#8/8 Gonzaga (14-3, 3-0 WCC) at BYU (13-6, 3-1 WCC)
THURSDAY, JAN. 12 | 6:30 P.M. PT | MARRIOTT CENTER | PROVO, UT
TELEVISION: ESPN
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THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga visits Brigham Young for a West Coast Conference game Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
- The Zags have won 34 straight games in the month of January, dating back to a 74-71 setback to Saint Mary's on Jan. 18, 2018. GU has also won 91 consecutive games over unranked opponents.
- In its last game, Drew Timme and Nolan Hickman scored 20 points each and No. 9 Gonzaga beat Santa Clara 81-76 on Saturday night. Julian Strawther had 18 points and Ben Gregg grabbed eight rebounds to help the Bulldogs get their 25th straight win against the Broncos. Gonzaga trailed by 14 points in the first half and led for 11:33.
- Drew Timme passed Adam Morrison on Gonzaga's all-time career scoring list in the win at San Francisco. Timme has 1,892 points over his four seasons in a Bulldog uniform. Jim McPhee ranks second at 2,015 points.
- The Zags own the country's longest home win streak with 74 consecutive victories inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. Kentucky is the next closest with 28 straight home wins.
- Gonzaga's 74 straight home wins are 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 to Saint Mary's on Jan. 18, 2018.
- Gonzaga leads the country shooting 51.8 percent from the field. The Bulldogs are sixth in NCAA Div. 1 averaging 85.9 points per game. Drew Timme ranks third in the nation with 147 made field goals and third with 371 points. His 21.8 points per game rank eighth in the nation. He is 21st in the country shooting 61.5 percent from the field. He is fifth in the WCC averaging 7.9 rebounds. Julian Strawther's 7.3 rebounds per game are seventh.
- The Zags are No. 8 in the Associated Press poll. The Bulldogs' 124 straight AP Poll appearances top the nation. Houston is the next closest at 55 consecutive appearances in the Top 25. 
 
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
- BYU is coming off a 20-point win at San Diego Saturday, 68-48. Four Cougars finished in double-figures as BYU held San Diego to their lowest offensive output of the season. Fousseyni Traore was the game's leading scorer with 15 points, scoring in double figures for the 13th time this season.
- The Cougars had a seven-game win streak snapped with a 64-59 loss at Loyola Marymount Thursday. BYU has wins over Creighton and Utah during the stretch.
- Traore leads the team averaging 12.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Rudi Williams adds 12.3 points, while Gideon George and Spencer Johnson chip in 11.9 and 10.6 points per outing. Dallin Hall dishes out 3.47 assists.
 
SERIES NOTES
- This is the 31st all-time meeting between Gonzaga and BYU. The Zags have a 23-7 advantage in the series, with all 30 matchups coming under Mark Few.
- Gonzaga has won the last five meetings dating back to a 91-78 loss in Provo on Feb. 22, 2020. GU was No. 2 at the time and BYU was No. 23.
- The Zags rolled to a 90-57 win in the last matchup on Feb. 5, 2022, in Provo. Julian Strawther scored 19 points, while Rasir Bolton and Drew Timme each finished with 13 points.
- Gonzaga has won eight of the 11 meetings in Provo, including seven of the last eight matchups at BYU.
- The Bulldogs won last season's meeting in Spokane,
110-84. Drew Timme scored 30 points on 13-of-14 shooting. Andrew Nembhard had 22 points and 12 assists, and Julian Strawther added 20 points.
- Gonzaga has won eight of the 11 Spokane matchups in the series, all coming inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- GU has won all six of the meetings against the Cougars in the WCC Tournament, including in the 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2021 championship games.
- The Cougars won the first-ever meeting, 89-67, in the third round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament in Denver, Colo.
 
UP NEXT
- The 172nd all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Portland Saturday in Spokane.
- The Zags have a 105-66 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 15 straight versus the Pilots, and is 40-6 at home in the series. Gonzaga has won 16 in-a-row over Portland at home, dating back to a 72-68 loss on Feb. 19, 2003.
- The Bulldogs are 41-2 against Portland under Mark Few.
- Gonzaga won the latest meeting between the teams, 104-72, in Spokane on Jan. 29. The Zags made a McCarthey Athletic Center record 18 3-pointers. Drew Timme had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Anton Watson also scored 16.
- The Pilots last win in the series came on Jan. 9, 2014, 82-73, at Portland.
- Portland edged GU, 70-66, in the first-ever NCAA meeting on Jan. 18, 1959, inside the Spokane Coliseum.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Drew Timme ranks third in program history with 1,892 points and ninth with 752 rebounds. He is 124 points from second. Timme is five rebounds from eighth in program history.
- Hunter Sallis is one rebound from 100 in his career and Ben Gregg is at 100 in his career.
 
A ZAG WIN WOULD ...
- Extend the second-longest streak in the AP Poll era for ranked against unranked opponents to 81 games.
- Be the 92nd straight victory over an unranked team.
- Be the 39th straight road win over an unranked team.
- Be the 35th straight win in the month of January.
 
NOLAN TO THE RESCUE
- Nolan Hickman reeled off a collegiate career-high 20 points in the 81-76 win at Santa Clara.
- Hickman matched his career-high with four made threes in the victory, and none were more timely than his step-back at the top of the key with 1:12 left in the game to give GU a 76-74 advantage and the lead for good.
- Hickman finished 8-for-9 from the field, including 4-of-5 from behind-the-arc.
- The sophomore also had a pair of blocks and two assists.
 
BIG SHOT RAH IN SF
- Gonzaga led for a total of 99 seconds in the 77-75 win at San Francisco. Julian Strawther opened the game with a three, but until Rasir Bolton's put-back with seven seconds left, the Zags did not lead until the 3-2 start of the game. GU trailed for 35 minutes and 26 seconds in the victory.
- Bolton finished with 21 points, but scored 11 of the Bulldogs' final 15 points over the last 5:15. He hit three straight shots from behind-the-arc during the final stretch.
 
BAY AREA THRILLERS
- Gonzaga's victories at San Francisco and Santa Clara were by a combined seven points.
- The Zags led for a total of 13 minutes and 12 seconds, while trailing for 57 minutes and 52 seconds.
- It's the first time Gonzaga has played back-to-back single-digit games in regular season conference play since the 2016-16 season, winning at Santa Clara 79-77 and at USF in overtime 102-94.
 
DAGGER DOGS
- In the Bulldogs' five wins by single digits, they have outscored their opponents 63-41 (12.6-8.2) over the last five minutes of those games.
- In the last five minutes of those games, GU has shot 54.8 percent (17-of-31) from the field, including 7-of-11 from three-point range. Zag foes have been held to 15-of-40 (37.5 percent) from the field, and 2-of-14 from behind-the-arc.
- Gonzaga has outrebounded opponents 28-17 over that span.
- Julian Strawther leads the team with 19 points on 5-8 shooting from the field (3/4 from three) over that stretch.