preseason All-SEC First Team.
 
ON THIS DAY IN ZAG HISTORY
- Gonzaga is 7-11 on Dec. 4 since joining Div. 1 in 1958-59.
- The last game on this date was a 101-62 home win over Texas Southern in 2019. Drew Timme scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Martynas Arlauskas had five points and Matt Lang made an appearance.
- In 2010 on this date, No. 20 Illinois beat Gonzaga in the eighth Battle in Seattle, 73-61.
- In 2004 on this date, GU knocked off Massachusetts in the second Battle in Seattle, 68-57.
 
A ZAG WIN WOULD ...
- Extend Gonzaga's win streak in the Battle in Seattle to six.
- Improve GU's record in the Battle in Seattle to 10-4.
- Improve Drew Timme's record in games he's appeared in at Gonzaga to 70-4 (.945).
 
WHAT'S UP NEXT FOR THE ZAGS
- Gonzaga returns home and hosts Merrimack College (North Andover, Mass.), Thursday at 6 p.m.
- It's the first-ever meeting between the programs.
- It's the Zags' first matchup with a Northeast Conference foe since beating Fairleigh Dickinson, 87-49, in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City.
 
BATTLE IN SEATTLE HISTORY
- The 2021 Battle in Seattle will be the 14th edition of this event, but the first since 2015 where Gonzaga beat Tennessee, 86-79.
- The Bulldogs have won the last five Battle in Seattle games, and hold a 9-4 record in the event all-time.
- No. 17 Gonzaga held off No. 3 Missouri 87-80 in overtime in the first Battle in Seattle on Dec. 13, 2003.
- Previous Battle in Seattle Results
Dec. 13, 2003 – #17 Gonzaga 87, #3 Missouri 80 (OT)
Dec. 4, 2004 – Gonzaga, 68, Massachusetts 57
Dec. 10, 2005 – #11 Gonzaga, 64, Oklahoma State 62
Dec. 30, 2006 – #18 Nevada 82, Gonzaga 74
Dec. 29, 2007 – #11 Tennessee 82, Gonzaga 72
Dec. 20, 2008 – #2 Connecticut 88, # 7 Gonzaga 83 (OT)
Dec. 12, 2009 – #21 Gonzaga 103, Davidson 91
Dec. 4, 2010 – #20 Illinois 73, Gonzaga 61
Dec. 17, 2011 – Gonzaga 71, Arizona 60
Dec. 15, 2012 – #14 Gonzaga 68, Kansas State 52
Dec. 14, 2013 – #20 Gonzaga 68, South Alabama 58
Dec. 20, 2014 – #8 Gonzaga 63, Cal Poly 50
Dec. 19, 2015 – #9 Gonzaga 86, Tennessee 79
 
NEMBHARD JOINS 1K CLUB
- Andrew Nembhard became the 48th member of Gonzaga's 1,000-point club during the Zags' win over Tarleton State.
- The senior has amassed 1,003 points in his collegiate career. He needed six points versus Tarleton to reach the milestone and finished with nine.
- He has scored 367 points at Gonzaga, after totaling 636 in two seasons at Florida.
 
THREE FOR THREE
- Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren was named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week for the third straight week the league office announced Monday.
- He averaged a team-best 16.7 points per game over the three-game week in Las Vegas.
- Holmgren scored a season-high 19 points in the win over Central Michigan and played a season-high 29 minutes against No. 5 Duke.
- He was named to the Empire Classic All-Tournament Team for his efforts.
 
ALL EYES ON GONZAGA
- Last Friday's Duke-Gonzaga men's college basketball game averaged 2.79 million viewers on ESPN, the largest audience for a college basketball game prior to New Year's Day since the same matchup in the 2018 Maui Invitational final (2.85M).
- The Zags and Blue Devils' matchup ranks as easily the most-watched game of the young season, cruising past the previous high of 1.78 million for Duke-Kentucky in the Champions Classic. It also averaged more viewers than all-but-one NBA game so far this season, Warriors-Lakers on Opening Night (3.39M).
- The GU and Duke game's crowd of 20,389 that filled T-Mobile Arena and set a record for the largest basketball crowd in Nevada history.
- Last Tuesday's #1 Gonzaga-#2 UCLA men's college basketball game averaged 1.58 million viewers on ESPN, ranking third for the young season. Viewership doubled the comparable Thanksgiving week window in 2019, Kansas-BYU in the Maui Invitational (791K).