#13/16 Gonzaga (9-3) vs. San Diego State (10-2)
FRIDAY, DEC. 29 | 6 P.M. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
TELEVISION: ESPN2
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga hosts San Diego State in a west coast non-conference clash Friday night in the McCarthey Athletic Center at 6. This will be the fifth all-time meeting, the programs split the first four meetings.
- The Bulldogs are coming off a 100-76 win over Jackson State in Spokane on Dec. 20. Graham Ike scored 22 points in 17 minutes, Braden Huff added 17 points off the bench. GU scored 50 points in the paint and shot 52% as a team. Nolan Hickman scored 18 points and Ryan Nembhard added 11 points and six assists. Anton Watson finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, six assists.
- Anton Watson moved to No. 2 in program history with 179 steals in his career, trailing only John Stockton.
- The Zags are No. 13 in the Associated Press poll. The Bulldogs' 141 straight AP Poll appearances top the nation.
- The Bulldogs have won 154 straight games when leading by 10 or more points at halftime.
- Braden Huff was named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week Tuesday.
 
ABOUT THE AZTECS
- San Diego State enters the matchup on a three-game win streak, most recently beating Stanford in San Diego on Dec. 21, 74-60.
- Lamont Butler led SDSU with 18 points, while Jaedon LeDee and Micah Parrish added 16 and 10 in the win over Stanford.
- LeDee averages a team-high 21.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. He leads the Mountain West Conference in both of those stat categories. He is shooting 57.2 percent from the field.
- Reese Waters chips in 13.7 points per outing, and Parrish is at 10.8 points per game.
- Butler dishes out a team-best 3.67 assists per game.
 
SERIES INFO
- This will be the fifth all-time meeting between GU and San Diego State, with both programs winning twice in the series.
- It's the first of a home and home series with the Zags making the trip to Viejas Arena next year.
- The Aztecs held off GU in the last meeting, 72-70, at Viejas Arena on Dec. 22, 2017.
- Gonzaga won the first meeting, 72-69, in the 1959 City of Roses Tournament in Portland. The Aztecs won the second matchup, 79-76, on Nov. 16, 2010, during the third annual ESPN Tip-Off Marathon. In the second game of the 2016-17 season, the Bulldogs cruised to a 69-48 win in Spokane during ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon.
 
UP NEXT
- Gonzaga opens West Coast Conference play against Pepperdine in the Community Cancer Fund Classic in the Spokane Arena Jan. 4 at 6 p.m.
- The Zags open conference play against the Waves for the second straight season.
- Last season, No.10 Gonzaga eased to a 111-88 win over Pepperdine in Spokane. Anton Watson scored 11, while Ben Gregg chipped in 10.
- The Bulldogs have won 27 straight West Coast Conference openers, dating back to a 72-61 loss at Santa Clara in 1996. Gonzaga has won all 24 WCC openers under Mark Few.
- It will be the 96th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Pepperdine. The Zags have a 65-31 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 45 straight versus the Waves, with the last Pepperdine victory in the series coming on Jan. 18, 2002, 88-79, in Malibu.
- It ranks as the third-longest streak versus an opponent in Div. 1 history, and currently the longest active.
- The Bulldogs are 49-2 against the Waves under Few.
- Gonzaga has a 34-12 advantage in the meetings in Spokane, and has won 24 in-a-row against Pepperdine in Spokane. The last time the Waves won at Gonzaga was on Feb. 19, 1998, 65-64.
- The Zags won the lastest meeting, 97-88, in Malibu last season on Feb. 18. Watson scored nine points.
- Gonzaga won the first-ever meeting, 93-70, in the Knights of Columbus Tournament in Portland, on Dec. 11, 1964.
 
HUFF NAMED WCC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
- Braden Huff was named the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week.
- During Gonzaga's 100-76 win over Jackson State, Huff just missed a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes of action off the bench. He also added an assist, a steal and two blocks. Huff connected on seven of nine field goal attempts.
- This is the second time this season that Huff has won CU1 Conference Freshman of the Week (Dec. 4), and it is the Bulldogs' fourth overall Conference weekly accolade this season.
 
DOGS OFF THE LEASH
- In their last eight victories, GU got out to fast starts ...
                vs. Jackson St. led 19-7 at 12:10 mark
                vs. Miss. Valley led 22-10 at 10:16 mark
                vs. UAPB led 28-2 at 13:25 mark
                vs. USC led 20-6 at 13:25 mark
                vs. CSUB led 20-9 at 14:06 mark
                vs. UCLA led 20-9 at 10:34 mark
                vs. Syracuse led 22-8 at 11:15 mark
                vs. E. Oregon led 21-11 at 11:49 mark
 
WHERE WE RANK
- Gonzaga is 11th in the country in rebound margin (11.4), and 11th averaging 43.50 rebounds per game.
- GU is 26th in the nation in field goal percentage (49.3) and 20th in field goal percentage defense (38.2).
- The Zags are 16th in scoring margin (17.2).
 
BALANCING ACT
- Five Zags have finished in double-digit scoring in five of the past seven games.
- In the win over USC, six Bulldogs scored in double-figures, and Anton Watson had nine points.
- GU had at least three double-digit scorers in 10 of its first 11 games of the season, with five double-digit scorers in five of the games, and two outings with six double-digit scorers.
 
FEW CLOSING IN ON 700
- Gonzaga Head Coach Mark Few is three wins from 700 in his head coaching career.
- He would be the 14th active head coach in NCAA Div. 1 history to reach 700 victories.