#11/12 Gonzaga (9-3) vs. Montana (6-5)
TUESDAY, DEC. 20 | 6 P.M. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
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THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga hosts Montana in the McCarthey Athletic Center in the 153rd meeting between the programs Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Griz have won 88 of the all-time meets, but GU has a 10-game win streak in the series.
- 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 27 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 a 100-90 victory over No. 4 Alabama in the C.M. Newton Classic in Birmingham Saturday. Drew Timme led six Zags in double-digit scoring, matching his season-high with 29 points. He added 10 rebounds. Anton Watson chipped in 17 points, while Nolan Hickman had 13 points and four assists.
- Drew Timme's next victory will be the 100th in his collegiate career. He currently boasts a 99-10 career record.
- Since 2018-19, Gonzaga boasts a 7-1 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's 21.2 points per game ranks 13th in the nation and tops the West Coast Conference. He also leads the conference shooting 62.6 percent from the field. He is seventh with 1.0 blocks per outing. Nolan Hickman is third in the league in assists per game (4.00). Julian Strawther's 8.1 rebounds per game are fifth.
 
SCOUTING THE GRIZ
- The Grizzlies enter with confidence having won three consecutive games, starting at home with a 25-point win over South Dakota State.
- They followed that up with a road win against North Dakota State and a neutral site victory against Prairie View Saturday in Houston.
- During the winning streak, Montana's offense has been tough to stop. They average over 81 points on better than 56 percent shooting, increasing their season average up to 67.8 points per game.
- The Griz have played a very difficult non-conference schedule thus far, and close with their strongest opponent. Montana's five losses have come against teams that combine for a 45-15 record, with six of the losses coming against ranked opponents.
- Preseason All-Big Sky selection Josh Bannan has been off to a tremendous start this season, averaging 15.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the 153rd meeting between Gonzaga and Montana.
- Gonzaga has won the last ten meetings, dating back to the Zags' 87-80 victory in Missoula during the 1997-1998 season.
- The Zags have won 13 of the last 14 games against Montana, and have been nationally ranked for six of those matchups.
- In their last meeting, Gonzaga earned a close 61-58 victory over Montana on Dec. 8, 2015. With 7.5 seconds left in the game, Kyle Wiltjer hit a pair of free throws to put the Zags up three. The game was clinched for the Zags when a buzzer-beating three for Montana fell short, guaranteeing the 61-58 win for the Bulldogs.
- The last time Gonzaga and Montana met, both Kyle Wiltjer and Domantas Sabonis finished with 16 points in the game and combined for 19 rebounds. Josh Perkins also scored 13, and scored three of the last five points for the Zags in the closing minutes.
- The first matchup between Gonzaga and Montana saw the Grizzlies claim a 40-20 win in Missoula during the 1915-1916 season.
- In GU's last game against a Big Sky opponent, they earned a dominant 102-78 victory over Portland State at the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament on Nov. 24.
 
UP NEXT
- Gonzaga has seven days off for the holiday break before returning home to host Eastern Oregon on Dec. 28.
- The programs have four regular season meetings since GU went  Div. 1 in 1958-59; Gonzaga has won all four matchups and all were in Spokane.
- The teams met in an exhibition last season to open the season. The Zags rolled to a 115-62 victory. GU never trailed and led by as many as 55 points late in the second half. Julian Strawther scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. He was 3-for-6 from behind-the-arc. Kaden Perry had 12 points, Drew Timme chipped in 10 points and three blocks, and Hunter Sallis scored 11 points.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Drew Timme ranks seventh in program history with 1,776 points and ninth with 714 rebounds. He is 35 points from sixth. Timme is 44 rebounds from eighth in program history.
- Malachi Smith is seven rebounds from 600 in his career.
 
A ZAG WIN WOULD ...
- Extend the nation's longest home win streak, and longest in program history, to 72 games. That mark would
set the modern NCAA Div. 1 record (since 1985), breaking Arizona's top mark of 71 from 1987-1992.
- Extend the second-longest streak in the AP Poll era for ranked against unranked opponents to 77 games.
- Be the 87th straight victory over an unranked team.
- Be the 66th straight victory over an unranked team at home, 50th over a non-conference opponent at home and 51st over an unranked non-conference foe at home.
 
AGAINST THE BEST
- Since 2018-19, Gonzaga boasts a 7-1 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, was 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 8-3 versus Top-10 foes in regular season games.
 
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
- Gonzaga picked up its second win this season over No. 4 ranked team beating Alabama.
- In the second half against the Crimson Tide, the Zags scored 53 points, shot 74.1 percent from the field (including 66.7 percent from three-point range), and scored 1.43 points per possession (for reference, Arizona ranks No. 1 nationally this season at 1.20 PPP).
- Six Bulldogs finished in double-digit scoring for the third time this season.
- GU forced 21 turnovers and made 12 steals. Malachi Smith had five steals.
 
BACK-TO-BACK BESTS
- The Bulldogs had impressive showings in back-to-back wins over Northern Illinois and Alabama.
- Gonzaga made a season-high 43 shots from the field against NIU, before making 40 shots against Alabama, the second-most of the season. The Zags attempted a season-high 70 shots from the field in both games.