Gonzaga (0-0) vs. Western Oregon (0-0)
MONDAY, OCT. 27 | 6 P.M. | SPOKANE | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER
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THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga welcomes Western Oregon to the McCarthey Athletic Center Monday at 6 p.m., for the Zags' second exhibition and final tune-up for the regular season. WOU is a member of the NCAA Div. 2.
- The Zags are ranked No. 21 in the preseason Associated Press poll. GU received 387 points in the preseason ranking. It marks the 25th straight season Gonzaga has been ranked in the AP poll. It's the 16th consecutive year the Bulldogs have appeared in the preseason poll.
- Gonzaga joins Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina as the only programs that have appeared in each of the last 16 preseason AP Polls.
- The Zags have a history of cruising in their home exhibitions. Gonzaga has an average margin of victory of 44 points in its home exhibition wins over the past 15 games.
- In the season-opening 111-62 exhibition win over Northwest University, five Zags finished in double-digit scoring, with four others at eight points or more, led by Davis Fogle's 18 points. In his collegiate debut, the freshman made eight of his 12 shots from the field. Jalen Warley grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. The Bulldogs forced Northwest into 22 turnovers and the Eagles were limited to 34.9 percent shooting from the field.
- Last season, the Bulldogs advanced to their 26th straight NCAA Tournament, the third-longest active streak in the nation, and finished with a 26-9 record. Gonzaga finished No. 23 in the final AP Poll.
- The Zags extended its NCAA Div. 1 record to 18 straight seasons of at least 25 wins. GU's 28-straight 20-win seasons ranks second for the longest active run in the country.
- While the Bulldogs only return 36 percent of their scoring from last season, along with 34 percent of their rebounding, the current roster features three 1,000-point career scorers and two more at 842 and 713. Seven Zags have played at least 65 games in their careers, with six averaging at least 20 minutes per game.
- Gonzaga's 2025-26 roster features the 2022-23 Mountain West Conference Preseason Player of the Year, the 2022-23 Big Sky Conference Player of the Year, and the 2023-24 Patriot League Player of the Year.
- Graham Ike is 41 points from 2,000 in his career. He has started in 108 of his 115 career appearances. Last season led the WCC in field goal percentage (59.8), was third in scoring (17.3), and fifth in rebounding (7.3). He is coming off back-to-back First Team All-Conference selections.
- Braden Huff started the last three games last season. He averaged 11 points on 57.7 percent shooting from the field in 2024-25. The redshirt junior added 3.4 rebounds per outing.
- Adam Miller was listed as one ESPN's top transfers after totaling 1,206 points in 117 games at Arizona State, Louisiana State, and Illinois. He started all 30 games for ASU last season.
 
SCOUTING THE WOLVES
- Western Oregon University is located in Monmouth, about 20 minutes from Salem, the state's capital and about 75 minutes from Portland. It was founded in 1856. It has a total enrollment of 3,951, and the campus size is 157 acres.
- The university is a member of NCAA Div. 2, primarily competing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
- WOU has advanced to the NCAA Div. 2 national tournament four times in the past 10 seasons, advancing to the national semifinals in 2015-16 season following a 31-4 season. In 2017-18, the Wolves climbed to No. 3 in the national rankings and finished 31-2.
- In 2024-25, the Wolves went 5-23 overall and 2-16 in conference play.
- Western Oregon was picked 10th in the league's preseason poll this year.
- WOU made a coaching change during the offseason, welcoming in former Alaska Anchorage assistant Ryan Orton to take charge beginning in 2025-26.
- It's a mostly brand-new roster for WOU, with Carson Frincke (G, 6-5, Carlsbad), O'shen Cazimero (G, 5-10, Southwestern Oregon CC) and Brady Grier (C, 6-7, Walla Walla CC) being the only three returners to have started games last season.
- Jadin Penigar (F/G, 6-5, UT Tyler) is among the top transfers to arrive on campus, after playing in 27 games at fellow Div. 2 UT Tyler last year. He was named Preseason All-GNAC, after seeing action in 27 games making eight starts for UT Tyler, and he produced 5.9 points per game in 15.1 minutes per game. Making the most of his starting opportunities during Lone Star Conference play, Penigar had 21 points and 22 points in back-to-back games.
- A total of 10 transfers figure to all be in the mix for minutes as the season gets going.
 
UP NEXT
- Gonzaga welcomes Texas Southern in the regular season opener on Nov. 3 at 6 p.m.
- The Tigers went 12-6 last season in the SWAC and 15-17 overall.
- TSU welcomes back Zaire Hayes, who averaged 10.4 points per game.
- The Bulldogs are 5-0 all-time against Texas Southern, all since 2009. In the most recent meeting, GU beat the Tigers in Spokane, 101-62, in 2019.
- Gonzaga opened the 2017-18 season with a 97-69 win over Texas Southern. The following season, the Zags beat TSU, 104-67, in the second game of the year.
 
SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
- The Zags have won 21 straight regular season-openers dating back to a 73-66 loss to Saint Joseph's in the 2003 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in New York City.
- GU has won 35 consecutive regular season home-openers since a 73-65 loss to Boise State on Dec. 7, 1988.
- Gonzaga has won all 20 regular season home-openers in the McCarthey Athletic Center and all 26 regular season home-openers under Mark Few.
 
ZAGS PICKED WCC PRESEASON FAVORITE
- For the 23rd time in the last 25 seasons, the Gonzaga men's basketball team was selected as favorites in the West Coast Conference preseason coaches' poll.
- With the exception of the 2023-24 and 2017-18 seasons, the Zags have been first place in every WCC preseason poll since 2001.
- GU received nine of the league's 12 first place votes in this year's poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own program.
- Saint Mary's and San Francisco collected the other three first place votes in this year's poll. Santa Clara and Oregon State rounded out the top-half of the league.
- The Bulldogs have won 24 of the last 28 WCC regular season championships, 20 of which have been won outright. GU has 26 WCC regular season titles overall, including 22 of the last 25.
- Gonzaga has appeared in 28 straight WCC Tournament Championship games, which is the longest streak of its kind in the nation. The Zags have won the conference tournament title 11 times in the last 14 years.
 
HUFF AND IKE NAMED PRESEASON ALL-WCC
- Braden Huff and Graham Ike were both named to the conference's preseason team.
- Ike earned the recognition for the third straight season, while Huff makes his first appearance.
 
GONZAGA RANKED 20TH IN COACHES POLL
- Gonzaga was ranked No. 20 in the preseason USA TODAY Sports/Coaches poll.
- GU opens in the top-20 of the poll for the 13th straight year. GU appears in the coaches' preseason poll for the 16th straight season.
- Purdue was No. 1 in the preseason poll for the first time in program history, collecting 18 of the 31 first-place votes. Houston received 12 first-place votes and was No. 2. Defending national champion Florida also received a first-place vote and was No. 3. UConn and Duke round out the Top 5.
 
ZAGS OPEN SEASON RANKED NO. 21 IN AP POLL
- Gonzaga was ranked No. 21 in the preseason Associated Press poll. The Bulldogs received 387 points in the preseason rankings.
- This marks the 25th straight season GU has been ranked in the AP Poll and the 16th consecutive year the Zags have appeared in the preseason poll.
- Gonzaga joins Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina as the only programs to appear in each of the last 16 preseason AP Polls.
 
STEADY IN THE POLLS
- The Bulldogs have appeared in 161 of the last 175 AP Polls (92 percent) since the start of the 2016 season, ranking only behind Kansas's 169 appearances.
- Gonzaga has averaged a No. 7.1 ranking in the AP Polls since 2017, second only to Kansas (6.3).
 
BULLDOGS CRUISE IN EXHIBITION WIN
- Gonzaga started the season with a 111-62 exhibition victory over Northwest (Wash.) Oct. 19.
- Five Zags finished in double-digit scoring, with four others at eight points or more, led by Davis Fogle's 18 points. In his collegiate debut, the freshman made eight of his 12 shots from the field.
- Braeden Smith added 15 points, four assists, and three steals. Braden Huff and Graham Ike both had 13 points, while Mario Saint-Supéry chipped in 12 points.
- Jalen Warley grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
- The Bulldogs forced Northwest, also playing in its season-opening exhibition, into 22 turnovers.
- The Eagles were also limited to 34.9 percent shooting from the field. GU was 54.1 percent from the field.
- The Zags finished with 23 assists and 10 steals.
- Gonzaga outrebounded Northwest, 57-30, while pulling down 20 offensive rebounds.
- The Bulldogs outscored the Eagles in the paint, 60-18, and 31-6 in fast break points.
- Gonzaga led 21-16 at the 10:56 mark of the first half, before going on a 15-3 run to open the margin. The Zags led 50-28 at halftime. GU never trailed and its largest lead was 49 points.