#18/18 Gonzaga (6-3) vs. Washington (7-2)
FRIDAY, DEC. 9 | 6 P.M. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
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THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga welcomes Washington to the McCarthey Athletic Center Friday at 6 p.m. It will be the 49th meeting between the in-state foes. The Huskies have won 29 of the meetings, but the Bulldogs have won the last six.
- GU is 40-5 versus Div. 1 schools in the state of Washington since 1998.
- The Zags own the country's longest home win streak with 69 consecutive victories inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. Texas Tech is the next closest with 25 straight home wins.
- Gonzaga's 69 straight home wins are tied for second in the modern era of Div. 1 (Since 1985). Arizona owns the modern record, since 1985, with 71 straight 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 73-66 victory over Kent State at home Monday. The Golden Flashes entered the game ranked No. 24 in the NET, while the Zags were No. 29. Drew Timme scored 29 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds, and GU closed the game on an 11-0 run. Julian Strawther added 14 points for the Zags.
- The Bulldogs rank No. 4 in KenPom's offensive efficiency. GU is 26th in the nation in field goal percentage (49.4) and 35th in three-point percentage (38.6). Julian Strawther's 7.67 defensive rebounds per game is 11th.
- Drew Timme is second in the West Coast Conference averaging 19.8 points per game and shooting 62.4 percent from the field. He is third with 1.33 blocks per outing. Nolan Hickman is fourth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.00), while his four assists per game ranks fourth. Strawther's 8.6 rebounds per game are third.
- The Zags are No. 18 in the Associated Press poll. The Bulldogs' 119 straight AP Poll appearances top the nation. Baylor is the next closest at 61 consecutive appearances in the Top 25. GU's 119 consecutive appearances in the Top 25 is 13th all-time in the poll's history. Syracuse is 12th with 120 straight appearances from 1984-91.
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
- Washington has won seven of its nine games so far this season, including a 73-63 home victory over Colorado Sunday. Cole Bajema and Braxton Meah scored 16 points each. Keion Brooks Jr. added 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Huskies and Jamal Bey had 12 points and tied a career-high with five steals.
- Brooks averages a team-high 16.6 points and seven rebounds. Bajema adds 10.2 points and 5.2 rebounds. PJ Fuller II dishes a team-best 3.3 assists per game.
- Five more Huskies average at least eight points per contest.
- Washington and Gonzaga share a common opponent this season as the Huskies beat North Florida, 75-67. UW also outlast Saint Mary's 68-64 in overtime to win the Wooden Legacy tournament.
- The Huskies were picked ninth in the Pac-12 Conference Preseason Poll.
 
SERIES INFO
- Gonzaga meets Washington for the 49th time.
- The Huskies have a 29-19 advantage in the series all-time, but GU has won 13 of the last 14 matchups.
- Gonzaga has won the last six meetings, dating back to a 99-95 Washington win in Dec. 4, 2005.
- In the last meeting, No. 9 GU used late three-pointers to beat No. 22 Washington 83-76, in Seattle, on
Dec. 8, 2019. Five Zags finished in double-digit scoring. Drew Timme had four points and four rebounds in 10 minutes.
- Washington won the first meeting in the series,
23-14, on Feb. 24, 1910.
- The Zags are 42-18 against Pac-12 competition under Few, including winning the last 12 matchups against the conference.
- Gonzaga won its last matchup with a Pac-12 foe, cruising past then No. 2 UCLA 83-63 in Las Vegas in last season's Empire Classic Championships.
 
UP NEXT
- Northern Illinois travels to Spokane for the first-ever meeting between Gonzaga and the Huskies Monday.
- It will be the Bulldogs' eighth all-time meeting against a current member from the Mid-American Conference.
- Gonzaga has won six of the seven meetings against current MAC members, with the lone loss coming to Toledo in 1964.
- The Zags just defeated fellow MAC member Kent State, 73-66, in Spokane last Monday.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Drew Timme ranks eighth in program history with 1,699 points and 10th with 691 rebounds. He is 24 points from seventh. Timme is three rebounds from ninth in program history.
- Rasir Bolton is at exactly 100 starts, 1,600 points and 200 made threes in his career.
 
A ZAG WIN WOULD ...
- Extend the nation's longest home win streak, and longest in program history, to 70 games.
- Extend the second-longest streak in the AP Poll era for ranked against unranked opponents to 75 games.
- Be the 85th straight victory over an unranked team.
- Be the 64th straight victory over an unranked team at home, 48th over a non-conference opponent at home and 47th over an unranked non-conference foe at home.
 
QUITE THE STRETCH
- The Bulldogs 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. 2 Texas, lost 74-93; No. 16 Kentucky, won 88-72; No. 4 Purdue, lost 66-84; No. 12 Baylor, lost 63-64.
- Texas, Kentucky, and Purdue are currently third, fifth, and sixth in the KenPom rankings, while the Zags are ninth. Baylor is 16th. GU visits 14th-ranked in KenPom, Alabama, on Dec. 17. GU played Tennessee in an exhibition and the Vols are second.
 
ABOUT THAT SCHEDULE
- Gonzaga currently owns the third-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.
- The Bulldogs have done all of that as the lone Top 25 team that has only played two games at home.
- 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 metics are KenPom: 9, Sagarin: 7, BPI: 3, Haslam: 7, Torvik: 1, EvanMiya: 2.
 
NEARING HISTORIC MARK
- Gonzaga's 69 straight home wins are tied for second in the modern era of Div. 1 (Since 1985). Kansas also won 69 consecutive games at home from 2007-11.
- Arizona owns the modern record, since 1985, with 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.