#13/12 Gonzaga (5-0) vs. #11/11 Alabama (3-1)
MONDAY, NOV. 24 | 6:30 P.M. PT | LAS VEGAS | MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA
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THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga opens the Players Era Championship against Alabama in a Top-15 matchup inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena Monday at 6:30 p.m. Both teams have won one of the previous two meetings in the series.
- The Bulldogs are coming off a 122-50 rout win over Southern Utah last Monday. Braden Huff scored 22 points on 11-for-13 shooting and Davis Fogle had a career-high 19 points. Mario Saint-Supéry added 16 points, seven assists and six steals in the GU's largest margin of victory over a Div. 1 program. Graham Ike and Adam Miller had 13 points apiece. The Zags limited SUU to 29 percent shooting from the field.
- Following the win, Gonzaga jumped to No. 1 in KenPom's metric rankings briefly, and now sits at No. 3, with its defense third in the nation and offense 10th. One of three programs with both being in the Top 10.
- The Zags currently lead the West Coast Conference in scoring offense (94.0, 27th in NCAA), scoring defense (57.8, 8th in NCAA), scoring margin (36.2, 5th in NCAA), field goal percentage defense (33.3), three-point field goal percentage defense (23.6, 12th in NCAA), rebounds (46.4, 14th in NCAA), defensive rebounds per game (32.8, 13th in NCAA), turnover margin (6.6, 24th in NCAA), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.88).
- Graham Ike eclipsed the 2,000-point mark in his career in the win over Creighton. He needed nine points to reach the mark and finished with 20. He sits at 2,044. Ike ranks second among active scorers in NCAA Div. 1, Indiana's Tucker DeVries is first at 2,057. Ike's 941 rebounds also ranks second among active players. He is the only active player with 1,500 points and 900 rebounds in a career. Ike was named preseason All-American by CBS Sports and ESPN, and to the NABC, Wooden, and Naismith Player of the Year watch lists.
- GU opens the season 5-0 for the second straight season, and for the seventh time in the last 10 seasons.
- While the Bulldogs only return 36 percent of their scoring from last season, along with 34 percent of their rebounding, the current roster features four 1,000-point career scorers and two more at 857 and 759. Seven Zags have played at least 70 games in their careers, with six averaging at least 20 minutes per game. GU's 2025-26 roster features the 2022-23 Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year, the 2022-23 Big Sky Player of the Year, the 2023-24 WAC Player of the Year, and the 2023-24 Patriot League Player of the Year. KenPom metrics ranks the Bulldogs' roster second in the nation in experience.
 
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE
- Alabama opens the season with a 3-1 record, and is coming off an impressive 90-86 win over Illinois in Chicago Wednesday.
- Labaron Philon Jr. led the Crimson Tide with 24 points and five assists. Taylor Bol Bowen added 12 points and Aden Holloway had 11. Pepperdine transfer Houston Mallette and Keitenn Bristow both finished with 10 points off the bench. Amari Allen had 11 rebounds and four assists. Alabama was 13-of-36 from three.
- Through the first four games, Philon Jr. averages a team-high 20.5 points. Four others average double-digit scoring led by Holloway's 17.7 points. Bowen is at 12.5 points per outing, and Mallette Bristow add 10.5 and 10 points. Bristow and Allen grab a team-best eight rebounds per contest. Philon dishes out 5.75 assists.
- Holloway and Philon Jr. were named All-SEC Preseason selections. Philon Jr. was named First Team All-SEC while Holloway was Third Team honors.
- The Crimson Tide was picked to finish fourth in the league as voted on by a select panel of both SEC and national media members.
- Since head coach Nate Oats arrived at Alabama in 2019-20, the Crimson Tide has won a league-best 75 conference games.
Over the past five seasons, Alabama has won 129 games, which ranks No. 7 in the country and No. 1 in the SEC.
 
SERIES INFO
- Gonzaga and Alabama have met twice all-time, with both teams winning in the other's respective state.
- Both matchups were at neutral locations – Battle in Seattle (2021) & C.M. Newton Classic (2022)
- Dec. 4, 2021, in front of 18,000 fans at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, No. 16 Alabama earned a 91–82 victory over then-No. 3 Gonzaga.
- The Zags responded the following season in a high-scoring affair on Dec. 17, 2022, in Birmingham. GU upset No. 4 Alabama 100–90.
- GU has a 27-13 all-time record against current SEC members, winning five of the last six.
- Alabama is 4-1 all-time with the current schools in the West Coast Conference.
 
UP NEXT
- Gonzaga faces Maryland in Game 2 of the Players Era Championship at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
- The programs faceoff for the first time in 17 years.
- After falling in the first-ever meeting, the Zags have won the last three matchups.
- The first meeting came in the 1995 NCAA Tournament, when the Terrapins defeated GU 87–63 in Salt Lake City.
- The Bulldogs beat Maryland in 2003, 82-68, in Washington D.C.
- Gonzaga then added an 88–76 victory in the 2005 Maui Invitational and followed it up with an 81–59 triumph at the 2008 Old Spice Classic in Orlando.
 
ABOUT PLAYERS ERA CHAMPIONSHIP
- The 2025 Players Era Championship in Las Vegas is the second edition of the event.
- GU is one of 18 teams in the elite field this year, with the tournament hoping to expand to 32 in 2026.
- Nine games on Monday and Tuesday will be played between MGM Grand Garden and Michelob Ultra Arena.
- After two days of play, third opponents will be determined by the following tiebreaker format:
Overall record
Head-to-Head
Total point differential (each game capped at +/- 20)
Total points scored
Fewest points allowed
AP Ranking on Monday, 11/24
- The 18-team Players Era Championship features 13 programs ranked or receiving votes in the preseason AP Poll: No. 2 Houston, No. 5 St. John's, No. 7 Michigan, No. 15 Alabama, No. 16 Iowa State, No. 18 Tennessee, No. 19 Kansas, No. 20 Auburn, No. 21 Gonzaga, No. 23 Creighton, Oregon (98 votes), San Diego State (74 votes), and Baylor (one vote).
 
GIVING THANKS FOR THESE EVENTS
- Gonzaga is 48-14 under Mark Few in events during the
week of Thanksgiving, and 37-8 in the last 10 Thanksgiving week events.
- Under Mark Few, GU has won seven tournaments
during the week of Thanksgiving, and played in 11 of
the 18 tournament championship games.
- Last season at the Battle 4 Atlantis in The Bahamas, the Zags were upset in overtime by West Virginia, before easing to wins over Indiana and Davidson.
 
VIVA LAS ZAGAS
- The Bulldogs played eight regular season games in Las Vegas, falling to UNLV in 1965 and 1977, a loss to Seattle in 1977, and beating No. 3 Georgia Tech, 85-73, in 2004.
- In 2021, top-ranked Gonzaga beat Central Michigan (107-54) and No. 2 UCLA (83-63) in the Empire Classic at T-Mobile Arena, before falling to No. 5 Duke, 84-81.
- On Dec. 2, 2023, No. 11 Gonzaga beat USC, 89-76, the Legends of Basketball Las Vegas Invitational in the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
- Gonzaga is 35-4 in the WCC Tournament since 2009,
when the event moved to Las Vegas. The four losses in the tournament in Las Vegas have all been to Saint Mary's, the 2010, 2012, 2019, and 2024 finals.
- The Bulldogs were 33-13 in the conference tournament prior to it coming to Vegas.
- The Zags have never lost an opening game of the tournament in Las Vegas, winning all 17.
- Gonzaga has won in the WCC tournament semifinals in each of the past 28 years. The Zags last loss in the
WCC semifinals was 1994, 83-75, to San Diego in Santa Clara.
- The Bulldogs are 31-2 in semifinal games at the tournament, winning all 17 in Las Vegas.
- GU is 13-4 in the WCC Tournament finals played in Las Vegas. The Bulldogs are 22-9 in championship games at the WCC tournament all-time.
 
EXPERIENCE IS KEY
- While the Bulldogs only return 36 percent of their scoring from last season, along with 34 percent of their rebounding, the current roster features four 1,000-point career scorers and two more at 859 and 769.
- Eight Zags have played at least 70 games in their careers, with seven averaging at least 20 minutes.
- KenPom metrics ranks the Bulldogs' lineup second in the nation in experience. KenPom's "experience" statistic measures average number of full DI seasons played, weighted by minutes played. GU is at 2.88, while Indiana leads at 3.03.
- The average age of Gonzaga's roster, featuring 12 scholarship players and four walk-ons, is 21.2 years old. The Brooklyn Nets, by comparison, are the NBA's youngest team at 23.3 years old.
- GU's roster features the 2022-23 Mountain West Conference Preseason Player of the Year, the 2022-23 Big Sky Conference Player of the Year, the 2023-24 WAC Player of the Year, and the 2023-24 Patriot League Player of the Year.
 
ZAGS GOT METRICS
- As of Nov. 21, Gonzaga is highly ranked by several metrics.
               KenPom - 3
               EvanMiya - 3
               ESPN BPI - 3
               Haslametrics - 4
               Bart Torvik - 5
 
ALL ZAGS NO BRAKES
- Gonzaga is tied for second in the nation for most "kill shots" with 10. Evan Miya labels Kill Shots as 10-0 runs over opponents. Duke leads with 11.
- The Bulldogs 2.0 kill shots per game ranks third.
 
RECORD BREAKING NIGHT
- Gonzaga's 122-50 win over Southern Utah was a program record margin of victory over a Div. 1 opponent.
- The 122 points were the most against a Div. 1 foe under head coach Mark Few, along with the Zags' 18 steals against the Thunderbirds.
- Mario Saint-Supery was one steal shy of matching the program record of seven for most in a single game.
- The Bulldogs' 68.1 percent shooting from the field versus SUU ranks fifth versus Div. 1 opponents in program history.
- According to statistician Jared Berson, 13 Gonzaga players attempted a field goal tonight vs Southern Utah—all 13 shot at least 50% from the field. It's the first time over the last 15 years (and he estimates ever) a D-I team has had that many players attempt a shot with none shooting under 50%.