#1/1 Gonzaga (21-2, 10-0 WCC) at Pepperdine (7-20, 1-11 WCC)
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 16 | 8 P.M. | FIRESTONE FIELDHOUSE | MALIBU, CA
TELEVISION: ESPN2
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP OFF
- No. 1/1 Gonzaga visits Pepperdine for a West Coast Conference matchup Wednesday night at 8. It's the 94th meeting between the programs, with the Zags holding a 62-31 advantage in the all-time series.
- GU has won 42 straight versus the Waves. Pepperdine's last win in the series came in 2002 in Malibu.
- The Zags have won 31 straight conference games, 30 by double-digits, which is the longest active streak of its kind in the nation. Gonzaga's last league loss was a 91-78 setback at BYU on Feb. 22, 2020. The Bulldogs have won 28 consecutive WCC games by double-digits by an average margin of 25.12 points.
- Gonzaga has clinched its 25th straight 20-win season, which is the second longest active streak in the nation.
- GU has won 10 straight true road games, which is the longest active streak in the country.
- Gonzaga is coming off a 74-58 home victory over No. 22/22 Saint Mary's Saturday. Four Zags finished in double-digit scoring led by Drew Timme's 25 points. Andrew Nembhard had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
- The Zags are one of four unbeaten teams in conference play. GU is on a 14-game win streak, tied for the second-longest active streak in the nation. It's the sixth straight season GU has had a 10-game or more win streak.
- The Zags are 10-0 in WCC play for the third straight season, they have opened 13-0 the past three seasons.
- The Bulldogs ride a national-best, and program-best, 66-game home win streak, with the last loss in 2018.
- Gonzaga returned to No. 1 in the AP Poll, the 38th week as the nation's top team and fifth this season. GU boasts a 61-7 record as No. 1 in the AP poll. Since 2017, Gonzaga has been No. 1 in 35 of the 110 AP polls (32 percent). That stat leads the country, with Duke second at 18 weeks.
- GU is first in the nation in scoring offense (90.9), field goal percentage (53.6), scoring margin (25.7), two-point percentage (62.2) and in defensive rebounds (32.7), second in assists per game (19.1), third in rebounds per game (42.4) and in assist-turnover ratio (1.61), fifth in rebound margin (9.5), and sixth in blocks per game (5.9).
- Chet Holmgren and Drew Timme are sixth and 10th in the nation shooting 63.7 percent and 60.7 percent from the field. Holmgren is fifth with 78 blocks and fifth averaging 3.39 blocks per game.
- The Zags are first in KenPom's rankings, and one of only two teams in the country with their offensive and defensive efficiencies in the Top-10 (second offensive efficiency and seventh efficient defense).
- The Bulldogs have won 73 of their last 77 games, and since the start of the 2019-20 season, GU has won a national-best 83 out of their last 88 games. Gonzaga is also 52-3 since the start of 2020-21.
 
SERIES NOTES
- This is the 94th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Pepperdine. The Zags have a 62-31 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 42 straight versus the Waves, with the last Pepperdine victory in the series coming on Jan. 18, 2002, 88-79, in Malibu.
- The Bulldogs are 46-2 against the Waves under Mark Few.
- In the matchup earlier this season in Spokane, Anton Watson scored 19 points, Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren scored 18 each, and No. 4 Gonzaga routed Pepperdine 117-83. Hunter Sallis scored 13 and Rasir Bolton and Julian Strawther had 12 points.
- The Bulldogs have won 23 in-a-row against Pepperdine in Spokane. The last time the Waves won at Gonzaga was on Feb. 19, 1998, 65-64.
- Gonzaga has won 18 in-a-row inside the Firestone Fieldhouse and is 24-17 all-time in the meetings in Malibu.
- In last season's meeting in Malibu, the Bulldogs had six players score in double figures in a 97-75 rout of Pepperdine. Drew Timme led the way with 19 points and Andrew Nembhard came off the bench and finished with 17 points and eight assists.
- GU has 32-12 advantage in the meetings in Spokane.
- Gonzaga won the first-ever meeting, 93-70, in the Knights
of Columbus Tournament in Portland, on Dec. 11, 1964.
 
SCOUTING THE WAVES
- Pepperdine is coming off a 91-85 loss to BYU in Malibu Saturday. The Waves led by eight in the first half, and BYU was able to hold off Pepperdine late. The Waves shot 58.9 percent from the field, and were led by Houston Malette's 31 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Jan Zidek added 20 points.
- Zidek averages a team-best 13 points per game, while Mallette chips in 12.4 points and Maxwell Lewis adds 11.
- Keith Fisher III grabs a team-high 6.4 rebounds per outing. Mike Mitchell has thrown 125 assists, which leads the team.
- The Waves are 7-7 at home, but 0-13 away from Malibu.
- Pepperdine was picked seventh in the WCC preseason poll.
 
ON THIS DAY IN ZAG HISTORY
- Gonzaga is 10-5 on Feb. 16 since joining Div. 1 in 1958-59.
- In their last game on this date, the Zags won at San Diego, 79-67, in 2019.
- GU beat Pepperdine on this date in 2002, 91-78.
- The Bulldogs have won seven straight games on Feb. 16.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Chet Holmgren's 78 blocks rank second in program history for most in a season. Brandon Clarke set the record in 2018-19 with 117. Clarke had 69 blocks after 23 games that season, averaging 3.0 per outing.
- Holmgren is 7 blocks from 10th for most in a GU career.
- Rasir Bolton is eight steals from 100 in his career.
- Anton Watson is 11 steals from 100 in his career.
 
A ZAG WIN WOULD ...
- Extend the nation's longest conference winning streak to 32 games, dating back to a loss at BYU on Feb. 22, 2019.
- Be the 15th straight GU win in February.
- Improve Mark Few's record in February to 159-23.
- Be the 75th in-a-row over an unranked foe.
- Extend the nation's longest true road win streak to 11.
- Be the 34th straight victory on a Thursday.
 
WHAT'S UP NEXT
- The 98th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Santa Clara. GU owns a 67-30 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 46 of the last 48 meetings against the Broncos, including the last 23 straight matchups.
- Santa Clara's last win in the series was an 85-71 home victory on Jan. 20, 2011.
- The Bulldogs are 46-4 against SCU under Mark Few.
- In the meeting earlier this season at SCU, Drew Timme scored 32 points and Andrew Nembhard had 19 as No. 2 Gonzaga routed Santa Clara 115-83.
- The Bulldogs are 33-6 all-time in Spokane in the series, and has won 13 straight at home versus the Broncos.
- In last season's meeting in Spokane, Corey Kispert scored 25 points, Drew Timme had 16 of his 18 points in the second half and No. 1 Gonzaga beat Santa Clara 89-75 on Feb. 25.
- Gonzaga is 24-23 all-time at Santa Clara, but have won 20 of their last 21 at SCU.
- Santa Clara won the first all-time meeting between the programs, 67-62, in Santa Clara on Feb. 3, 1959.
 
GONZAGA AT NO. 1
- Gonzaga returned to No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll Monday for the fifth time this season.
- In total, the Bulldogs have spent 38 weeks at No. 1 in the AP Poll in program history, which ranks eighth all-time.
- Since 2017, Gonzaga has been No. 1 in 35 of the 110 AP polls (32 percent). That stat leads the country, with Duke second at 18 weeks.
- Gonzaga boasts a 61-7 record all-time as the No. 1 ranked team in the AP Poll.
- GU has been ranked No. 1 in six of the last 10 years.
- The Nov. 22 poll was the 20th straight ranking that the Zags sat at No. 1. That streak matched the fourth-longest in AP poll history with San Francisco in 1955-56. UCLA topped the ranking for 46 consecutive polls from 1971 to 1974.
 
STEADY IN THE POLLS
- The Zags' 110 straight AP Poll appearances top the nation, with Villanova second at 55.
- GU is the only program in the country to appear in every AP poll since 2017, with a No. 5 average ranking.
- Since 2017, the Bulldogs have been in the Top 5 for a national-best 74 polls (67 percent of the 110 rankings). Kansas is second appearing in the Top 5 in 63 polls.
- Since 2017, GU has been in the Top 10 in 93 of the 110 polls (84 percent), which leads the country. Kansas is second at 87 polls in the Top-10 since 2017.
 
ALL ZAGS NO BRAKES
- Gonzaga's average possession length of 14.3 tops the nation. St. John's is second at 14.7.
- The Bulldogs are second in the country in adjusted tempo at 73.7. Charleston is first at 74.2.
- GU ranks second in the country in 33.9 percent of the Bulldogs' field goal attempts come in transition.
 
DOMINANT START
- The Zags have won their first 10 West Coast Conference games by an average margin of 29.1 points.
- The 2018-19 GU team set a WCC record beating league opponents by a margin of 27 points. The 2016-17 team has the second-largest margin at 26.2, and last season's team was third at 24.1.
- Gonzaga is averaging 95.8 points per conference game at 55.3 percent shooting from the field.
- Six Zags are averaging double-digit scoring in WCC play led by Drew Timme's 19.1 points per league contest.
- Chet Holmgren is averaging 16.4 points on 66.7 percent shooting from the field, including 21-of-36 from three (58.3 percent). He's adding 10.4 rebounds and 3.3 blocks.
 
HISTORIC EFFICIENCY
- Gonzaga has the best effective field goal percentage on offense at 60.5 percent and the best effective field goal percentage defense in the country at 42 percent.
- No team in the KenPom era has ever finished first in both categories.
 
THE FLOOR GENERAL
- Andrew Nembhard is dishing out 6.2 assists in West Coast Conference play, which leads the league. Portland's Tyler Robertson is the next closest at 4.5.
- It's currently the most by a Zag since Jeremy Pargo averaged 6.5 in WCC action during the 2007-08 season.
- Nembhard also tops the conference with a 5.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- He only has 11 turnovers in WCC play to his 62 assists.
- Over the past five games, the senior has 25 assists to just two turnovers. Over the same span Nembhard is scoring 15.2 points and has made 14 of his 15 free-throw attempts.
- The Canadian native is averaging 13.6 points league game, while shooting 95.8 percent from the line (23-of-24).