Gonzaga (15-5, 6-1 WCC) vs. Loyola Marymount (10-11, 3-4)
TUESDAY, JAN. 30 | 8 P.M. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
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THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga hosts Loyola Marymount Tuesday at 8 p.m. It's the 102nd all-time meeting between Gonzaga and LMU. The Zags have a 79-22 advantage in the series and have won 30 of the last 32 meetings.
- Gonzaga has won 32 of the last 33 against the Lions in Spokane, but LMU won the latest last season.
- The Bulldogs are coming off an 82-73 win at Pacific Saturday. All five Gonzaga starters finished in double-digit scoring for the second straight game. Graham Ike's 20 points led the Bulldogs, while Nolan Hickman added 19 points. Anton Watson had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, with three assists and two steals.
- The Zags are 10-0 this season when scoring 80 points and 10-0 when shooting 50 percent from the field.
- Gonzaga leads the West Coast Conference in field goal percentage (50.4, 6th in NCAA Div. 1), scoring margin (16.5, 7th in NCAA Div. 1), rebounds per game (41.4, 13th in NCAA Div. 1), and scoring (85.0, 15th NCAA Div. 1).
- Ryan Nembhard leads the conference dishing out 6.1 assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.65).
- 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 195 steals in his career, trailing only John Stockton.
 
ABOUT THE LIONS
- Loyola Marymount battled and led multiple times at Saint Mary's Saturday before falling 70-65. Keli Leaupepe led LMU with 15 points and six rebounds. Will Johnston added 15 points. Leaupepe and Johnston both made three three-pointers. Justin Wright also scored 14 points for the Lions.
- Gonzaga transfer Dominick Harris averages a team-high 14.7 points per game. He leads the conference with 58 made three-pointers at a WCC-best 43.3 percent.
- Alex Merkviladze adds 11 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds. Justice Hills dishes out 4.15 assists per game.
- Justin Wright and Will Johnston chip in 10.6 and 10.3 points per outing for the Lions.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the 102nd all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount. GU has a 79-22 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 30 of the last 32 meetings.
- The Bulldogs are 47-4 against LMU under Mark Few.
- In the last matchup, No. 13 Gonzaga avenged an earlier loss to Loyola Marymount with a 108-65 rout in L.A. Six players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs as they led the entire game and opened a 51-point advantage less than six minutes into the second half. According to STATS Perform, it was the largest road win by a Div. I team in the last 40 years against a team they had lost to at home earlier in the season. Anton Watson scored 16, while Nolan Hickman had 11 points.
- Gonzaga is 40-7 at home against the Lions.
- In the last season's meeting in Spokane, the Lions snapped a 25-game Zag win streak in the series with a 68-67 victory. Nolan Hickman had 12 points, six assists and three steals.
- Gonzaga is 30-14 all-time at LMU and has won 11 straight in Los Angeles. The Lions' last home win in the series came on Feb. 18, 2010, 74-66, in Los Angeles.
- The Zags won the first all-time meeting between the programs, 75-71, in Spokane in 1953.
 
UP NEXT
- The 114th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Saint Mary's. The Bulldogs lead the series 80-33, winning 25 of the last 30 meetings.
- Gonzaga is 56-13 against SMC under Mark Few.
- In last season's matchup in Spokane on Feb. 25, Drew Timme scored 19 points and No. 12 Gonzaga earned a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title with a 77-68 win over No. 15 Saint Mary's.
- Gonzaga is 37-10 all-time at home against SMC.
- The Bulldogs are 26-20 all-time at Saint Mary's.
- GU won the last meeting, cruising to the WCC Tournament title last season in Las Vegas, 77-51. Nolan Hickman scored 12 points and Anton Watson had 10 rebounds.
- The Zags are 18-3 against SMC in the WCC Tournament, winning eight of the last nine 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, 94-77, in Spokane in 1955.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Ryan Nembhard just crossed the 1,000-point plateau in his career with 12 points at Pacific. He's at 1,003 in his career.
- Graham Ike is 17 points from 1,100 in his career.
- Anton Watson is 13 points from passing Jeremy Pargo (1,245) for 30th on the program's all-time scoring list.
- Watson is 11 rebounds from passing Domantas Sabonis (694) for 10th all-time at Gonzaga.
- Watson has played 136 games at GU, which ranks ninth in program history. Corey Kispert and Sam Dower are eighth at 137 games played. Josh Perkins owns the record at 153.
- Watson is 120-16 (88.2) in his career appearances, his 120 wins rank eighth all-time at GU. Drew Timme is seventh at 121, and Przemek Karnowski owns the record at 137.
 
WHERE WE RANK
- GU is sixth in the nation in field goal percentage (50.4) and 17th in field goal percentage defense (39.4).
- The Zags lead the WCC in scoring offense (85.0), which also ranks 15th in the nation. GU is seventh in the country in scoring margin at 16.5, which tops the conference.
- Gonzaga is 14th in the country in rebound margin (9.1), and 13th averaging 41.35 rebounds per game.
- Ryan Nembhard tops the WCC in assists per game (6.1), which also ranks 19th in the country. He also leads the WCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.65).
 
IKE NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Gonzaga's Graham Ike was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week, the Conference announced Monday.
- In the 77-72 win over San Francisco, Ike notched 22 points with seven rebounds and a block.
- Two nights later, in a close battle at Pacific, Ike collected 20 points three rebounds and a block. He helped the Zags hold on and beat the Tigers, 82-73, in Stockton.
- Ike became the third Zag to win CU1 WCC Player of the Week this season.
 
KEEPING IT 1000
- Ryan Nembhard reached the 1,000-point plateau in his collegiate career in the win at Pacific.
- The junior needed nine points in the game and scored 12.
- Nembhard joins, Anton Watson (1,233) and Graham Ike (1,083) as the third Zag to have 1,000 career points.
- Nolan Hickman sits at 704 points in his career.
 
EFFICIENT THROUGH SEVEN
- Through the first seven games of West Coast Conference play, GU leads the league in field goal percentage at 53.4 percent. Saint Mary's is second at 48.3 percent.
- The Dons' Jonathan Mogbo tops the WCC shooting 70.4 percent from the field in conference play. GU owns the next two spots; Anton Watson (66.7) and Graham Ike (61.3).