#8/7 Gonzaga (9-1) vs. #25/RV UCLA (7-2)
SATURDAY, DEC. 13 | 8:30 P.M. PT | SEATTLE | CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA
TELEVISION: ESPN
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
 
THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga and UCLA meet in the Seattle Hoops Showdown in the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The Zags have won seven of the previous 10 all-time meetings between the programs. GU and the Bruins have met in each of the last five seasons, with the Zags winning four of the five.
- The Bulldogs are coming off a 109-58 home win over North Florida on Sunday. Braden Huff led all scorers with 24 points, while grabbing seven rebounds. Tyon Grant-Foster added 19 points. Mario Saint-Supery finished with 13 points and seven assists. GU shot 61 percent from the field, including 10-of-18 from three-point range. North Florida was limited to 33 percent shooting from the field. The Zags had 26 assists in the victory.
- Mark Few reached 750 wins in his career. The 750 victories have come in 903 games, the second-fastest to 750 wins in NCAA Div. 1 history behind Adolph Rupp's 902 games.
- Braden Huff was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week Monday.
- Steele Venters is four points away from 1,200 points in his career.
- GU is one of four teams in the nation with both its offense (7th) and defense (4th) in KenPom's Top 10.
- The Zags currently lead the WCC in scoring margin (27.6, 5th in NCAA), scoring offense (92.9, 11th), rebounds (44.8, 5th), rebound margin (12.7, 6th), defensive rebounds per game (31.2, 5th), assists (20.4, 6th), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.94, 7th), field goal percentage (52.2, 13th), field goal percentage defense (37.1, 12th), three-point percentage defense (26.8, 17th), turnover margin (5.2, 16th in NCAA), bench points (36.9, 23rd), fast-break points (15.6), steals (9.2), and turnovers (10.5).
- Graham Ike ranks second among active scorers in NCAA Div. 1 with 2,107 points, Indiana's Tucker DeVries is first at 2,146. Ike's 968 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.
 
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
- UCLA is coming off a 74-63 home win over Oregon last Saturday. All five starting Bruins scored in double-figures and totaled 70 of UCLA's 74 points. Eric Dailey Jr. had a team-high 18 points with eight rebounds. Tyler Bilodeau added 14 points and eight rebounds. Skyy Clark finished with 13 points and four assists. The Bruins held Oregon to 33.3 percent shooting from the field.
- Bilodeau averages a team-high 15.6 point per game at 52.1 percent shooting from the field.
- Four other Bruins also average double-digit scoring: Skyy Clark (12.7 ppg), Donovan Dent (12.0), Eric Dailey Jr. (11.8), Xavier Booker (10.4).
- Booker and Dailey Jr. are grabbing a team-best 5.1 rebounds per outing. Preseason All-American, Dent, has dished out a team-high 51 assists so far this season. He is 15th in the country averaging 6.4 assists per game.
- The Bruins are 23rd in the nation, and third in the Big Ten, in scoring defense allowing 65 points per game.
- UCLA opened the season ranked No. 12 in the preseason AP poll. The Bruins were third in the league's preseason media poll behind Purdue and Michigan.
 
SERIES INFO
- The Zags have won seven of the previous 10 meetings.
- The programs have met in each of the last five seasons, with the Zags winning four of the five.
- Last season in the first college game inside the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, No. 22 UCLA edged No. 14 Gonzaga, 65-62. Graham Ike led the Bulldogs with 24 points and eight rebounds. Eric Dailey Jr. led the Bruins with 18 points. Skyy Clark had 11 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. The game featured eight ties and three lead changes. GU led for almost 18 minutes and rallied from an 11-point first half deficit to take the lead.
- The Zags have won the last three NCAA Tournament
matchups, with GU winning 93-90 in overtime in the national semifinal in Indianapolis in 2021. Jalen Suggs hit the game-winner as time expired from near half-court.
- In the 2023 NCAA West Region semifinal in Las Vegas, Gonzaga won 79-76 after Julian Strawther hit a 3-pointer with 7.2 seconds left to answer a three-pointer by UCLA's Amari Bailey.
- Gonzaga won the first all-time between the programs,
59-43, at UCLA on Dec. 11, 1999.
 
ZAGS IN SEATTLE
- Gonzaga returns to Climate Pledge Arena, formerly the Key Arena, where it has plenty of history. The Bulldogs are 15-8 all-time in the building, but looking for their first win since the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
- The Zags' earliest games in the building were in the first and second rounds of the 1999 NCAA Tournament, when Gonzaga had its first NCAA Tournament wins and advanced to the program's first Elite Eight.
- While the UCLA game is its own event, the Zags are 9-6 all-time in the Battle in Seattle event hosted by GU.
- Last season, No. 4 Kentucky rallied from an 18-point deficit early in the second half to pickup a 90-89 win in overtime over No. 7 Gonzaga.
- No. 17 Gonzaga held off No. 3 Missouri 87-80 in overtime in the first Battle in Seattle on Dec. 13, 2003.
- Gonzaga Key Arena/Climate Pledge Arena Results
March 11, 1999 – Gonzaga 75, Minnesota 63
March 13, 1999 – Gonzaga 82, Stanford 74
Dec. 13, 1999 – #22 Gonzaga 76, Washington 66
Dec. 13, 2003 – #17 Gonzaga 87, #3 Missouri 80 (OT)
March 18, 2004 – Gonzaga 76, Valparaiso 49
March 20, 2004 – Nevada 91, Gonzaga 72
Dec. 4, 2004 – Gonzaga, 68, Massachusetts 57
Dec. 10, 2005 – #11 Gonzaga, 64, Oklahoma State 62
Dec. 30, 2006 – #18 Nevada 82, Gonzaga 74
Dec. 29, 2007 – #11 Tennessee 82, Gonzaga 72
Dec. 20, 2008 – #2 UConn 88, # 7 Gonzaga 83 (OT)
Dec. 12, 2009 – #21 Gonzaga 103, Davidson 91
Dec. 4, 2010 – #20 Illinois 73, Gonzaga 61
Dec. 17, 2011 – Gonzaga 71, Arizona 60
Dec. 15, 2012 – #14 Gonzaga 68, Kansas State 52
Dec. 14, 2013 – #20 Gonzaga 68, South Alabama 58
Dec. 20, 2014 – #8 Gonzaga 63, Cal Poly 50
Dec. 19, 2015 – #9 Gonzaga 86, Tennessee 79
March 20, 2016 – Gonzaga 86, North Dakota St. 76
March 22, 2016 – Gonzaga 87, Iowa 68
Dec. 4, 2021 – #16 Alabama 91, #3 Gonzaga 82
Dec. 15, 2023 – #5 UConn 76, #10 Gonzaga 63
Dec. 7, 2024 – #4 Kentucky 90, #7 Gonzaga 89 (OT)
 
UP NEXT
- The second all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Campbell in Spokane on Dec. 17 at 6 p.m.
- The Zags won the only other previous matchup, 74-52, in the McCarthey Athletic Center, Dec. 19, 2012. Przemek Karnowski scored 14 points to lead four Gonzaga players in double figures. The 14th-ranked Bulldogs moved to 11-1 with the win. Kelly Olynyk added 12 points and Gary Bell Jr. and Elias Harris both had 11. GU led 49-24 at halftime, and by as many as 31 points in the second half.
- Gonzaga is 4-0 all-time versus current members of the Colonial Athletic Association, with the most recent meeting against the league being the 2012 win over Campbell. The Zags beat Monmouth twice in 2000 and 2001, before a win over Hofstra in 2002.
- Campbell is off to a 4-5 start to the season and is coming off a 149-62 home win over Virginia Lynchburg Sunday. Three Camels reached 20 points, with two more at 19, and a fifth at 18. Chris Fields Jr. pulled down 22 rebounds, scored 23 points and dished out 11 assists. Muneer Newton led all scorers with 28 points on 14-of-15 shooting. He grabbed 11 rebounds. Dovydas Butka had 23 points. Cam Gregory also had 11 assists.
- DJ Smith averages a team-high 19.4 points per game, while making a team-best 27 three-pointers.
- Dovydas Butka adds 15.8 points and pulls down a team-high 9.1 rebounds per game.
- Chris Fields Jr. and Jeremiah Johnson chip in 13.7 and 12.0 points per game.