Gonzaga (18-6, 8-2 WCC) at Loyola Marymount (10-14, 3-7)
THURSDAY, FEB. 15 | 6 P.M. | GERSTEN PAVILION | LOS ANGELES
TELEVISION: CBS Sports Network
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THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga visits Loyola Marymount Thursday at 6 p.m. It's the 103rd all-time meeting between Gonzaga and LMU. The Zags have a 80-22 advantage in the series and have won 31 of the last 33 meetings.
- Gonzaga is 30-14 all-time at LMU and has won 11 straight in Los Angeles, with the last Lion win in 2010.
- The Bulldogs are coming off an 89-85 win at No. 17 Kentucky Saturday. Graham Ike scored a team-high 23 points, while Anton Watson and Nolan Hickman each had 17 and Braden Huff 12 as Gonzaga edged Kentucky 47%-46% shooting. The Zags led 42-32 at halftime and had the lead for nearly 34 minutes of the game.
- The Zags are 13-0 this season when scoring 80 points and 12-0 when shooting 50 percent from the field. GU is 15-0 this season when shooting 30 percent from behind-the-perimeter and 14-1 when making six or more threes.
- GU is two wins from its 27th straight 20-win season, which is second for the longest active run in the country.
- Gonzaga leads the West Coast Conference in field goal percentage (50.6, 4th in NCAA Div. 1), scoring margin (16.6, 6th in NCAA Div. 1), scoring (84.9, 9th NCAA Div. 1), and rebounds per game (40.8, 12th in NCAA Div. 1).
- 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 160 straight games when leading by 10 or more points at halftime.
 
ABOUT THE LIONS
- Loyola Marymount have dropped the last four games including its last a 72-63 setback at home to Pepperdine Saturday. Only seven Lions dressed for the game due to injuries. Alex Merkviladze played all 40 minutes and scored a team-high 17 points with nine rebounds. Justice Hill added 13 points and five assists. Will Johnston and Justin Wright added 12 and 11 points. Michael Graham had three blocks.
- Dominick Harris averages a team-best 14.0 points per game and tops the WCC in three-pointers per game (2.7) and three-point percentage (43.6).
- Merkviladze adds 11.3 points per outing and a team-high 6.6 rebounds.
- Wright and Hill chip in 11 and 10.6 points per game. Hill dishes out a team-high 4.1 assists per game.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the 103rd all-time meeting between GU and Loyola Marymount. GU has a 80-22 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 31 of the last 33 meetings.
- The Bulldogs are 48-4 against LMU under Mark Few.
- In the matchup earlier this season in Spokane on Jan. 30, Nolan Hickman scored a career-high 24 points and Gonzaga rolled to a 92-58 victory over Loyola Marymount. Five Zags finished in double-digit scoring. The Bulldogs led 45-29 at halftime and scored the first 12 points and 23 of the first 25 in the second half to blow open the game.
- 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.
- In the last season's meeting in Los Angeles, 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 41-7 at home against the Lions.
- The Zags won the first all-time meeting between the programs, 75-71, in Spokane in 1953.
 
UP NEXT
- The 24th all-time meeting between GU and Pacific.
- The Zags have won 22 of the previous 23 matchups in the series, including the last 20 straight.
- The Bulldogs are 20-0 against Pacific under Mark Few.
- The Tigers lone victory in the series came in Stockton in 1976, 70-60.
- The Bulldogs won the first meeting this season in Stockton, 82-73, on Jan. 27. All five Gonzaga starters finished in double-digit scoring led by Graham Ike's 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. Nolan Hickman scored 19 points, with three three-pointers. Anton Watson had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.
- Gonzaga has won all 12 meetings in Spokane, including all 11 inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- The Zags edged Pacific, 85-83, in the first-ever meeting in Stockton on Feb. 5, 1959.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Anton Watson is four points from 1,300 in his career and 45 passing John Stockton (1,340) for 26th on the program's all-time scoring list.
- Watson has played 140 games at GU, which is sixth in program history. Kevin Pangos is fifth at 142 games. Josh Perkins owns the record at 153.
- Watson is 123-17 (87.9) in his career appearances, his 123 wins rank fifth all-time at GU. Corey Kispert and Silas Melson are tied for third at 126, and Przemek Karnowski owns the record at 137.
- Nolan Hickman is seven rebounds from 200 and seven games played from 100.
- Ben Gregg is three rebounds from 100 and five games played from 100.
 
WHERE WE RANK
- GU is fourth in the nation in field goal percentage (50.6) and 16th in field goal percentage defense (39.7).
- The Zags lead the WCC in scoring offense (84.9), which also ranks ninth in the nation. GU is sixth in the country in scoring margin at 16.6, which tops the conference.
- Gonzaga is 12th in the country in rebound margin (8.8), and 12th averaging 40.79 rebounds per game.
- The Bulldogs' 1.54 assist-to-turnover ratio also tops the West Coast Conference.
- Ryan Nembhard tops the WCC in assists per game (5.9), which also ranks 22nd in the country. He also leads the WCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.63).
 
MEMORABLE DAY IN BLUEGRASS STATE
- Gonzaga upset No. 17 Kentucky 89-85 in front of a sell-out crowd of 20,186 in historic Rupp Arena.
- The Zags have now beat the Wildcats in back-to-back years.
- GU's front court of Graham Ike, Anton Watson, Ben Gregg, and Braden Huff combined for 66 points.
- The Bulldogs outscored UK in the paint 50-40.
 
HUFF NAMED WCC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK ... AGAIN
- After a pair of standout performances, Gonzaga's Braden Huff claimed CU1 WCC Freshman of the Week for a Conference-best four times this season. 
- Huff delivered once again for Gonzaga, scoring a game-high 25 points to open the week during the Zags' 96-64 win over Portland. Also against the Pilots, Huff collected seven rebounds and three assists.
- Then during GU's 89-85 victory at No. 17 Kentucky, Huff tallied 12 points, three rebounds and a steal.
- He averaged 18.5 points for the week.
- This is the second time in four weeks that he has won CU1 WCC Freshman of the Week.
 
TWO FROM TWENTY
- GU is two wins from its 27th straight 20-win season.
- The Zags' 26-straight 20-win seasons rank second for the longest active run in the country. (Kansas 32)
- Prior to the previous 26 seasons, the Bulldogs reached 20 wins in a season eight times since 1907-08.
- Gonzaga has won at least 25 games in each of the last 16 consecutive seasons.