Gonzaga (12-5, 3-1 WCC) at San Diego (10-9, 0-4)
SATURDAY, JAN. 20 | 7 P.M. | JENNY CRAIG PAVILION | SAN DIEGO, CA
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THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga remains on the road at San Diego Saturday at 7 p.m. It's the 103rd all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Toreros. GU has a 80-22 lead in the series and has won 17 straight versus the Toreros.
- Gonzaga is 34-13 all-time at San Diego. The Zags have won 13 of their last 14 at USD, including the last eight.
- Head Coach Mark Few reached the 700 win plateau in his head coaching career Thursday. Few ranks second in NCAA Div. 1 history behind Kentucky's Adolph Rupp (700-136) as the fastest to 700 wins.
- Few currently boasts the best winning percentage among active head coaches at 83.3 percent, which also is the best in NCAA Div. 1 all-time with a minimum of 10 seasons.
- The Bulldogs are coming off an 86-61 win at Pepperdine Thursday night. Graham Ike scored 24 points and GU completed a season sweep over the Waves. Ike made 11 of 17 shots and added seven rebounds. Nolan Hickman made three threes, and Anton Watson went 7 of 10 from the field to finish with 16 points, adding eight rebounds. Ben Gregg grabbed 10 rebounds in his first start, while Ryan Nembhard had eight assists and no turnovers.
- Gonzaga leads the West Coast Conference in scoring (84.4), and rebounds per game (41.8, 13th in NCAA Div. 1). The Zags are second in the WCC and ninth in the nation shooting 50 percent from the field.
- Ryan Nembhard leads the conference dishing out 6.1 assists per game and minutes per game (34:51).
- The Bulldogs have won 156 straight games when leading by 10 or more points at halftime.
- Anton Watson moved to No. 2 in program history with 189 steals in his career, trailing only John Stockton.
 
ABOUT THE TOREROS
- San Diego had their game at Portland Thursday postponed until Tuesday, so the Toreros last game was an 83-77 loss to Pepperdine at home last Saturday. USD was held scoreless for more than six minutes during the game's final seven minutes, which saw the Waves make a 17-0 run that led to the contest's only tie and lead change. Kevin Patton Jr. led the way for USD with 16 points. Wayne McKinney III scored 13, followed by Deven Dahlke and PJ Hayes with 11, and Jimmy Oladokun Jr. with 10.
- Deuce Turner, averages a team-best 14.9 points per game, while McKinney III chips in 14.6 points and 2.94 assists. PJ Hayes is scoring 10.3 points per outing, and has made a team-high 40 three-pointers at 40 percent.
- Jamerson averages a team-best 7.4 rebounds per game.
 
SERIES INFO
- The 103rd all-time meeting between Gonzaga and San Diego. GU has a 80-22 lead in the series.
- GU has won 17 straight versus the Toreros, 28 of the last 29, and 50 of the last 53 matchups.
- The Bulldogs are 51-4 against San Diego under Few.
- The Toreros' last win in the series came on Feb. 22, 2014, 69-66, at San Diego.
- In the meeting earlier this season, Ben Gregg had a career-high 22 points, Graham Ike scored 15 of his 19 points during a big first half, and No. 24 Gonzaga beat San Diego 101-74 in Spokane on Jan. 6.
- Gonzaga is 34-13 all-time at San Diego. The Zags have won 13 of their last 14 at USD, including the last eight.
- In the Zags' last game at San Diego, Chet Holmgren had 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 2 Gonzaga past San Diego 92-62 on Feb. 3, 2022. Anton Watson added 11 points.
- Gonzaga is 39-5 at home versus San Diego all-time, including 20-0 in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- GU has won 24 straight games at home in the series, dating back to an 82-70 loss on Feb. 17, 2000.
- The Zags won the first-ever meeting, 72-62, on Feb. 1, 1980, in San Diego.
 
UP NEXT
- The 94th all-time meeting between GU and San Francisco. GU has a 71-22 advantage in the series.
- GU is 50-4 against San Francisco under Mark Few.
- The Zags have won 27 straight versus the Dons. USF's last win in the series came on Feb. 18, 2012, 66-65, at USF.
- Gonzaga has won 34 in-a-row in Spokane in the series, including all 19 in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- The Bulldogs are 39-2 against USF in Spokane all-time. The Dons last won in Spokane in 1989, 67-64.
- In last season's meeting in Spokane, Rasir Bolton scored 23 points and had six assists, and Drew Timme added 21 points to lead Gonzaga past San Francisco 99-81 on Feb. 9.
- In the last matchup, Anton Watson scored 20 points and Drew Timme had 17 to help the Bulldogs beat pesky San Francisco 84-73 in the 2023 WCC Tournament semifinals in Las Vegas. Ben Gregg added 12 points for GU.
- GU is 26-18 all-time at San Francisco. The Bulldogs have won the last 11 matchups at USF.
- San Francisco edged GU, 64-62, in the first-ever meeting at USF on Jan. 28, 1961.
 
FEW JOINS 700 CLUB
- Gonzaga Head Coach Mark Few reached the 700-win plateau in his head coaching career with the win at Pepperdine.
- He is the 14th active head coach in NCAA Div. 1 to reach 700 victories.
- Few ranks second in NCAA Div. 1 history behind Kentucky's Adolph Rupp (700-136) as the fastest to 700 wins.
- Just 36 other coaches in NCAA Division I history have hit the 700-win milestone. Of those, only seven have done it at one school: UTEP's Don Haskins, DePaul's Ray Meyer, Western Kentucky's Ed Diddle, Mount Saint Marys' Jim Phelan, Kentucky's Rupp, North Carolina's Dean Smith and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim.
 
WHERE WE RANK
- Gonzaga is 15th in the country in rebound margin (9.1), and 13th averaging 41.76 rebounds per game.
- GU is ninth in the nation in field goal percentage (50.0) and 22nd in field goal percentage defense (39.4).
- The Zags lead the WCC in scoring offense (84.4), which also ranks 16th in the nation. GU is 11th in the country in scoring margin at 16.1, which is second in the conference.
- Ryan Nembhard tops the WCC in assists per game (6.1), which also ranks 20th in the country.
 
FANTASTIC FINISH IN MALIBU
- The Bulldogs were tied with Pepperdine at halftime in Malibu, 40-40, before outscoring the Waves 46-21 in the second half.
- After shooting 45.9 percent in the first half, GU made 70.4 percent from the field in the second half, while holding Pepperdine to 29.2 percent.
- Gonzaga opened the second half on 17-1 and 23-3 runs.
- Graham Ike and Anton Watson combined to shoot 10-of-12 from the field in the second half for 22 points. Ryan Nembhard had six of his eight assists in the final 20 minutes.
 
QUITE A START
- Ben Gregg made his first collegiate start in the win at Pepperdine and played a career-high 30 minutes.
- The junior finished with a career-best 10 rebounds, with eight coming in the first half.
- He also dished out a career-high four assists.