#15/15 Gonzaga (8-3) vs. #4/5 Alabama (9-1)
SATURDAY, DEC. 17 | 10 A.M. PT | LEGION ARENA | BIRMINGHAM, AL
TELEVISION: CBS
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THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga faces Alabama in a Top-15 clash in the 2022 C.M. Newton Classic inside the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala., Saturday at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. It's the second straight season the teams have met, after the Crimson Tide won the 2021 Battle in Seattle, 91-82, in the first-ever meeting between the programs.
- The Zags own the country's longest home win streak with 71 consecutive victories inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. Texas Tech is the next closest with 26 straight home wins.
- Gonzaga's 71 straight home wins are tied for the most in the modern era of Div. 1 (Since 1985). Arizona had 71 consecutive victories from 1987-1992. The Bulldogs' last loss at home was during the 2017-18 season, a 74-71 setback to Saint Mary's on Jan. 18, 2018.
- Gonzaga is coming off an 88-67 win over Northern Illinois Monday. Four Zags finished in double-digit scoring with three coming off the bench. Drew Timme had a game-high 26 points. Ben Gregg had career-highs of 18 points and seven rebounds. Malachi Smith and Hunter Sallis chipped in 14 and 10 points.
- Since 2018-19, Gonzaga boasts a 6-1 record in regular season games against teams ranked in the Top 5 in either the AP or Coaches polls. The lone loss was to Duke by three points last season in Las Vegas.
- Drew Timme is first in the West Coast Conference averaging 20.5 points per game and second shooting 62.1 percent from the field. He is eighth with 1.1 blocks per outing. Nolan Hickman is second in the league in assists per game (4.00). Julian Strawther's 8.3 rebounds per game are fifth.
 
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE
- Alabama won its fourth straight game defeating Memphis Tuesday, 91-88. Four Crimson Tide players finished in double-digit scoring, while three more had seven points. Brandon Miller scored a team-high 24 points with eight rebounds and five assists. He was 4-of-8 from three-point range. Noah Clowney had 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Alabama finished 29 of 40 from the free-throw line.
- The Crimson Tide rose to No. 4 in the AP Poll after winning at then-ranked No. 1 Houston Saturday, 71-65. It was Alabama's second win over a top-ranked team already this season, after beating No. 1 North Carolina in four overtimes in the PK Invitational third-place game in Portland on Nov. 27.
- Alabama also has an 81-70 win over then No. 12 Michigan State in the PK Invitiational. The Crimson Tide's lone loss is to No. 3 UCONN, 82-67.
- Alabama tops the nation in every key rebounding category; rebound margin (+11.9), rebounds per game (48.8), offensive rebounds per game (15.6), and defensive rebounds per game (33.2). The Crimson Tide is fifth in the country averaging 29.8 three-point attempts per game and 12th making 10.4 of those threes per outing. Alabama is sixth with six blocks per game.
- Brandon Miller averages a team-high 18.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
 
SERIES INFO
- Gonzaga and Alabama meet for the second time.
- In the first-ever meeting between the programs, the Crimson Tide beat GU in the Battle in Seattle last season, 91-82. Drew Timme led the Zags with 23 points. Julian Strawther and Anton Watson added 13 and 10. Alabama made 10 of their 13 3-pointers in the first half. The Crimson Tide led by 16 at halftime and Gonzaga trailed by as many as 18 at the beginning of the second half, but pulled within 76-72.
- The Bulldogs are 17-11 all-time versus current members from the Southeastern Conference, including an 88-72 win over Kentucky in its latest meeting with the conference earlier this season in Spokane.
- Gonzaga has won seven of its last 10 games against current SEC opponents.
 
UP NEXT
- On Tuesday, Gonzaga and Montana meet for the 153rd time. The Griz lead the series, 88-65.
- Gonzaga has won the last 10 meetings, dating back to the Zags' 87-80 victory in Missoula in 1997-98.
- In the last meeting, Gonzaga earned a 61-58 victory on Dec. 8, 2015, in Spokane.
- The Zags are 325-220 all-time against current members from the Big Sky Conference, including 44-1 under Mark Few.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Drew Timme ranks seventh in program history with 1,747 points and ninth with 704 rebounds. He is 63 points from sixth. Timme is 53 rebounds from eighth in program history.
- Malachi Smith is seven points from 1,400 in his career and 11 rebounds from 600.
 
A ZAG WIN WOULD ...
- Improve Gonzaga's record against ranked opponents to 29-14 since March 2016.
 
AGAINST THE BEST
- Since 2018-19, Gonzaga boasts a 6-1 record in regular season games against teams ranked in the Top 5 in either the AP or Coaches polls.
- Only one of those games, a win over No. 5 Texas last season, were at home in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- The lone loss was by three points to No. 5/6 Duke last season in Las Vegas.
- Over that same span, the Zags are 7-3 versus Top-10 foes in regular season games.
 
QUITE THE STRETCH
- The Zags wrapped up a stretch of games against five teams currently appearing in the AP Poll over a seven-game span; Michigan State, won 64-63; at No. 7 Texas, lost 74-93; No. 13 Kentucky, won 88-72; No. 1 Purdue, lost 66-84; No. 11 Baylor, lost 63-64.
- Purdue, Texas and Kentucky are currently fourth, fifth, and sixth in the KenPom rankings, while the Zags are 11th. Baylor is 15th. GU visits 10th-ranked in KenPom, Alabama, on Saturday. GU played Tennessee in an exhibition and the Vols are third.
 
ABOUT THAT SCHEDULE
- Gonzaga currently owns the eighth-most difficult strength of schedule in the nation according to ESPN.
- The Zags are one of two teams in the country that have played five Quad 1 games so far (Duke).
- GU and North Carolina are the only teams that have played seven Quad 1 and 2 games so far.
- Four teams currently have four Quad 1 and 2 wins; Gonzaga, Purdue, Houston and UCONN.
- Based on KenPom, this non-conference slate has been the most difficult GU has had in the history of KenPom's website that dates back to 2002.
- Due to the schedule, the Zags current ranks in the metrics are KenPom: 11, Sagarin: 6, BPI: 10, Haslam: 16, Torvik: 1, EvanMiya: 2.
 
ITS BEN A GOOD STRETCH
- Ben Gregg scored a career-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. He also grabbed a career-best seven rebounds and made a career-high three steals.
- Over the past six games, Ben Gregg has averaged 5.8 points on 46 percent shooting, along with 3.3 rebounds. He has made 5-of-12 from three-point range and all six of his free-throws.
 
DISHING IT OUT
- Nolan Hickman has 34 assists to 11 turnovers over the past seven games.
- Hickman dished out four assists with no turnovers in the win over Northern Illinois.
- He has four assists in each of the last three games.
- After back-to-back five assists to one turnover games against Purdue and Xavier, he had eight assists versus Baylor.
- In the Phil Knight Legacy tournament, Hickman had 14 assists to two turnovers.
 
TIED FOR HISTORIC MARK
- Gonzaga's 71 straight home wins are tied for the most in the modern era of Div. 1 (Since 1985).
- Arizona had 71 straight victories from 1987-1992.
- The Zags' last loss at home was during the 2017-18 season, a 74-71 setback to Saint Mary's on Jan. 18, 2018.
- GU's 71 consecutive victories at home is tied for 10th all-time in NCAA Div. 1 history.