#2/2 Gonzaga (13-2, 2-0 WCC) at Santa Clara (11-5, 1-0 WCC)
THURSDAY, JAN. 15 | 1 P.M. | LEAVEY CENTER | SANTA CLARA
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THE TIP OFF
- No. 2/2 Gonzaga plays its first true road game of the season at Santa Clara Saturday at 1 p.m. It's the 97th meeting between the programs and the Zags own the all-time series 66-30.
- GU has won 22 straight meetings in the series, including 13 consecutive victories at Santa Clara. The Broncos last win came in 2011, 85-71 at SCU.
- The Zags have won 23 straight conference games, which is the longest active streak of its kind in the nation. Gonzaga's last league loss was a 91-78 setback at BYU on Feb. 22, 2020.
- GU has won seven straight true road games, which is tied for the longest active streak in the country.
- Gonzaga is coming off a 110-84 victory over BYU in Spokane on Thursday. Four Zags finished in double-digit scoring led by Drew Timme's had 30 points. Andrew Nembhard added 22 points and 12 assists, while Julian Strawther had 20 points. The Bulldogs finished 69 percent from the field, including 11-of-21 from 3-point range.
- GU rides a national-best, and program-best, 61-game home win streak inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- The Bulldogs have now won 25 straight West Coast Conference openers, dating back to a 72-61 loss at Santa Clara in 1996. GU has won all 23 West Coast Conference season-openers under Mark Few.
- The Zags appear in the Associated Press poll for the 105th consecutive ranking, the longest current streak in the nation, with Villanova second at 50. Gonzaga is the only program in the country to appear in every AP poll since 2017, with a No. 5 average ranking.
- GU is first in the nation in scoring offense (89.3), field goal percentage (53.5), second in scoring margin (24.0) and defensive rebounds (31.3), fourth in assists per game (18.9), sixth in rebound margin (10.5), seventh in rebounds per game (42.2), and 10th in assist to turnover ratio (1.56).
- Chet Holmgren is sixth in the country shooting 74.4 percent from inside-the-arc, sixth with 52 blocks and sixth averaging 3.47 blocks per game. Drew Timme is eighth in the nation shooting 64.1 percent from the field.
- The Zags are first in KenPom's rankings in offensive efficiency with the 19th-most efficient defense.
- The Bulldogs have won 65 of their last 69 games, and since the start of the 2019-20 season, GU has won a national-best 75 out of their last 80 games. Gonzaga is also 44-3 since the start of 2020-21.
 
SERIES NOTES:
- This is the 97th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Santa Clara. GU owns a 66-30 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 45 of the last 47 meetings against the Broncos, including the last 22 straight matchups.
- Santa Clara's last win in the series was an 85-71 home victory on Jan. 20, 2011.
- The Bulldogs are 45-4 against SCU under Mark Few.
- In the lone meeting last season, Corey Kispert scored 25 points, Drew Timme had 16 of his 18 points in the second half and No. 1 Gonzaga won its 50th straight at home, beating Santa Clara 89-75 on Feb. 25, 2021.
- Gonzaga is 23-23 all-time at Santa Clara, but have won 19 of their last 20 at SCU.
- In the last meeting at Santa Clara, Filip Petrusev had a career-high 31 points and nine rebounds and No. 2 Gonzaga pulled away late in the second half and beat Santa Clara 87-72, on Jan. 30, 2020. Drew Timme added 11 points. The Zags had a 62-40 advantage in the paint.
- The Bulldogs are 33-6 all-time in Spokane in the series, and has won 13 straight at home versus the Broncos.
- Santa Clara won the first all-time meeting between the programs, 67-62, in Santa Clara on Feb. 3, 1959.
 
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS:          
- Santa Clara is coming off of its fourth straight win, winning at Pacific Wednesday, 84-70. Six of the eight Broncos that played scored, with five reaching double-digit scoring. Jalen Williams led SCU with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Josip Vrankic grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
- Williams leads Santa Clara averaging 19 points per game, and 20 points per outing during wins.
- Vrankic and Keshawn Justice both add 15 points per game. Vrankic is shooting 56.8 percent from the field and dishes a team-high four assists per outing, while Justice is pulling down a team-best 7.9 rebounds per contest.
- Santa Clara is 8-2 at home this season.
- The Broncos have won 11 of their first 16 games, including victories over Stanford, Nevada and Texas Christian.
- Vrankic and Williams were both named Preseason All-WCC. Vrankic was First Team All-Conference last season.
 
ON THIS DAY IN ZAG HISTORY
- Gonzaga is 11-5 on Jan. 15 since joining Div. 1 in 1958-59.
- In their last game on this date, the Zags defeated Pepperdine, 78-76, in 2015.
- The Bulldogs have beat Santa Clara on this date in 2009 (95-53) and in 2000 (97-67).
- Gonzaga has won three straight games on this date.
- The Zags last loss on this date was at Saint Mary's, 80-75, in 2007.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Drew Timme is 11 rebounds away from 500 in his career.
- Rasir Bolton is two games shy of 100 in his career.
 
A ZAG WIN WOULD ...
- Extend the nation's longest conference winning streak to 24 games, dating back to a loss at BYU on Feb. 22, 2019.
- Be the 29th straight GU win in January.
- Make Gonzaga 162-17 in January games under Mark Few.
- Be the 68th in-a-row over an unranked foe.
- Be the 32nd consecutive road win over an unranked foe.
- Be the eighth straight true road win, which tops the nation.
- Be the eighth straight WCC road victory.
 
A HISTORIC NIGHT IN THE KENNEL
- Gonzaga's 69.4 field goal percentage against BYU was the best this season for a Div. 1 team versus another Div. 1 foe.
- The 69.4 field goal percentage ranks sixth in program history, and the second-best versus a WCC opponent. First all-time at GU is 71.8 against Saint Mary's in 1996.
- It was the best field goal percentage in a game for the Bulldogs since shooting 69.7 against Chaminade in 2013.
- Gonzaga's 28 assists were the second-most in a game in McCarthey Athletic Center history.
- Andrew Nembhard (12) and Rasir Bolton (7) combined for 19 assists with no turnovers. Nolan Hickman added three with one turnover.
- Gonzaga's 110 points were the most by a team in the 29-game series history with BYU.
 
QUITE THE FEAT
Against BYU, Gonzaga had a player ...
- with 30 pts on 90.0 percent shooting from the field (Timme)
- with 20 points and 10 assists (Nembhard)
- with 20 points in under 25 minutes (Strawther)
- with five blocks (Holmgren)
The Zags are the only Div. I team in the last 25 years to accomplish all of those individual feats in one game.
 
THAT'S A WHOLE LOTTA POINTS
- Gonzaga's 117 points versus Pepperdine were the most by a Div. 1 school against a Div. 1 school since Arkansas scored 142 versus Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 25, 2020.
- It was the most points scored by GU since beating Idaho State in 2018, 120-79.
- It matched the sixth-most points scored in a game in program history.
- It was the third-most in a West Coast Conference, and the most since scoring 121 in a win over LMU in 1994.
 
WHAT ALL THOSE POINTS MEAN
- Gonzaga scored 110+ points in consecutive games for the first time under Mark Few.
- The Bulldogs are the first AP Top-5 team to score 110 points in consecutive games since Kentucky did it on Nov. 25 and 28, 2016, against UT-Martin and Arizona State.
- Gonzaga owns the top two scoring outputs in Div. 1 this season through three quarters of a game ...
1) Gonzaga 92, vs Pepperdine
2) Gonzaga 91, vs BYU