#6/6 Gonzaga (16-3, 5-0 WCC) vs. Loyola Marymount (13-7, 3-3 WCC)
THURSDAY, JAN. 19 | 6 P.M. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
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THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga welcomes Loyola Marymount in the 100th meeting between the programs Thursday at 6 p.m.
- The Zags own the country's longest home win streak with 75 consecutive victories inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. Auburn is the next closest with 28 straight home wins. Gonzaga's 75 straight home wins are the most in the modern era of Div. 1 (Since 1985). The 75 straight wins are tied for eighth all-time in Div. 1 history.
- In its last game, Malachi Smith led six teammates in double figures with his season high 27 points, seven 3-pointers and a team-leading eight rebounds on Saturday night, and No. 8 Gonzaga used a dominant first half to top Portland 115-75. Drew Timme scored 18, Strawther added 14 and seven rebounds and Nolan Hickman scored 13.
- The Bulldogs are 5-0 in WCC play for the seventh straight season, they have been 6-0 the past five seasons.
- GU is on a 11-game win streak, the sixth straight season the Zags have had a 10-game or better win streak.
- The Zags' 11-game win streak currently ranks as the fourth-longest in NCAA Div. 1.
- Gonzaga leads the country shooting 51.7 percent from the field and averaging 86.9 points per game. Drew Timme ranks fourth in the nation with 163 made field goals and fourth with 408 points. His 21.5 points per game rank 10th in the nation. He is 23rd in the country shooting 61.0 percent from the field. He is sixth in the WCC averaging 7.8 rebounds. Julian Strawther's 7.3 rebounds per game are seventh.
- Gonzaga ranks third in KenPom's offensive efficiency, finishing in the top three in the past four seasons.
- The Zags have won 36 straight games in the month of January, dating back to a 74-71 setback to Saint Mary's on Jan. 18, 2018, also GU's last home loss. GU has also won 93 consecutive games over unranked opponents.
- The Zags are No. 6 in the Associated Press poll. The Bulldogs' 125 straight AP Poll appearances top the nation. Houston is the next closest at 56 consecutive appearances in the Top 25. 
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
- Loyola Marymount opens the West Coast Conference slate with a 3-3 record. The Lions are coming off a 98-84 victory over San Diego Saturday. LMU shot season-bests in all three aspects of the game with 55.2 percent (32-for-58) from the field, 56 percent (14-for-25) from three, and 90.9 percent (20-for-22) from the free throw line. Cam Shelton finished with 17 of his LMU career-high 28 points coming in the second half. Shelton finished a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line in the game to go along with seven assists. Chance Stephens and Keli Leaupepe added 18 and 17 points.
- Keli Leaupepe surpassed 1,000 career points as a Lion in Saturday's victory.
- Shelton is fourth in the conference averaging 18.5 points per game. He is second in the WCC playing 35.1 minutes per game, third dishing out 4.7 assists and tied for first with 2.1 steals per contest.
- Leaupepe chips in 14.4 points per outing and a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game, which ranks eighth in the league.
- The Lions are second in the WCC limiting opponents to 30.3 percent shooting from behind-the-arc.
 
SERIES NOTES
- This is the 100th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount. GU has a 78-21 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 25 straight versus the Lions, and 29 of the last 30 meetings. The Lions last win in the series came on
Feb. 18, 2010, 74-66, in Los Angeles.
- The Bulldogs are 46-3 against LMU under Mark Few.
- Gonzaga is 40-6 at home against the Lions and has won all 19 meetings in the McCarthey Athletic Center. GU has won 32 straight at home over Loyola Marymount. The last Lion win in Spokane was on Feb. 7, 1991, 91-79.
- Last season's meeting in Spokane was the most recent matchup, an 89-55 Gonzaga victory. Nolan Hickman had 11 points and Julian Strawther and Rasir Bolton scored 10 apiece for the Bulldogs.
- Gonzaga is 29-14 all-time at LMU and have won 10 straight in Los Angeles.
- In the last meeting in Los Angeles, the Zags picked up an 87-62 victory on Jan. 11, 2020. Drew Timme recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
- The Zags won the first all-time meeting between the programs, 75-71, in Spokane in 1953.
 
MORE IMPRESSIVE WCC STATS
- Since losing 69-66 at San Diego on Feb. 22, 2014, the
Zags have gone 116-0 (including conference tournament
games) vs. WCC teams not named Saint Mary's or BYU.
- Thursday will be 3,253 days since a team other than
Saint Mary's or BYU defeated Gonzaga in WCC play.
- Since the 2016-17 season, the Bulldogs have won 98 out of their last 102 West Coast Conference regular season games. Including the WCC Tournament, GU is 111-5 over that span.
- The Zags have won 54 of their last 56 games against conference competition dating back to the 2019-20 season.
 
UP NEXT
- The 21st all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Pacific Saturday in Stockton at 7 p.m.
- The Zags have won 20 of the previous 21 matchups in the series, including the last 18 straight.
- The Bulldogs are 18-0 against Pacific under Mark Few.
- The Tigers lone victory in the series came in Stockton in 1976, 70-60.
- The Bulldogs won the last meeting between the teams, 89-51, in Spokane last season on Feb. 10. Rasir Bolton scored 20 points and Drew Timme added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
- Gonzaga has won all 11 meetings in Spokane, including all 10 inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- GU has won eight of the nine meetings in Stockton, including the last seven.
- In the last meeting in Stockton, No. 1 Gonzaga stayed unbeaten rallying for a 76-58 victory on Feb. 4, 2021. Drew Timme scored 21 points, and the Bulldogs trailed at halftime and didn't pull away until midway through the second half.
- The Zags edged Pacific, 85-83, in the first-ever meeting in Stockton on Feb. 5, 1959.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Drew Timme ranks third in program history with 1,929 points and eighth with 765 rebounds. He is 87 points from second. Timme is 19 rebounds from seventh in GU history. He is eight made free-throws from 400 in his career and three blocks from 100.
- Malachi Smith is 25 points from 1,500 in his career. He is nine made free-throws from 300 in his career and three steals from 150.
- Rasir Bolton is 10 assists from 350 in his career.
- Anton Watson is 20 steals from 150 in his career.
 
A ZAG WIN WOULD ...
- Extend the nation's longest home win streak, and longest in program history, to 76 games. That mark would extend the modern NCAA Div. 1 record (since 1985).
- Extend the second-longest streak in the AP Poll era for
ranked against unranked opponents to 83 games.
- Be the 94th straight victory over an unranked team.
- Be the 70th straight victory over an unranked team at home.
- Be the 40th straight win over a WCC team at home.
- Be the 37th straight win in the month of January.
 
DIALING FROM LONG DISTANCE
- Gonzaga made 17 three-pointers in a 115-75 win over Portland, the second-most in a single game under Mark Few.
- The Zags made the most under Few last season against Portland, making 18 of their 41 shots from deep.
- The GU record, also the WCC record, for most makes from three-point range is 22 against San Francisco in 1995.
- Malachi Smith made seven of his 10 three-pointers against Portland this season, finishing with a season-high 27 points. He added a game-high eight rebounds.
 
DAGGER DOGS
- In the Bulldogs' six wins by single digits, they have outscored their opponents 80-47 (13.3-7.8) over the last five minutes of those games.
- In the last five minutes of those games, GU has shot 57.5 percent (23-of-40) from the field, including 11-of-17 from three-point range. Zag foes have been held to 17-of-47 (36.2 percent) from the field, and 3-of-18 from behind-the-arc.
- Gonzaga outrebounded opponents 34-20 over that span.
- Julian Strawther leads the team with 25 points on 7-11 shooting from the field (5/7 from three) over that stretch.
 
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
- Since the NCAA introduced NET in 2018-19, Gonzaga is 127-14 in Div. I games, including a perfect 100-0 record in Quad 2, Quad 3 and Quad 4 games.
- Zags by quadrant, 2018-19 to present--
Q1: 38-14 | Q2: 24-0 | Q3: 31-0 | Q4: 45-0
- Gonzaga has won 83 consecutive games when ranked against unranked opponents, the second-longest such streak in the Associated Press Poll era.
- GU has won 93 straight games over unranked teams.