No. 7/8 Gonzaga (7-1) vs. No. 4/6 Kentucky (701)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7 | 7 P.M. | CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA | SEATTLE
TELEVISION: ESPN2
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
 
THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga meets Kentucky in a Top-5 matchup in the 2024 Battle in Seattle in Climate Pledge Arena Saturday at 7 p.m.
- The Zags are 5-5 in their last 10 matchups against Top-5 teams, but have lost the last three. GU's last win over a Top-5 team was a 100-90 victory over No. 4 Alabama in Birmingham on Dec. 17, 2022. That same season, Gonzaga beat No. 4 Kentucky, 88-72, in the Spokane Arena on Nov. 20, 2022.
- In its last game, Ben Gregg scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting, Graham Ike added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Gonzaga beat Davidson 90-65 in the fifth-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis in The Bahamas on Nov. 29. Braden Huff scored 14 points and Dusty Stromer 10 for GU. Nembhard finished with a career-high and single game tournament record 14 assists.
- Ryan Nembhard's 86 assists tops the nation through eight games. Nembhard's 10.8 assists per game also lead the country. The senior has 14 turnovers. His 6.14 assist-to-turnover ratio is second in the country.
- As a team, GU is second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.12). The Zags are seventh averaging 9.19 assists per game.
- The Bulldogs are third in the country shooting 82.4 percent from the free throw line. Khalif Battle leads the nation from the line at 28-for-28 to start the season, which is the most makes without a miss.
 
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
- Under first year head coach Mark Pope, Kentucky is off to a flying start to the season. The Wildcats won their first seven games, including a win over then No. 6 Duke in the Champions Classic in Atlanta, 77-72. Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr led Kentucky with 17 points, while Amari Williams (Drexel transfer) had 10 points and eight rebounds. Otega Oweh (Oklahoma transfer) added 15 points.
- The Wildcats are coming off a 70-66 loss at Clemson Tuesday. Kentucky was held to a season low 66 points and 38 percent shooting from the field. Oweh scored a game-high 17 points, while San Diego State transfer Lamont Butler chipped in 16 points and five assists. Jaxson Robinson (BYU transfer) scored 12 points. Williams grabbed 11 rebounds.
- Kentucky boasts the second-best scoring offense in the country (92.9) and leads the nation in fastbreak points per game (21.1). They are third averaging 44.8 rebounds.
- Five Wildcats average double-digit scoring led by Oweh's 16 points per game. Butler adds 12.9 points and Dayton transfer Koby Brea averages 12.8. Robinson and Carr chip in 12 and 10 points per outing.
- Williams nearly averages a double-double at 9.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the fourth all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Kentucky looms Dec. 7 in Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena.
- Last season, the Zags won at No. 17 Kentucky, 89-85.  Graham Ike scored a team-high 23 points, while Nolan Hickman had 17 and Braden Huff added 12. Ryan Nembhard dished out nine assists.
- In 2022-23, No. 2 Gonzaga beat No. 4 Kentucky in Spokane, 88-72. Rasir Bolton scored 24 points, Drew Timme added 22, and Julian Strawther had 20 points and 14 rebounds. Anton Watson had 10 points and 10 rebounds and spent the evening guarding reigning player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe.
- In the first matchup, the Wildcats beat Gonzaga 80-72 in the 2002 Maui Invitational. Kentucky was ranked 15th and the Zags were No. 20. Blake Stepp scored a game-high 24 points with five three-pointers to lead GU.
- The Bulldogs are 25-13 all-time versus current members from the Southeastern Conference, with the last being the win in Lexington last season over Kentucky.
- Gonzaga has won seven of its last 10 games against current SEC opponents.
 
BATTLE IN SEATTLE HISTORY
- The 2024 Battle in Seattle will be the 15th edition.
- The Bulldogs hold a 9-5 record in the event all-time.
- In the last Battle in Seattle, No. 16 Alabama held off a rally from No. 3 Gonzaga, 91-82. Seattle native Nolan Hickman was the lone current Zag to appear in that game, scoring nine points in 20 minutes off the bench.
- No. 17 Gonzaga held off No. 3 Missouri 87-80 in overtime in the first Battle in Seattle on Dec. 13, 2003.
- Previous Battle in Seattle Results
Dec. 13, 2003 – #17 Gonzaga 87, #3 Missouri 80 (OT)
Dec. 4, 2004 – Gonzaga, 68, Massachusetts 57
Dec. 10, 2005 – #11 Gonzaga, 64, Oklahoma State 62
Dec. 30, 2006 – #18 Nevada 82, Gonzaga 74
Dec. 29, 2007 – #11 Tennessee 82, Gonzaga 72
Dec. 20, 2008 – #2 Connecticut 88, # 7 Gonzaga 83 (OT)
Dec. 12, 2009 – #21 Gonzaga 103, Davidson 91
Dec. 4, 2010 – #20 Illinois 73, Gonzaga 61
Dec. 17, 2011 – Gonzaga 71, Arizona 60
Dec. 15, 2012 – #14 Gonzaga 68, Kansas State 52
Dec. 14, 2013 – #20 Gonzaga 68, South Alabama 58
Dec. 20, 2014 – #8 Gonzaga 63, Cal Poly 50
Dec. 19, 2015 – #9 Gonzaga 86, Tennessee 79
Dec. 4, 2021 - #16 Alabama 91, #3 Gonzaga 82
 
UP NEXT
- Gonzaga heads east to face two-time defending national champion UConn at Madison Square Garden in New York City next Saturday at 5 p.m. Pacific Time on Fox.
- It will be the eighth all-time meeting between Gonzaga and UConn. The Huskies have won five of the seven games.
- The seven previous meetings were on a neutral court.
- The No. 5 Huskies picked up a 76-63 victory over No. 10 Gonzaga in last year's Continental Tire Seattle Tip-Off in Climate Pledge Arena. Ryan Nembhard had 15 points.
- In the 2023 NCAA Tournament West Region Final, UConn cruised to an 82-54 win in Las Vegas.
- Prior to 2023, five of the previous meetings were decided by five points or less and a combined 18 points. Three of the matchups have been decided by one possession.
- UCONN won the first all-time meeting, 67-62, in the 1999 NCAA Tournament West Region Final in Phoenix on March 20, 1999.
- Since 2014-15, the Zags are 7-3 against Big East foes.
 
BACK IN THE GARDEN
- GU returns to Madison Square Garden for the seventh time.
- The Zags have won three of their eight games in MSG.
- In its last trip to New York City and Madison Square Garden, Gonzaga fell to No. 7 Villanova, 88-72, in the 2017 Jimmy Classic. The Wildcats would go on to win the national title that season.
- The Bulldogs won the 2014 Preseason NIT, defeating Georgia and St. John's on Nov. 26 and 28.
- Gonzaga made its MSG debut with a 73-66 setback to St. Joseph's in the 2003 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. It was the Zags' season-opener and Adam Morrison's first game in a Bulldog uniform.
 
SHARING IS CARING
- Ryan Nembhard's 10.8 assists per game is first in the nation, after dishing out 86 assists (1st in the country) to just 14 turnovers through the first seven games.
- His 6.14 assist-to-turnover ratio is second in the country.
- Nembhard finished with a career-high and single game tournament record 14 assists against Davidson in the Battle 4 Atlantis. He totaled 39 assists in the three-game event, setting a new tournament record, to just eight turnovers.
- Gonzaga is second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.12. The Zags' 19.9 assists per game tops the West Coast Conference, and is seventh in the country.
 
TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
- The Bulldogs' are only turning the ball over 9.4 times per game, which ranks 14th in the country.
- Gonzaga had four turnovers in the win over Long Beach State. The second fewest by the Zags in the past six seasons. (three turnovers, San Francisco on 3/11/24)
- The Bulldogs are fourth in the nation with a 12.9 turnover percentage. Ole Miss is first at 11.7 percent.
 
BENEFITTING FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
- Gonzaga is third in the nation making 82.4 percent from the free-throw line.
- The program record is 79 percent set in 1988-89. The best free-throw shooting team under Mark Few was in 2005-06, when the Zags made 78.2 percent.
- Over the three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis, GU made 54 of its 59 free throws (91.5 percent). The Bulldogs were 21-of-22 in the win over Indiana. Ben Gregg was 16-of-17 from the line in the tournament.
- Khalif Battle leads the nation from the line at 28-for-28 to start the season, which is the most makes without a miss.
- Ryan Nembhard is sixth in the conference at 85.7 percent (30-of-35) from the free-throw line, while Gregg is eighth at 82.8 percent (24-of-29).
- The Bulldogs went 27-of-31 from the free-throw line in the win at San Diego State. The last time Gonzaga shot 85 percent with 30 or more free throw attempts was versus Santa Clara on Jan. 16, 2020. The last time GU did it on the road was at Santa Clara on Jan. 5, 2013.
 
SEATTLE'S VERY OWN
- Nolan Hickman is shooting a career-best 46.2 percent from behind-the-arc currently this season. The senior was 8-of-16 from three-point range at Atlantis.
- He eclipsed the 1,000-point career scoring mark while in The Bahamas.
- According to KenPom, Hickman is third in effective field goal percentage in the WCC at 63.8 percent. The next best Zag is Khalif Battle at 50 percent in 25th.
 
B HUFF BE TOUGH
- Braden Huff is off to a great start to his sophomore season. After scoring 14 points against No. 8 Baylor, he had a team-high 21 versus Arizona State, 13 versus UMass-Lowell, 10 at San Diego State, 12 against Long Beach State, 19 versus West Virginia, and 14 against Davidson. He's averaging 13.5 points per outing.
- All of his efforts have been off the bench, and he has made 49-of-84 from the field (58.3 percent).
- The Illinois native recorded his fourth career 20-point game with team-high 21 points against Arizona State.
 
A LITTLE HELP FROM THE BENCH
- The Bulldogs' bench is averaging 34.25 points per game, which leads the WCC and is 18th in the nation.
- 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.
- Gonzaga had 48 bench points in the wins over Davidson and UMass-Lowell.
- Gonzaga outscored Baylor 42-19 in bench points.
- The 42 points were the most by Gonzaga against a ranked team over the last 20 seasons.
- The Bulldogs followed it up with 36 points off the bench against Arizona State (36-19).