No. 16/16 Gonzaga (14-5, 5-1 WCC) vs. Santa Clara (12-7, 4-2 WCC)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 18 | 6 P.M. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
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THE OPENING TIP
- No. 16/16 Gonzaga and Santa Clara meet for the 103rd time in a West Coast Conference game inside the McCarthey Athletic Center Saturday at 6 p.m.
- Gonzaga is coming off a 97-89 overtime loss at Oregon State Thursday. Graham Ike led five Zag double-digit scorers with 26 points. Ben Gregg (15 pts, 13 rbs) and Ryan Nembhard (13 pts, 10 asts) both finished with double-doubles. GU led for 19 minutes in a game that featured 14 lead changes and 10 ties.
- Ike is fourth in the West Coast Conference averaging 19 points per league game, while shooting 59.7 percent from the field. He has three 20-point games over the last four games.
- Ryan Nembhard's 179 assists are first in the nation. The senior has 45 turnovers. Nembhard's 9.4 assists per game ranks first in the country. His 3.98 assist-to-turnover ratio is third.
- GU and No. 1 Auburn are the only two programs in the nation with six players, that have appeared in at least 10 games, averaging double-digit scoring.
- Gonzaga is fourth in the nation averaging 87.8 points per game, which would rank third in GU history. (2020-21: 91.0)
- As a team, GU is fourth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.84). The Zags are sixth averaging 18.9 assists per game.
-The Bulldogs are fourth in the country shooting 80.7 percent from the free throw line. GU averages 16.3 made free throws per game, which leads the West Coast Conference.
- Khalif Battle is 11th in the nation from the line at 92.3 percent (1st in WCC). He made 50 straight free throws before missing which ranks second in program history (Derek Raivio, 56)
- Gonzaga is 22nd in the country in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents to 28.9 percent from behind-the-arc. Only four Zag opponents have shot at least 33% from 3-point range, and only four have made 10 or more threes in a game versus GU.
- Graham Ike (58.6 percent) and Braden Huff (57.2 percent) are first and second in the WCC in field goal percentage.
- Mark Few was recently named a first-time nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
 
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS
- Santa Clara has won 10 of its last 12, with the two conference setbacks, both by three points, including a 57-54 road loss at Loyola Marymount Thursday.
- In Thursday's game, Cristoph Tilly scored a game-high 25 points, going 10-for-15 from the field. Adama-Alpha Bal added 14 points and five assists. Jake Ensminger pulled down 10 rebounds. SCU outrebounded LMU 38-32, but were held to 36 percent from the field, including 4-of-26 from three.
- Four Broncos average double-digit scoring led by Bal's 13.7 points. Carlos Stewart Jr. averages 12.2 points and 2.9 assists. Tilly and Elijah Mahi chip in 12.9 and 12.6 points.
- Santa Clara leads the WCC at 9.6 threes made per outing.
 
SERIES INFO
- This the 103rd meeting between Gonzaga and Santa Clara. GU owns a 71-31 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 50 of the last 53 against the Broncos.
- The Zags are 47-5 against SCU under Mark Few.
- The Bulldogs are 36-6 all-time in Spokane in the series, and has won 16 straight at home versus the Broncos. Santa Clara's last win in Spokane was on Feb. 12, 2007, 84-73.
- In the last season's meeting in Spokane, Graham Ike had a season-high 26 points in Gonzaga's 94-81 win over Santa Clara on Feb. 24, 2024. Ike added seven rebounds. Nolan Hickman scored 20 points and added five assists. Ryan Nembhard finished with 17 points, while adding six rebounds and six assists. GU took the lead with 4:13 left in the first half and did not relinquish it.
- Gonzaga is 26-24 all-time at Santa Clara, but have won 22 of their last 24 at SCU.
- Santa Clara won the first all-time meeting between the programs, 67-62, in Santa Clara on Feb. 3, 1959.
 
UP NEXT
- The 177th all-time meeting between GU and Portland.
- The Zags have a 110-66 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 19 straight versus the Pilots.
- The Bulldogs are 46-2 against Portland under Mark Few.
- The Pilots last win in the series came on Jan. 9, 2014, 82-73, at Portland.
- In the first meeting this season in Spokane, Gonzaga cruised to an 81-50 victory in the 2025 Community Cancer Fund Classic in the Spokane Arena on Jan. 2. Nolan Hickman had 13 points, and Ryan Nembhard added 10 points and nine assists for the Bulldogs. Dusty Stromer scored 12, Braden Huff had 10 points and Michael Ajayi pulled down 15 rebounds.
- GU is 38-22 at Portland in the series. The Zags have won nine in-a-row, and 25 of the last 26, in the Chiles Center.
- In last season's meeting in Portland, the Zags rolled to an 86-65 on Feb. 22, 2024. Graham Ike scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Nolan Hickman scored 19 points, making four three-pointers. Ben Gregg scored 13 points. Ryan Nembhard scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out seven assists.
- Gonzaga is 43-6 at home in the series, and has won 19 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.
 
BULLDOG BALANCE
- Gonzaga and No. 1 Auburn are the only two programs in the nation with six players, that have appeared in at least 10 games, averaging double-digit scoring.
- Five different Zags have been the high-scorer in a game this season, while four have led in rebounds.
- The Bulldogs have had six players in double-figures three times this season, five players in double-digits six times, four players seven times, and three players five times.
- Four Zags have scored 20 points in a game this season, and eight have multiple 20-point games in their careers.
 
SABONIS'S NO. 11 JOINING THE GREATS
- Three-time NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis will be honored by Gonzaga Athletics on Jan. 18 during a ceremony at GU's game against Santa Clara.
- Sabonis, who will become the sixth player in men's program history to have his jersey displayed in the McCarthey Athletic Center, will be present for the ceremony. He will join Frank Burgess, John Stockton, Adam Morrison, Kelly Olynyk, and Dan Dickau among those with their jersey numbers hung in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- Sabonis remains Gonzaga's all-time leader in career field goal percentage at .632. In just two seasons, he scored 1,002 points to become the 41st player in school history to score 1,000 points. He also grabbed 694 rebounds, which is 11th all-time at GU.
 
GOLDEN GRAHAM
- Graham Ike is fourth in the West Coast Conference in scoring in league games (19.0), third in rebounds (9.3), and second in field goal percentage (59.7).
- He has three 20-point games over the last four games, eight this season, and 39 in his career.
- Ike pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds in the victory over San Diego on Jan. 8.
- The 19 rebounds were a new McCarthey Athletic Center record, topping Drew Timme's 17 against Kent State in 2022.
- The 19 rebounds were the third-most under Mark Few, and the most since Domantas Sabonis's 20 at Pacific in 2016. Josh Heytvelt had 22 at Pepperdine in 2007.
- Ike's 19 rebounds were the second-most by a player in the West Coast Conference this season. San Diego's Sam Trouet had 20 against UC-San Diego on Dec. 21.
- It matched the third-most by a WCC player since 2020-21, and sixth-most in the past 10 seasons.
- Ike's 13 made free-throws was one shy of tying the McCarthey Athletic Center record for most makes in a single game. He finished 13-of-15 from the line versus USD.