#13/12 Gonzaga (22-5, 11-2 WCC) at Pepperdine (9-18, 2-11 WCC)
SATURDAY, FEB. 18 | 4 P.M. | FIRESTONE FIELDHOUSE | MALIBU, CA
TELEVISION: KHQ, ROOT, Bally Sports SoCal, Bally Sports San Diego, NBC Sports Bay Area, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga and Pepperdine meet for the 96th time in Malibu, Calif., Saturday at 4 p.m.
- The Bulldogs clinched their 26th straight 20-win season. The Zags' 26-straight 20-win seasons ranks second for the longest active run in the country. (Kansas 32)
- Gonzaga is coming off a 108-65 win at Loyola Marymount Thursday. Julian Strawther led all scorers with 28 points with six three-pointers. Six Zags finished in double-digit scoring and GU led by as many as 51.
- Drew Timme is 34 points from passing San Francisco's Bill Cartwright for eighth in West Coast Conference history. Timme is five rebounds from moving past Przemek Karnowski for sixth place on GU's career rebound list.
- Gonzaga leads the country averaging 87.1 points per game and shooting 52.3 percent from the field. The Zags are also first in effective field goal percentage (.585). Timme is third in the nation with 221 made field goals and is ninth with 562 points. His 20.8 points per game rank 16th in the nation. Anton Watson and Timme are first and second in the WCC in field goal percentage at 61.4 and 60.7 percent. Watson is second in two-point field goal percentage at 67.5 percent. Timme is sixth averaging 7.3 rebounds. Strawther's 6.5 rebounds per game are 10th. Nolan Hickman is second with a 2.12 assist-to-turnover ratio. Anton Watson is second averaging 1.85 steals.
 
SCOUTING THE WAVES
- Pepperdine has had a week off since falling at San Francisco last Saturday, 88-80. The Waves' Mike Mitchell Jr. drained 20 points in the first half, including six threes, and finished with 22 points. Jevon Porter contributed 14 points and seven boards, while Jan Zidek and Malik Moore both had 10 points. Pepperdine led for 18 minutes and 26 seconds of the game, and trailed for only 15:40.
- Prior to the setback at San Francisco, the Waves won back-to-back games at home over Portland in double overtime and BYU. The victories are the lone WCC wins for Pepperdine.
- The Waves are 0-11 in true road games, but 8-6 inside Firestone Fieldhouse this season.
- Four Pepperdine players average double-digit scoring led by Maxwell Lewis, who averages a team-high 17.6 points.
- Houston Malette adds 13.4 points per outing. Jevon Porter and Mike Mitchell Jr. chip in 11.6 and 11.9 points. Porter grabs 7.3 rebounds per game.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the 96th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Pepperdine. The Zags have a 64-31 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 44 straight versus the Waves, with the last Pepperdine victory in the series coming on Jan. 18, 2002, 88-79, in Malibu.
- Gonzaga's 44 straight wins over Pepperdine ranks as the third-longest streak versus an opponent in Div. 1 history.
- The Bulldogs are 47-2 against the Waves under Few.
- In the first meeting this season in Spokane, Drew Timme scored 22 of his season-high 35 points as part of Gonzaga's first-half scoring outburst, and the No. 10 Bulldogs raced past Pepperdine 111-88 on Dec. 31. Julian Strawther added 22 points and GU finished with six players in double figures.
- Gonzaga has won 19 in-a-row inside the Firestone Fieldhouse and is 25-17 all-time in the meetings in Malibu.
- In last season's matchup at Pepperdine, Drew Timme scored 19 points to lead top-ranked Gonzaga to an 86-66 win.
- Gonzaga has a 33-12 advantage in the meetings in Spokane, including winning the last 24 straight matchups.
- Gonzaga won the first-ever meeting, 93-70, in the Knights
of Columbus Tournament in Portland, on Dec. 11, 1964.
 
UP NEXT
- Gonzaga hosts San Diego Thursday at 8 p.m.
- It will be the 101st all-time meeting between Gonzaga and San Diego. GU has a 78-22 lead in the series.
- GU has won 15 straight versus the Toreros, 26 of the last 27, and 48 of the last 51 matchups.
- The Bulldogs are 49-4 against San Diego under Mark Few.
- The Toreros' last win in the series came on Feb. 22, 2014, 69-66, at San Diego.
- In the last matchup, Drew Timme scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds as No. 2 Gonzaga won at San Diego 92-62 on Feb. 3, 2022.
- Gonzaga is 37-5 at home versus San Diego all-time, including 18-0 in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- GU has won 22 straight games at home in the series, dating back to an 82-70 loss on Feb. 17, 2000.
- In the last matchup in Spokane, GU rolled to a 106-69 win at home on Feb. 20, 2021. Drew Timme scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half. The Zags led 51-22 at halftime.
- The Zags won the first-ever meeting, 72-62, on Feb. 1, 1980, in San Diego.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Drew Timme ranks second in program history with 2,083 points and eighth with 815 rebounds. He is 114 points from first. Timme needs to average 19 points during the next six games to surpass Frank Burgess for the top spot. Timme is five rebounds from sixth in GU history. Timme needs three assists to hit 400 in his career.
- Malachi Smith is three made free-throws from 300 in his career.
- Anton Watson is four steals from 150 in his career. He is six steals from entering GU's career Top-10 list.
- Rasir Bolton is six rebounds from 400 in his career.
 
THAT'S MORE LIKE IT
- Gonzaga avenged a loss to Loyola Marymount by routing the Lions in Los Angeles, 108-65.
- According to OPTAstats, it was the largest road win by any Division I team in the last 40 years against a team they had lost to at home earlier that season.
- The Zags never gave the sold-out crowd a chance to get into the game jumping out to a 15-4 lead at the first media timeout, which stretched to 32-10 by the second media.
- GU went on a 20-0 run in the opening half and led by 40 points at halftime, 68-28.
- The Bulldogs' 68 points were the most in a half by Gonzaga this season. Gonzaga scored 67 points in the loss earlier in the season to LMU. The Zags made 27 shots from the field in the first half at Loyola Marymount, after making 24 in the game in Spokane versus the Lions.
- Gonzaga's 68 first half points are tied for the 15th-most scored in half in the country this season. The program record is 86 set in a 147-136 loss at LMU on Feb. 18, 1989.
- The Bulldogs currently average 42.2 points in the first half this season, which leads the nation.