Gonzaga (19-6, 9-2 WCC) vs. Pacific (6-21, 0-12)
SATURDAY, FEB. 17 | 6 P.M. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
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THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga travels to Pacific Saturday at 7 p.m. It's 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.
- Gonzaga has won all 11 meetings in Spokane, including all 10 inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- The Bulldogs are coming off a 91-74 win at Loyola Marymount Thursday. Graham Ike led GU with 23 points, while Nolan Hickman added 22 points with four three-pointers. Five Zags finished in double-digit scoring. Anton Watson (13 pts, 11 rbs) and Ryan Nembhard (16 pts, 11 asts) both had double-doubles. Gonzaga made 10 threes.
- The Zags are 14-0 this season when scoring 80 points and 13-0 when shooting 50 percent from the field. GU is 16-0 this season when shooting 30 percent from behind-the-perimeter and 15-1 when making six or more threes.
- GU is one win 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 (50.9, 2nd in NCAA Div. 1), scoring margin (16.6, 5th in NCAA Div. 1), scoring (85.2, 5th NCAA Div. 1), and rebounds per game (40.4, 14th 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 166 straight games when leading by 10 or more points at halftime.
 
ABOUT THE TIGERS
- Pacific remained winless in conference play after falling at Santa Clara Thursday, 79-53. The Tigers shot 19-of-59 (.322) from the field and 2-of-13 (.154) from three-point range. Donovan Williams led Pacific with 16 points, while Greg Outlaw, who'd missed the previous four games due to injury, returned to the lineup to score 10 points.
- Judson Martindale averages a team-high 9.7 points per game, and has made a team-best 39 threes.
- Cam Denson grabs a team-high 4.8 rebounds per game, while Moe Odum leads the Tigers with 4.78 assists.
- Pacific is 1-11 away from Stockton this season, with the lone win coming at California in the second game of the season on Nov. 10.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is 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.
- In the last meeting in Spokane, the Bulldogs eased to an 89-51 win. Rasir Bolton scored 20 points, Drew Timme added 13 points and 10 rebounds for No. 2 Gonzaga.
- GU has won 10 of the 11 meetings in Stockton, including the last nine.
- The Zags edged Pacific, 85-83, in the first-ever meeting in Stockton on Feb. 5, 1959.
 
UP NEXT
- The 175th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Portland. The Zags have a 108-66 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 17 straight versus the Pilots.
- The Bulldogs are 44-2 against Portland under Mark Few.
- The Pilots last win in the series came on Jan. 9, 2014, 82-73, at Portland.
- Gonzaga won last season's meeting in Portland 82-67. Julian Strawther had a career-high 40 points, including eight three-pointers. Anton Watson added 17 points.
- GU is 37-22 at Portland in the series. The Zags have won eight in-a-row, and 24 of the last 25, in the Chiles Center.
- In the first meeting this season in Spokane, Braden Huff scored 25 points, Anton Watson added 20 and Gonzaga beat Portland 96-64 on Feb. 7. The Zags made a season-high 15 three-pointers on 33 attempts (45.5 percent). Nolan Hickman had 12 points and shot 4 for 6 from beyond the arc. Ryan Nembhard had 10 points and six assists with no turnovers.
- Gonzaga is 42-6 at home in the series, and has won 18 in-a-row over Portland at home, dating back to a 72-68 loss on Feb. 19, 2003.
- Portland edged GU, 70-66, in the first-ever NCAA meeting on Jan. 18, 1959, inside the Spokane Coliseum.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Anton Watson is 32 points from passing John Stockton (1,340) for 26th on the program's all-time scoring list.
- Watson has played 141 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 124-17 (87.9) in his career appearances, his 124 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 six rebounds from 200 and six games played from 100.
- Ben Gregg is four games played from 100.
 
WHERE WE RANK
- GU is second in the nation in field goal percentage (50.6) and 22nd in field goal percentage defense (40.1).
- The Zags lead the WCC in scoring offense (85.2), which also ranks fifth in the nation. GU is fifth 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 14th averaging 40.40 rebounds per game.
- Ryan Nembhard tops the WCC in assists per game (6.1), which also ranks 13th in the country. He also leads the WCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.68).
 
COMPUTER LOVE
- The Zags are receiving stellar rankings from the metrics.
Haslametrics: 14               KenPom: 18
Opta Analyst: 14               ESPN BPI: 19      
Massey: 15                          Bart Torvik: 20
Evan Miyakawa: 16          NET: 23
 
ONE FROM TWENTY
- GU is one win 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.