Gonzaga (17-6, 8-2 WCC) at No. 17 Kentucky (16-6, 6-4 SEC)
SATURDAY, FEB. 10 | 1 P.M. PT | RUPP ARENA | LEXINGTON, KY
TELEVISION: CBS
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga travels to Kentucky for the first time for a matchup with the No. 17 Wildcats Saturday at 1 p.m. PT. This will be the third all-time meeting between the programs, with the series split. Kentucky won the first meeting in the 2002 Maui Invitational, and the Bulldogs won last season's matchup in the Spokane Arena.
- The Bulldogs are coming off a 96-64 win over Portland Wednesday in Spokane. Braden Huff scored 25 points, Anton Watson added 20, Nolan Hickman had 12 points and shot 4 for 6 from beyond the arc and Ryan Nembhard had 10 points and a game-high six assists with no turnovers. GU jumped out to a 19-1 lead and led by 37 late.
- The Zags are 12-0 this season when scoring 80 points and 12-0 when shooting 50 percent from the field.
- Gonzaga leads the West Coast Conference in field goal percentage (50.7, 5th in NCAA Div. 1), scoring margin (17.1, 4th in NCAA Div. 1), rebounds per game (40.7, 16th in NCAA Div. 1), and scoring (84.7, 12th NCAA Div. 1).
- Ryan Nembhard leads the conference dishing out 5.8 assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.66).
- 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 159 straight games when leading by 10 or more points at halftime.
- Anton Watson moved to No. 2 in program history with 199 steals in his career, trailing only John Stockton.
 
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
- After a pair of home losses, Kentucky cruised to a 109-77 win at Vanderbilt in its last outing. The Wildcats finished 55.4 percent from the field and made 15 threes. Six Wildcats scored in double-digits led by Antonio Reeves' 24 points with six three-pointers. Rob Dillingham made four threes and had 20 points with nine assists. Aaron Bradshaw grabbed seven rebounds.
- Kentucky boasts the nation's top scoring offense at 89.7 points per game, and is No. 1 in three-point percentage at 41.1. The Wildcats made 10.2 shots from behind-the-arc per game which is 12th in the country.
- Kentucky is also fourth in NCAA Div. 1 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.83) and seventh in blocks per game (6.0) and fastbreak points per game (16.45).
- Reeves is third in the SEC averaging 19.7 points per game, and is seventh in the nation shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range.
- Reed Sheppard is ninth in the country averaging 2.41 steals per game. He adds 12 points per game and a team-best 4.18 assists.
- Dillingham chips in 15.5 points per outing.
- Tre Mitchell grabs a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game, and scores 12.3 points per game.
 
SERIES INFO
- The third all-time meeting between GU and Kentucky.
- Last season, 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 18-11 all-time versus current members from the Southeastern Conference, including a 100-90 win over No. 4 Alabama in Birmingham in the last meeting with the SEC last season on Dec. 17.
- Gonzaga has won eight of its last 10 games against current SEC opponents.
 
UP NEXT
- 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.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Anton Watson is 13 points from passing Gary Bell Jr. (1,291) for 27th on the program's all-time scoring list.
- Watson is one steal from 200 in his career.
- Watson has played 139 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 122-17 (87.7) in his career appearances, his 122 wins rank sixth all-time at GU, tied with Kevin Pangos and Kyle Dranginis. Corey Kispert and Silas Melson are tied for third at 126, and Przemek Karnowski owns the record at 137.
 
WHERE WE RANK
- GU is fifth in the nation in field goal percentage (50.7) and 14th in field goal percentage defense (39.4).
- The Zags lead the WCC in scoring offense (84.7), which also ranks 12th in the nation. GU is fourth in the country in scoring margin at 17.1, which tops the conference.
- Gonzaga is 13th in the country in rebound margin (8.7), and 17th averaging 40.70 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 (5.8), which also ranks 26th in the country. He also leads the WCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.66).
 
DIALING FROM DEEP
- Gonzaga made a season-high 15 three-pointers in the win over Portland. The Zags were 15-of-33 (45.5 percent) from behind-the-arc.
- Seven Bulldogs made a three, led by Nolan Hickman's 4-for-6 shooting from deep.
- GU is 15-0 this season when shooting 30 percent from behind-the-perimeter.
- The Zags are shooting 38.4 percent from three-point range in their wins and 20 percent in the losses.
- Gonzaga is 14-1 when making six or more threes in a game, with the loss being against Purdue (6-32).