No. 6/7 Gonzaga (1-0) vs. Arizona State (2-0)
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4 | 2 P.M. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
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THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga hosts its first regular season game inside the McCarthey Athletic Center against Arizona State Sunday at 2 p.m. It will be the first-ever meeting between the programs.
- The Zags have won all 20 regular season home-openers in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- GU has won 36 consecutive regular season home-openers since a 73-65 loss to Boise State on Dec. 7, 1988.
- The Bulldogs cruised to a 101-63 season-opening win over No. 8 Baylor in the Spokane Arena Monday. Nolan Hickman scored 17 points and Graham Ike had 15 points and eight rebounds. It was Gonzaga's biggest margin of victory over a top-10 opponent in school history, the largest by any team in a season opener against a top-10 opponent in AP Poll history, and the largest win by any team against an AP Top-10 opponent since Villanova beat Oklahoma by 44 in the 2016 National Semifinal.
- The Zags are ranked No. 6 in the preseason Associated Press poll. GU received 1,157 points in the preseason ranking, along with a first-place vote.
- This marks the 24th straight season Gonzaga has been ranked in the AP poll. It's the 15th consecutive year the Bulldogs have appeared in the preseason poll, starting in the top-20 for the 12th straight season.
- Gonzaga joins Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina as the only programs that have appeared in each of the last 15 preseason AP Polls.
- Last season, the Bulldogs advanced to their ninth straight Sweet 16, the longest active streak in the nation, and finished with a 27-8 record. Gonzaga finished No. 15 in the final AP Poll.
- The Zags extended its NCAA Div. 1 record to 17 straight seasons of at least 25 wins. GU's 27-straight 20-win seasons ranks second behind for the longest active run in the country.
- Of the 12 possible players that could come back from last season, 10 return for the 2024-25 campaign, including all four starters. The Bulldogs welcome back 81 percent of last season's scoring, along with 71 percent of their rebounding.
- The Zags are bringing back six of its top seven scorers, along with 81.4 percent of the minutes played, which is the highest retention rate for GU in almost 20 years. Only four other programs in the country bring back a higher percentage of minutes played.
 
SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS
- The Sun Devils opened the regular season at home with a 55-48 win over Idaho State Tuesday. ISU's 48 points were tied for third lowest points scored by an opponent since 2000. Arizona State also held Idaho State to a 25.4 FG%, marking the lowest FG% by ISU since Montana held them to 24.6 FG% on February 6, 2012. Three Sun Devils finished in double-digit scoring led by Alston Mason's 14 points.
- The Sun Devils then held off Santa Clara in Las Vegas Friday 81-74. BJ Freeman scored 17 points. Adam Miller scored 16 and freshman Jayden Quaintance had 12 rebounds.
- Quaintance is one of 20 initial candidates for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given out annually the nation's best center. Freeman is one of 20 players selected to the Julius Erving Award preseason watch list, which recognizes the top small forward in the country.
- Arizona State was picked 12th out of the 16 members in the Big 12 Conference preseason poll.
 
SERIES INFO
- Sunday is the first-ever meeting between Gonzaga and Arizona State, and the first of a home-and-home series that concludes in Tempe next season.
- The Bulldogs are 59-27 all-time against current members from the Big 12 Conference.
 
UP NEXT
- Gonzaga welcomes UMass Lowell for the first-ever meeting between the programs Friday at 6 p.m. inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- The River Hawks opened the season with a 115-59 win over Rivier. Six players finished in double-digit scoring led by Quinton Mincey's 20 points.
- Last season, the River Hawks nearly won the America East Conference, finishing second with a 22-10 record. It was the team's second consecutive 20-win season and third America East championship game appearance in four years.
- UMass Lowell was picked second in this year's America East preseason poll. Returning three starters and the league's Sixth Man of the Year, the River Hawks received 55 points and one first-place vote in this year's poll. This ties for the team's best preseason ranking since joining the America East.
- Fifth year forward Max Brooks was named to the America East Preseason All-Conference Team.
 
HECK OF A START
- Gonzaga's 101-63 regular season-opening victory over No. 8 Baylor was one for the record books.
- The win was Gonzaga's largest win over a Top-10 foe in program history.
- The 38-point win over Baylor is the largest by any team in a season opener against a top-10 opponent in AP Poll history.
- The 38-point win over Baylor is the largest win by any team against an AP Top-10 opponent since Villanova beat Oklahoma by 44 in the 2016 National Semifinal.
- Gonzaga topped 100 points against a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time since its 100-90 victory over Alabama on Dec. 17, 2022.
- Five Bulldogs finished in double-digit scoring against Baylor, with two others at nine points. Eleven of the 12 GU players that checked in scored in the victory.
- Gonzaga averaged 1.44 points per possession. Baylor had not given up a total that high since 2005 against Oklahoma. The Zags jumped to the number one offense in KenPom.
 
A LITTLE HELP FROM THE BENCH
- Gonzaga outscored Baylor 42-19 in bench points.
- Last season's NCAA Div. 1 leader in bench points, Cornell, averaged 36.03 per game.
- The Zags averaged 19.1 bench points per game last season, reaching 40 points from the bench in four games, with the last coming against Portland (42-11) on Feb. 7, and the most against Eastern Oregon (58-36) on Nov. 14.
- The 42 points were the most by Gonzaga against a ranked team over the last 20 seasons.
 
SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
- The Zags have now won 19 straight regular season-openers dating back to a 73-66 loss to Saint Joseph's in the 2003 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in New York City.
- GU has won 36 consecutive regular season home-openers since a 73-65 loss to Boise State on Dec. 7, 1988.
- Gonzaga has won all 20 regular season home-openers in the McCarthey Athletic Center and all 24 regular season home-openers under Mark Few.
 
A BEAR OF AN OPENER
- No. 8 Baylor was the highest ranked team the Bulldogs opened a season with since beating No. 6/5 Kansas in the 2020 Ft. Myers Tip-Off, 102-90.
- Gonzaga is now 2-3 all-time playing ranked teams in regular season-openers. GU beat No. 6 Kansas in 2020, but fell to No. 17 St. Joseph's in New York City, 73-66, in 2003. In 2001, GU lost at No. 2 Illinois, 76-58. No. 8 Kansas knocked off the Zags in the 1998 regular season opener in Lawrence.
 
IKE AND NEMBHARD ON NATIONAL WATCH LISTS
- Graham Ike and Ryan Nembhard were named to the Naismith Trophy preseason watch list for the 2024-25 Naismith Trophy Player of the Year.
- Ike and Nembhard are also on the John R. Wooden All-American Preseason Watch List.
- Both the Naismith and Wooden lists feature 50 players.
- Ike was also named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches preseason watch list for the NABC Division I Player of the Year, which features 20 players.