#14/12 Gonzaga (5-2) vs. #6/10 Baylor (5-2)
FRIDAY, DEC. 2 | 5 P.M. | SANFORD PENTAGON | SIOUX FALLS, SD
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THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga squares off against Baylor in the inaugural Peacock Clsasic in the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., Friday at 5 p.m. Pacific Time. This is the seventh all-time meeting between the programs. The Zags won the first five matchups, but Baylor won the latest in the 2021 National Championships in Indianapolis.
- The Bulldogs are wrapping up a stretch of games against five currently ranked teams over a seven-game span; No. 20 Michigan State, won 64-63; at No. 2 Texas, lost 74-93; No. 19 Kentucky, won 88-72; No. 5 Purdue, lost 66-84; No. 6 Baylor. Texas, Kentucky, and Purdue are currently first, fourth, and seventh in the KenPom rankings, while the Zags are eighth. Baylor is 16th. GU visits 12th-ranked in KenPom, Alabama, on Dec. 17.
- The Bulldogs rank No. 1 in KenPom's offensive efficiency. GU is fifth in the nation in field goal percentage (51.9) and 10th in three-point percentage (41.0). Julian Strawther's 7.86 defensive rebounds per game is seventh.
- Gonzaga is coming off an 88-84 win over Xavier in the Phil Knight Legacy third-place game Sunday. Julian Strawther scored 23 points, including 10 in the final 4:07. Each of Gonzaga's starters scored in double figures. Drew Timme and Anton Watson had 16 points apiece. Rasir Bolton had 13 points and six assists.
- The Zags are No. 14 in the Associated Press poll. The Bulldogs' 118 straight AP Poll appearances top the nation. Baylor is the next closest at 60 consecutive appearances in the Top 25. GU's 118 consecutive appearances in the Top 25 is 13th all-time in the poll's history.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARS
- Baylor is coming off a 96-70 setback at Marquette Tuesday. LJ Cryer scored 19 points, Adam Flagler 16 and Keyonte George 12 for Baylor.
- Cryer leads team averagining 17.9 points per game, while Flagler and George chip in 16.9 and 14.4 points. Flagler is ninth in the nation dishing out 6.9 assists per outing. BYU transfer Caleb Lohner grabs a team-best five rebounds.
- The Bears are fourth in the country averaging 11.6 three-pointers made per game, sixth in assists per game (20.3) and ninth in scoring offense (88.1).
- Friday's game pits the top-two KenPom ranked efficient offenses in the nation, GU is No. 1, Baylor is 2.
- Cryer set career highs in points (28), field goals (10), rebounds (4) and minutes (35) against No. 8 UCLA (11/20). His 23.5 points per game in Las Vegas earned his first-career Big 12 Player of the Week Award.
- Baylor is 23-7 against AP top 25 teams over the last four seasons, including a14-5 mark against top
25 teams away from home.
- The Bears were selected as the Big 12 Conference preseason favorites. George was named the Preseason Freshman of the Year, while Flagler was named to the Preseason Team.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the seventh all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Baylor. The Zags have won five of the six previous meetings against BU, with five under Mark Few.
- This will be the sixth meeting on a neutral court. The first four meetings were all decided by single digits.
- It's the first meeting between the programs since Baylor defeated Gonzaga in the 2021 National Championships in Indianapolis, 86-70. Drew Timme scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field with five rebounds in 33 minutes. Anton Watson scored four points in 13 minutes of action.
- The Zags won the first meeting between the programs, 77-75, on Nov. 29, 1991, in Fresno, Calif.
 
LAST TIME IN SIOUX FALLS
- In Gonzaga's first-ever game in the state of South Dakota, the No. 1 Zags beat No. 3 Iowa 99-88 in the Sanford Pentagon on Dec. 19, 2020.
- Jalen Suggs scored 18 of his career-high 27 points in the first half, finishing 8 for 17 from the floor and was 7 for 10 from the 3-point line.
- Drew Timme added 15 points and Joel Ayayi added 11 points and grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds.
- The Bulldogs got the lead to as many as 20 in the second half.
 
UP NEXT
- Gonzaga meets Kent State for the first time ever Monday in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- It's only the second home game for the Zags this season, and first since the season-opening win over North Florida on Nov. 7.
- This is the Bulldogs' seventh all-time meeting against a current member from the Mid-American Conference.
- Gonzaga has won five of the six meetings against current MAC members, with the lone loss coming to Toledo in 1964.
- The latest matchup versus a MAC program was a 107-54 GU win over Central Michigan in last season's Empire Classic in Las Vegas.
MILESTONE WATCH
- Drew Timme ranks 10th in program history with 1,661 points and 11th with 669 rebounds. He is nine points from ninth. Timme is 10 rebounds from 10th in program history (Rob Sacre, 679).
- Rasir Bolton is at 100 steals in his career.
 
A ZAG WIN WOULD ...
- Improve Gonzaga's record against ranked opponents to 29-13 since March 2016.
- Improve Drew Timme's collegiate record to 96-9 in a Gonzaga uniform. (91.4 win percentage)
 
CLOSING IT OUT
- Gonzaga rallied for an 88-84 victory over Xavier in the third-place game at the Phil Knight Legacy tournament.
- The Zags trailed 71-83 with 6:19 left in regulation.
- GU didn't miss a shot from the field over the final 6:08, going 6-for-6 from the field, including 4-of-4 from behind-the-arc. The Bulldogs went 9-for-12 from the free throw line over that stretch as well.