Gonzaga (13-5, 4-1 WCC) vs. San Francisco (15-5, 4-1)
THURSDAY, JAN. 25 | 6 P.M. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
TELEVISION: ESPN2
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THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga hosts San Francisco in the McCarthey Athletic Center Thursday at 6 p.m. It's the 94th all-time meeting between the Zags and Dons. GU has a 71-22 advantage in the series and has won 27 straight over USF.
- Gonzaga has won 34 in-a-row in Spokane in the series and is 39-2 against USF in Spokane all-time.
- The Bulldogs are coming off a 105-63 win at San Diego last Saturday. Braden Huff scored a career-high 26 points. He was one of six Bulldogs to finish in double-digit scoring. Ben Gregg made his second collegiate start and had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Anton Watson scored 12 points and grabbed 10 boards, and Ryan Nembhard was the third Zag to finish with a double-double of 12 points and 12 assists, with no turnovers.
- Gonzaga leads the West Coast Conference in field goal percentage (50.4, 6th in NCAA Div. 1), scoring margin (17.6, 7th in NCAA Div. 1, rebounds per game (42.3, 8th in NCAA Div. 1), and scoring (85.6, 9th in NCAA Div. 1).
- Ryan Nembhard leads the conference dishing out 6.4 assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.8).
- Head Coach Mark Few reached the 700 win plateau in his head coaching career at Pepperdine. 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 have won 157 straight games when leading by 10 or more points at halftime.
- Anton Watson moved to No. 2 in program history with 190 steals in his career, trailing only John Stockton.
 
ABOUT THE DONS
- San Francisco had its seven-game win streak snapped with a 77-60 home loss to Saint Mary's Saturday. Ryan Beasley finished with a career-high 17 points on 7-of-10 from the floor off the bench for the Dons. Malik Thomas (12 points) and Jonathan Mogbo (11 points) also finished in double figures for USF.
- San Francisco is 10th in NCAA Div. 1 in scoring defense (63.0), scoring margin (16.0) and field goal percentage (50.0), which are all second in the conference.
- The Dons lead the WCC in opponent three-point field goal percentage (30.8), free throw percentage (76.5), turnover margin (2.85), and steals per game (8.75).
- Mogbo is fourth in the conference in scoring (15.4), shooting a league-best 68.0 percent from the field. He also tops the WCC in rebounding (10.5), which ranks eighth in the nation. His eight double-doubles are fifth in the country. He leads the conference in steals per game (1.8) as well.
- Through five WCC games he is averaging 20.2 points, at 71.4 percent from the field, and 11.8 rebounds.
- Marcus Williams is adding 13.9 points per game this season, and Malik Thomas averages 11.4 points.
 
SERIES INFO
- 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.
 
UP NEXT
- The 23rd all-time meeting between GU and Pacific.
- The Zags have won 21 of the previous 22 matchups in the series, including the last 19 straight.
- The Bulldogs are 19-0 against Pacific under Mark Few.
- The Tigers lone victory in the series came in Stockton in 1976, 70-60.
- The Bulldogs won the last meeting between the teams, 99-90 at Pacific on Jan. 21, 2023. Drew Timme scored 24 of his career-high 38 points in the second half, including 18 straight points during one stretch. Anton Watson added 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Bulldogs outscored Pacific 58-38 in the paint.
- GU has won nine of the 10 meetings in Stockton, including the last eight.
- Gonzaga has won all 11 meetings in Spokane, including all 10 inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- The Zags edged Pacific, 85-83, in the first-ever meeting in Stockton on Feb. 5, 1959.
 
WHERE WE RANK
- GU is sixth in the nation in field goal percentage (50.4) and 14th in field goal percentage defense (39.1).
- The Zags lead the WCC in scoring offense (85.6), which also ranks ninth in the nation. GU is seventh in the country in scoring margin at 17.6, which tops the conference.
- Gonzaga is 13th in the country in rebound margin (9.8), and eighth averaging 42.28 rebounds per game.
- Ryan Nembhard tops the WCC in assists per game (6.4), which also ranks 12th in the country.
 
ZERO FOR ZERO
- Ryan Nembhard finished with 12 assists and no turnovers in the win at San Diego. It was the most assists by a Zag since his brother Andrew had 14 at Pepperdine on Feb. 16, 2022. It was the most assists by a Zag without a turnover since Andrew had 12 in a home win over BYU on Jan. 13, 2022.
- Ryan has played three straight games without committing a turnover; 5 assists at Santa Clara, 8 at Pepperdine, 12 at San Diego. He has thrown his last 26 assists without a turnover.
- It's the first time in his career he has gone three games without a turnover.
 
TRIPLE THE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
- Three Zags finished with double-doubles in the win at San Diego. Ben Gregg finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, Anton Watson had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Ryan Nembhard scored 12 points and dished out 12 assists.
- It was the first time GU had three double-doubles in the same game since 2018 at Creighton. Brandon Clarke (27 pts, 10 rbs), Rui Hachimura (22 pts, 11 rbs), and Josh Perkins (13 pts, 13 asts) all had double-doubles in the win in Omaha.
 
B HUFF B TOUGH
- Braden Huff racked up a career-high 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the field in the win at San Diego.
- It was the most by a Gonzaga freshman since Jalen Suggs scored 27 points against Iowa in 2020.
 
EFFICIENT THROUGH FIVE
- Through the first five games of West Coast Conference play, GU leads the league in field goal percentage at 54.6 percent. San Francisco is second at 51.1 percent.
- The Dons' Jonathan Mogbo tops the WCC shooting 71.4 percent from the field in conference play. GU owns the next four spots in the league's top five; Braden Huff (70.5), Anton Watson (66.0), Graham Ike (59.3) and Ryan Nembhard (53.2).
- Huff is shooting 84.8 percent from two-point range in conference play, which is second in the WCC.