#6/5 Gonzaga (4-2) vs. Xavier (4-2)
SUNDAY, NOV. 27 | 4:30 P.M. | VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM | PORTLAND, OR
TELEVISION: ESPN
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga plays Xavier in the third-place game of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Ore., Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
- The Muskeeters won the first-ever meeting in 1960, but GU has won the last four matchups in the series.
- GU returns to the Rose Quarter where it defeated Georgia State and Memphis in last season's NCAA Tournament first and second rounds. The Zags also placed third in their bracket in the PK80 Invitational in 2017. Gonzaga is 2-0 all-time inside the Memorial Coliseum, beating Ohio State in the PK80 and Portland State Thursday.
- The Bulldogs are in the midst of a stretch of games against five currently ranked teams over a seven-game span; No. 12 Michigan State, won 64-63; at No. 4 Texas, lost 74-93; No. 4 Kentucky, won 88-72; No. 24 Purdue, lost 66-84; No. 7 Baylor. Texas, Kentucky, and Baylor are currently first, fourth, and sixth in the KenPom rankings, while the Zags are seventh. GU visits 14th-ranked in KenPom, Alabama, on Dec. 17.
- Gonzaga is coming off an 84-66 loss to No. 24 Purdue in the Phil Knight Legacy semifinals late Friday night. Drew Timme led Gonzaga with 22 points and nine rebounds in his highly anticipated matchup with Edey. Nolan Hickman added 15 points and five assists. Julian Strawther grabbed 10 rebounds, while Timme had nine.
 
SCOUTING THE MUSKEETERS
- Xavier is coming off a 71-64 loss to No. 8 Duke in the PK Legacy semifinals Friday.
- Souley Boum led all scorers, including three Musketeers in double figures, with 23 points. Boum was 12-12 from the free throw line and 5-of-8 from the floor. Adam Kunkel added 12 points, and Colby Jones had 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
- Boum averages a team-high 16.8 points per game at 54.9 percent shooting from the field. He is 10-of-20 from three-point range this season.
- Jack Nunge chips in 14.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per outing. Zach Freemantle leads the team with 7.5 rebounds a game, along with 13.3 points.
- Colby Jones dishes out a team-best 5.6 assists per game, while scoring 14.4 points. Kunkel also averages double-digits at 11.5 points per game.
- Xavier was picked by the league coaches to finish second behind Creighton in the Big East Preseason Poll.
- The coaches selected Colby Jones and Jack Nunge to the 2022-23 Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team.
- Nunge, who was named BIG EAST Conference Honorable Mention after last season and earned a spot on the NIT All-Tournament Team, led Xavier in scoring (13.4 ppg.), rebounding (7.4 rpg.) and blocks (1.4 bpg.) last season.
- Jones, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2022 National Invitation Tournament, is Xavier's second-leading returning scorer (11.6 ppg.) and second-leading returning rebounder (7.3 rpg.).
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the sixth all-time meeting between Xavier and Gonzaga. The Bulldogs lead the series, 4-1.
- In the last matchup, GU advanced to the program's first-ever Final Four by defeating Xavier in the 2017 NCAA Tournament West Regional final in San Jose, Calif., 83-59.
- Xavier won the first-ever matchup with the Zags, 87-82, in Cincinnati on Dec. 23, 1960.
- The Zags are 16-17 against Big East Conference competition, including 14-4 under Few.
 
UP NEXT
- Gonzaga faces another ranked opponent against
No. 7/7 Baylor (5-1) in the Peacock Classic in the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D, Dec. 2.
- It's the first meeting between the programs since the Bears beat GU in the 2021 National Championships in Indianapolis.
- It will be the seventh all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Baylor. The Zags have won five of the previous six meetings, with four under Mark Few.
- This will be the sixth meeting on a neutral court.
- The Bulldogs return to the Sanford Pentagon where they beat No. 3 Iowa, 99-88, on Dec. 19, 2020.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Drew Timme ranks 11th in program history with 1,645 points and 12th with 667 rebounds. He is one point from the Top-10, matching Jeff Brown's mark of 1,646 from 1992-94. Timme is 12 rebounds from 10th in program history (Rob Sacre, 679).
- Rasir Bolton is two steals from 100 in his career.
 
A ZAG WIN WOULD ...
- Extend the second-longest streak in the AP Poll era for ranked against unranked opponents to 73 games.
- Be the 83rd straight victory over an unranked team, and 15th over an unranked team on a neutral floor.
- Improve Drew Timme's collegiate record to 95-9 in a Gonzaga uniform. (92.1 win percentage)
 
GIVING THANKS FOR THESE EVENTS
- Gonzaga is 43-12 under Mark Few in events during the week of Thanksgiving, and 32-6 in the last nine Thanksgiving week events including this one.
- Under Mark Few, GU has won seven tournaments during the week of Thanksgiving, and played in 11 of the 16 tournament championship games.
- Last season, the Bulldogs won the Empire Classic in Las Vegas, defeating Central Michigan and No. 2 UCLA. Top-ranked Gonzaga then fell to No. 5 Duke, 84-81, in the Continental Tire Challenge the Friday after Thanksgiving in T-Mobile Arena.
 
LAST TIME AT PK80
- At the PK80 Invitational in 2017, Gonzaga placed third following a 76-71 overtime win over Texas. The Zags led by as many as 21 points with 14:08 before the Longhorns stormed back to force overtime. Rui Hachimura led GU with 20 points and nine rebounds.
- In the semifinals, seventh-ranked Florida outlasted No. 17 Gonzaga, 111-105, in double overtime. The game featured 17 lead changes and 11 ties. All five Bulldog starters finished in double-digit scoring led by Johnathan Williams' career-high 39 points on 16-of-22 shooting. He added 12 points. Jalen Hudson led Florida with 35 points, making eight of the Gators' 17 threes.
- The night before in the quarterfinals, Williams scored 21 points, while Josh Perkins had 20, in an 86-59 rout win over Ohio State. GU finished 58.5 percent from the field, including 12-of-25 from three-point range.
 
ROSEY CONNECTIONS
- Gonzaga has a history of players from Portland and its surrounding area.
- Current Zag Ben Gregg grew up just south of Portland and attended Clackamas High School, while Kaden Perry is from Battle Ground, Wash., 26 miles north of the Rose City.
- Former GU standouts Nigel Williams-Goss, Kyle Wiltjer, Mike Hart, Silas Melson and Matt Santangelo are all from the Portland area.
- Richie Frahm (Battle Ground, Wash.), Derek Raivio (Vancouver, Wash.), Dan Dickau (Vancouver, Wash.) and Zach Gourde (Vancouver, Wash.) are from just on the other side of the Washington border.
- Assistant Coach Brian Michaelson starred at Jesuit High School before playing at Gonzaga.
- Head Coach Mark Few is from Creswell, Ore., 120 miles south of Portland.
- Former Zag Zach Collins was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2017, and Dickau had two stints with the Blazers, before working for them as a player development assistant.