No. 13/14 Gonzaga (8-3) vs. Bucknell (4-7)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21 | 6 P.M. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
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THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga plays its last home game of the 2024 calendar year in the first-ever meeting with Bucknell in the McCarthey Athletic Center Saturday at 6 p.m.
- Gonzaga is coming off a 102-72 home win over Nicholls in the first meeting between the programs Wednesday. Six Zags finished in double-digit scoring led by Braden Huff's 25 points. Graham Ike added 20 points, while Ryan Nembhard had 18 points and 10 assists. GU shot 64.8 percent from the field.
- Ryan Nembhard's 113 assists top the nation through 11 games. Nembhard's 10.3 assists per game also lead the country. The senior has 22 turnovers. His 5.14 assist-to-turnover ratio is fourth in the country.
- As a team, GU is third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.00). The Zags are eighth averaging 19.3 assists per game.
- Five Zags are currently averaging double-digit scoring, with a sixth at 9.5. Five Bulldogs are 1,000-point career scorers.
- Gonzaga is third in the nation averaging 89.5 points per game, which would rank second in GU history. (2020-21: 91.0)
- The Bulldogs are sixth in the country shooting 81.7 percent from the free throw line. GU averages 18.3 made free throws per game, which leads the West Coast Conference.
- Khalif Battle is sixth in the nation from the line at 36-for-38 to start the season. He made 50 straight free throws before missing which ranks second in program history (Derek Raivio, 56)
- Gonzaga is fifth in the country in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents to 25.2 percent from behind-the-arc. Zag foes average 6.2 made threes per game, which is 42nd in the nation. Only one GU opponent has made 10 or more this season.
 
SCOUTING THE BISON
- It is Bucknell's first-ever trip to the state of Washington.
- Bucknell (Lewisburg, Pa.) is 4-7 to start the season and is coming off a 74-70 overtime loss at Radford on Dec. 8. In the Bison's fifth-straight setback, Achile Spadone led Bucknell with 22 points, with three threes. Josh Bascoe added 19 points and four assists. Pip Ajayi had a team-high eight rebounds for the Bison.
- Bascoe averages a team-best 14.1 points and 3.8 assists per game. He's playing a team-high 36.2 minutes per outing. Noah Williamson adds 13.4 points and 6.5 rebounds.
- Bucknell is expected to be among the favorites in the Patriot League this season after the Bison finished in a tie for second place in the regular-season standings a year ago.
- The Bison return six of their top seven scoring leaders, including Third Team All-Patriot League selection Noah Williamson.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the first-ever meeting between the programs.
- The Bulldogs are 2-0 all-time versus current members of the Patriot League.
- After beating Boston University in 1990, Gonzaga defeated Lafayette in Spokane, 83-55, on Dec. 29, 2010.
 
UP NEXT
- The 10th all-time between Gonzaga and UCLA in the West Coast Showdown in the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. The Bulldogs have won seven of the previous nine meetings.
- The programs have met in each of the last four seasons, with the Zags winning all four.
- In the latest matchup, Anton Watson scored a career-high 32 points and No. 11 Gonzaga held off UCLA 69-65 in the fifth-place game at the 2023 Maui Invitational. Ryan Nembhard scored 12 points and Nolan Hickman added 11.
- Gonzaga won the first all-time between the programs,
59-43, at UCLA on Dec. 11, 1999.