No. 18/18 Gonzaga (12-4, 3-0 WCC) vs. San Diego (4-12, 1-2 WCC)
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8 | 6 P.M. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
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THE OPENING TIP
- No. 18/18 Gonzaga returns to the McCarthey Athletic Center for the first time in 18 days to host San Diego Wednesday night.
- Gonzaga is coming off a 96-68 victory at Loyola Marymount Saturday. Graham Ike scored 27 points and Khalif Battle added 26. Michael Ajayi came off the bench with 15 points. Ryan Nembhard had 10 points, 11 assists, and six rebounds.
- The Bulldogs are 3-0 in WCC play for the 11th time out of the last 12 seasons. With the exception of last season's 2-1 start to league play, GU has opened 4-0 in WCC play in each season since 2013-14, and 5-0 since 2014-15.
- Gonzaga's 11 straight true road wins are tied for the longest active streak in the nation. (Saint Mary's - 11)
- Ryan Nembhard's 153 assists are first in the nation. The senior has 38 turnovers. Nembhard's 9.6 assists per game also lead the country. His 3.91 assist-to-turnover ratio is fifth.
- Gonzaga is eighth in the nation averaging 87.4 points per game, which would rank third in GU history. (2020-21: 91.0)
- Four Zags are currently averaging double-digit scoring, with a sixth and seventh at 9.8 and 9.3 points per game.
- As a team, GU is fifth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.89). The Zags are 10th averaging 18.8 assists per game.
- The Bulldogs are seventh in the country shooting 80.8 percent from the free throw line. GU averages 5.8 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. He made 50 straight free throws before missing which ranks second in program history (Derek Raivio, 56)
- Gonzaga is 10th in the country in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents to 27.5 percent from behind-the-arc. Only one Zag opponent has shot at least 33% from 3-point range, and only three have made 10 or more threes in a game versus GU.
- Graham Ike (58.3 percent) and Braden Huff (56.8 percent) are first and second in the WCC in field goal percentage.
 
SCOUTING THE TOREROS
- San Diego enters the game off back-to-back setbacks to Santa Clara and Oregon State. Prior to that, USD snapped a six-game skid with a 75-65 win over Pacific to open conference play on Dec. 30.
- In Saturday's 81-54 loss at Oregon State, Tony Duckett led the Toreros with 12 points, while Joey Chammaa added 10 points. Santiago Trouet grabbed seven rebounds. It was a five-point game at halftime, before the Beavers outscored San Diego, 48-26, in the second half. USD was held to 21 percent from the field in the second half.
- Kjay Bradley Jr. averages a team-high 15.4 points per game, while Trouet and Steven Jamerson II add 9.6 and 9.1 points.
- Trouet pulls down a team-leading 8.8 rebounds per outing and Bradley Jr. dishes out 3.81 assists.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the 104th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and San Diego. GU has an 81-22 lead in the series.
- GU has won 18 straight versus the Toreros, 29 of the last 30, and 51 of the last 54 matchups.
- The Bulldogs are 52-4 against San Diego under Few.
- The Toreros' last win in the series came on Feb. 22, 2014, 69-66, at San Diego.
- In the last matchup, Braden Huff scored a career-high 26 points and Gonzaga eased to a 105-63 win at San Diego on Jan. 20, 2024. The Bulldogs used an early 22-0 run to jump ahead 33-9 midway through the first half and never looked back. Ben Gregg made his second collegiate start and had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Anton Watson scored 12 points and grabbed 10 boards, and Ryan Nembhard was the third Zag to finish with a double-double of 12 points and 12 assists. Nembhard's 12 assists came with no turnovers. Nolan Hickman and Dusty Stromer added 13 and 11 points, combining for six made threes.
- Gonzaga is 39-5 at home versus San Diego all-time, including 20-0 in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- GU has won 24 straight games at home in the series, dating back to an 82-70 loss on Feb. 17, 2000.
- In last season's meeting in Spokane, Ben Gregg had a career-high 22 points, Graham Ike scored 15 of his 19 points during a big first half, and No. 24 Gonzaga beat San Diego 101-74 in Spokane on Jan. 6, 2024.
- Gonzaga is 35-13 all-time at San Diego. The Zags have won 14 of their last 15 at USD, including the last nine.
- The Zags won the first-ever meeting, 72-62, on Feb. 1, 1980, in San Diego.
 
UP NEXT
- The 151st all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Washington State. The Cougars have an 98-52 lead in the series.
- The teams separated by 77 miles have not met since Dec. 2, 2015, when the Bulldogs pulled out a 69-60 win in Pullman. Kyle Wiltjer scored 20 of his 22 points in the first 10 minutes of the game for No. 13 Gonzaga. Josh Perkins added 16 points, and Silas Melson had 12. Domantas Sabonis had nine points and 14 rebounds.
- GU has won seven of the last eight meetings, including each of the last five.
- WSU has a 54-36 advantage in the meetings in Spokane, including games at the Spokane Arena.
- Gonzaga is 29-33 against the Cougars in games on the GU campus all-time, but the Zags have won four of the five matchups in the McCarthey Athletic Center, including the last 90-74 in 2013.
- The Zags are 12-3 against WSU under Few.
- Washington State has a 45-20 advantage in the series at home in Pullman.
- The Cougars last win in the series came in Pullman on Dec. 8, 2010, 81-59. Klay Thompson scored 24 points and had six assists for WSU, and the Cougars made 11-of-21 from three-point range. Sam Dower led GU with 11 points, while Rob Sacre grabbed 10 rebounds.
 
FEW NAMED HALL OF FAME NOMINEE
- Mark Few is a first-time nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
-Candidates for the Hall of Fame Class of 2025 include Few, Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Dwight Howard, Doc Rivers, Billy Donovan, Sylvia Fowles, Chamique Holdsclaw, Lisa Bluder, Marc Gasol, and Micky Arison.
- Few is among just eight first-time North American nominees, joining a select group that includes names such as Donovan, Robert Horry, Howard, Rivers, and Amar'e Stoudemire.
- Finalists chosen from the applicable Category Screening Committees for the Class of 2025 will be announced on Feb. 14, in San Francisco as part of NBA All-Star Weekend. The entire Class of 2025 will be unveiled during a nationally televised broadcast at the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio on April 5.
 
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.