#12/12 Gonzaga (23-5, 12-2 WCC) vs. San Diego (11-17, 4-10)
THURSDAY, FEB. 23 | 8 P.M. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
TELEVISION: ESPN2
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga and San Diego meet for the 101st time in Spokane Thursday at 8 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 33)
- Gonzaga is coming off a 97-88 win at Pepperdine Saturday. Drew Timme scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half and Julian Strawther added 28 points. Rasir Bolton had nine critical points in the last 3:30.
- Timme's last basket, a layup that gave GU a 78-70 lead with 5:30 to play, moved him past Bill Cartwright, who scored 2,116 points for San Francisco (1975-79), into eighth on the WCC's career scoring list with 2,117.
- Gonzaga leads the country averaging 87.5 points per game and shooting 52.5 percent from the field. The Zags are also first in effective field goal percentage (.585). Timme is third in the nation with 236 made field goals and is seventh with 596 points. His 21.3 points per game rank 12th in the nation. Anton Watson and Timme are first and second in the WCC in field goal percentage at 61.6 and 61.5 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 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. Anton Watson is third averaging 1.85 steals.
- GU ranks first in KenPom's offensive efficiency, finishing in the top three in each of the past four seasons.
 
SCOUTING THE TOREROS
- San Diego has had a week off since a 62-59 home loss to Saint Mary's last Thursday. The Toreros trailed by 23 with 11:55 remaining, and outscored the Gaels 24-4 the rest of the way. Saint Mary's was held off the board over the final 7:05. Nic Lynch led USD with a season-high 17 points. Neel Beniwal added 11 points.
- The Toreros have lost three straight and five of their last six. USD is 8-8 at home, but 3-9 away from San Diego.
- Marcellus Earlington averages a team-high 17.6 points per game. He's adding 6.9 rebounds per outing.
- Jase Townsend contributes 15.3 points per game, while Eric Williams Jr. averages 14.5 points and a team-high 9.5 rebounds. Sigu Sisoho Jawara chips in 11.3 points and a team-best 2.96 assists per game.
 
SERIES NOTES
- This is 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, Chet Holmgren had 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 2 Gonzaga past San Diego 92-62. Drew Timme added 13 points and eight rebounds as six Bulldogs scored in double figures.
- 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 meeting 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.
- Gonzaga is 34-13 all-time at San Diego. The Zags have won 13 of their last 14 at USD.
- The Zags won the first-ever meeting, 72-62, on Feb. 1, 1980, in San Diego.
 
UP NEXT
- Gonzaga hosts Saint Mary's Saturday at 7 p.m.
- It will be the 111th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Saint Mary's. The Bulldogs lead the series 77-33, winning 23 of the last 29 meetings.
- Gonzaga is 51-13 against SMC under Mark Few.
- In the first matchup this season in Moraga, Aidan Mahaney scored 18 points leading No. 18 Saint Mary's to a 78-70 overtime win over No. 12 Gonzaga. Drew Timme scored 23 points to lead Gonzaga, while Malachi Smith and Julian Strawther added 13 and 10.
- Gonzaga is 34-11 all-time at home against SMC. GU is 17-4 in the meetings in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- Gonzaga won last season's matchup in Spokane, the Zags rolled to a 74-58 win over the No. 22 Gaels. Drew Timme scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
- The Zags are 16-4 against SMC in the WCC Tournament, winning seven of the last eight meetings in the event. The teams have met in the tournament 13 of the past 15 years.
- The Bulldogs won the first all-time meeting between the programs, 86-84, in Moraga on Dec. 23, 1971.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Drew Timme ranks second in program history with 2,117 points and eighth with 822 rebounds. He is 80 points from first. Timme needs to average 16 points during the next five games to surpass Frank Burgess for the top spot. Timme is 38 rebounds from fifth in GU history. Timme needs one assist 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 five rebounds from 400 in his career.
 
STRIKE WHILE THE STRAWTHER IS HOT
- Over the last three games, Julian Strawther has scored 26 points versus BYU, 28 points at Loyola Marymount and 28 points at Pepperdine.
- That's a total of 82 points and a 27.3 point average over the last three contests.
- He is shooting 58.7 percent from the field (27-of-46) over that span, including 54.2 percent from three (13-of-24). The junior has also made 15 of his 18 free-throws.
- Strawther has added 15 rebounds and three blocks during the last three games.
- The Zags are 15-0 this season when Strawther scores 14 or more points.
 
TRIPLE BYE IN VEGAS
- Gonzaga has clinched one of the top two seeds in the 2023 West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas.
- The top two seeds earn triple byes in the event to the semifinals on March 6.
- GU has been the top seed in the WCC Tournament in 11 of the 14 years that the event has been in Las Vegas since 2009. The other three years, GU has been the two-seed.
 
COLLEGE GAMEDAY RETURNS TO SPOKANE
- Gonzaga will be a part of ESPN's College GameDay for the sixth time, when the Zags host Saint Mary's Saturday.
- Gonzaga's Saturday night game with the Gaels from the McCarthey Athletic Center will be the showcase event for College GameDay Covered by State Farm, which begins at 7 a.m. Pacific Time.
- College GameDay Covered by State Farm is hosted by Rece Davis, who is joined by analysts Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg and LaPhonso Ellis. Bilas will join Dan Shulman and reporter Sean Farnham on the call of the Saturday night at 7.
- The Bulldogs first hosted College Gameday on Feb. 11, 2006. Gonzaga beat Stanford, 80-76, in the McCarthey Athletic Center. College Gameday was back in Spokane on Feb. 7, 2009. The Zags hosted the show in the McCarthey Athletic Center, but played Memphis in the Spokane Arena. The Tigers left with a 68-50 victory.
- On Jan. 19, 2013, the battle of the Bulldogs between GU and Butler was the showcase matchup. College Gameday's broadcast from Hinkle Fieldhouse preceded No. 13 Butler's 64-63 win over the eighth-ranked Zags. The following season, the No. 23 Bulldogs were edged at No. 24 Memphis, 60-54, on Feb. 14, 2014.
- In the show's 19th season, this will be the second matchup between two West Coast Conference members. The show was in Moraga, Calif., when the top-ranked Zags remained unbeaten winning at No. 18/19 Saint Mary's, 74-64, on Feb. 11, 2017.
 
ZAGS CLOSE TO 25 WINS ... AGAIN
- Gonzaga has won at least 25 games in each of the last 15 consecutive seasons.
- The Zags have reached the 25-win plateau in 18 of the last 19 seasons, and 22 of the last 24.
- Kansas owns the NCAA Div. 1 record with 15 straight 25-win seasons from 2005 to 2020.