#7/7 Gonzaga (11-1) vs. Oregon (6-5)
SUNDAY, DEC. 21 | 3 P.M. PT | PORTLAND, OR | MODA CENTER
TELEVISION: NBC Sports and Peacock
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THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga faces Oregon in the Northwest Elite Showdown in the Moda Center in Portland, Ore., Sunday at 3 p.m. It's the 27th all-time meeting between the Pacific Northwest programs, but the first since 2019 and the first in the continental United States since 1983.
- The Bulldogs are coming off a 98-70 home win over Campbell Wednesday. Braden Huff had a historic night, finishing with a career-high 37 points on 16-of-18 shooting from the field. He made his first 13 shots, becoming the first Zag to start 13 for 13 from the field over the last 20 seasons, and joined Luka Garza in 2020 as the only NCAA Div. 1 players in the last eight seasons to make 12 shots in a half without a miss. He had 26 points at halftime. It was the first 25-point half by a GU player in the last eight seasons. Graham Ike added 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Steele Venters had 13 points. GU finished 63 percent from the field.
- GU is one of four teams in the nation with both its offense (7th) and defense (6th) in KenPom's Top 10.
- Gonzaga has now made at least one appearance in the Top 10 of the AP poll in each of the last 12 seasons. Out of 240 appearances in the poll since 2014, the Bulldogs have been in the top ten 57 percent of the time.
- The Zags currently lead the WCC in scoring margin (26.2, 5th in NCAA), scoring offense (92.4, 11th), rebounds (44.0, 7th), rebound margin (12.2, 8th), defensive rebounds per game (30.75, 6th), assists (20.0, 7th), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.88, 11th), field goal percentage (52.5, 8th), field goal percentage defense (38.2, 16th), three-point percentage defense (27.4, 20th), turnover margin (4.9, 16th), bench points (34.8, 24th), fast-break points (15.75), steals, (9.1), and turnovers (10.7). GU tops the nation in points in the paint averaging 49.3 per game, and has made 152 more twos than its opponents. Miami (FL) is second at 116.
- Graham Ike ranks second among active scorers in NCAA Div. 1 with 2,146 points, Indiana's Tucker DeVries is first at 2,173. Ike's 984 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, Lute Olson, and Naismith Player of the Year watch lists.
- Ike is seventh in the nation, and first in the WCC, with six double-doubles this season. Braden Huff tops the country with 103 made field goals, and is fifth making 67.8 percent from the field (72.3% inside-the-arc).
- 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.
 
SCOUTING THE DUCKS
- On Wednesday, Oregon picked up a 94-69 win over Portland in Eugene on Wednesday. Five Ducks finished in double-digit scoring. Kwame Evans Jr. had 21 points plus seven rebounds and four assists, Nate Bittle scored 18 and Jackson Shelstad added 14 points with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Dezdrick Lindsay also scored 14 and had four of the Ducks' 13 threes. The 23 assists were a season high for the UO men, and their 13 made three-pointers were the second most.
- Jackson Shelstad averages a team-high 16.2 points and 5.1 assists per game. Kwame Evans Jr.  and Takai Simpkins add 13.6 and 12.5 points per game. Nate Bittle scores 13.7 points per outing, while grabbing 6.2 rebounds and blocking 1.9 shots.
- Oregon is coming off a 25-10 season in 2024-25. The Ducks fell to top-seeded Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals but received a five-seed in the NCAA Tournament. After cruising past Liberty, Oregon fell to fourth-seeded Arizona in the second round in Seattle, 87-83.
- The Ducks welcome back All-Big Ten third team selections Jackson Shelstad and Nate Bittle, and Ohio State transfer Sean Stewart.
- Oregon was picked fifth in the preseason Big Ten poll.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the 27th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Oregon, but the first since 2019 and the first in the continental United States since 1983.
- Oregon has won 22 of the previous matchups, but GU won the last meeting in 2019. The then-ranked No. 8 Bulldogs held off No. 11 Oregon in overtime, 73-72, in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis in The Bahamas. Filip Petrusev led all scorers with 22 points, with Corey Kispert adding 17 points for the Zags. Payton Pritchard and Chris Duarte combined for 33 points for Oregon.
- Prior to that matchup, the teams had not met since 1999. Oregon won the first-ever meeting, 29-22, in Spokane on Feb. 14, 1912.
 
ZAGS IN THE ROSE CITY
- Gonzaga returns to the Moda Center for first time since falling to Purdue in the semifinals of the 2022 Phil Knight Legacy tournament.
- The Moda Center will host first and second games in the NCAA Tournament March 19 and 21.
- The Bulldogs won first and second round matchups inside the arena as the top-seed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament over Georgia State and Memphis.
- The Zags are 5-2 all-time inside the Moda Center and formerly named Rose Garden.
- Gonzaga has a history of players from Portland and its surrounding area.
- Former GU standouts Nigel Williams-Goss, Kyle Wiltjer, Ben Gregg, Mike Hart, Silas Melson and Matt Santangelo are all from the Portland area.
- Richie Frahm (Battle Ground, Wash.), Derek Raivio (Vancouver, Wash.), Dan Dickau (Vancouver, Wash.) and Zach Gourde (Vancouver, Wash.) are from just on the other side of the Washington border.
- Assistant Coach Brian Michaelson starred at Jesuit High School before playing at Gonzaga.
- Head Coach Mark Few is from Creswell, Ore., 120 miles south of Portland.
- Former Zag Zach Collins was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2017, and Dickau had two stints with the Blazers, before working for them as a player development assistant.
 
UP NEXT
- The 101st all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Pepperdine. The Zags have a 69-31 advantage in the series.
- It is the West Coast Conference opener for both teams. The Bulldogs have won 29 straight WCC openers, dating back to a 72-61 loss at Santa Clara in 1996. GU has won all 26 WCC openers under Mark Few.
- Gonzaga has won 49 straight versus the Waves, with the last Pepperdine victory in the series coming on Jan. 18, 2002, 88-79, in Malibu.
- It ranks as the second-longest streak versus an opponent in Div. 1 history, and currently the longest active.
- The Bulldogs are 53-2 against the Waves under Few.
- In last season's meeting at Pepperdine on Dec. 30, Khalif Battle scored 21 points, Braden Huff added 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting and No. 19 GU won 89-82.
- GU has won 22 in-a-row inside the Firestone Fieldhouse and is 28-17 all-time in the meetings in Malibu.
- In the most recent matchup, the Zags cruised to a 107-55 win in Spokane on Feb. 15. Khalif Battle led all scorers with 24 points, while Graham Ike pulled down nine rebounds. Emmanuel Innocenti had three steals.
- Gonzaga has a 36-12 advantage in the meetings in Spokane, winning 25 in-a-row against Pepperdine in Spokane. The last time the Waves won at GU was on Feb. 19, 1998, 65-64.
- Gonzaga won the first-ever meeting, 93-70, in the Knights of Columbus Tournament in Portland, on Dec. 11, 1964.
 
HUFF'S HISTORIC NIGHT
- Braden Huff scored a career-high 37 points on 16-for-18 shooting as Gonzaga beat Campbell 98-70.
- Huff joined Luka Garza in 2020 as the only NCAA Div. 1 players in the last eight seasons to make 12 shots in a half without a miss, per ESPN Research.
- Huff matched his prior career-high of 26 points by halftime. It was the first 25-point half by a GU player in the last eight seasons.
- Huff is the first Zag to start 13 for 13 from the field over the last 20 seasons.
- His 16 made shots from the field were the most in McCarthey Athletic Center history, and the most by a player in the West Coast Conference so far this season, and fourth-most in NCAA Div. 1. He is only the fifth Bulldog in the last 20 years to make 16 shots from the field in a game.
- His 37 points were the second-most in the WCC this season, and the most by Zag since Julian Strawther's 40 points at Portland in 2023.
 
IKE NATIONAL AND WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Collecting 25 points in the victory over No. 25 UCLA, Graham Ike won this week's West Coast Conference Player of the Week, and was named one of five Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week.
- Ike posted his fifth 20-point outing of the season and propelled No. 8 Gonzaga to a double-digit win over No. 25 UCLA in Seattle. After scoring a season-high 28 points in his previous appearance, Ike secured 25 points in the victory over the Bruins.
- Along with his five rebounds, he dished out a career-high five assists.
- This is the second time this season that Ike has won conference player of the week, and the Bulldogs now own three conference weekly awards this season.
 
RACKING UP RANKED WINS
- Gonzaga's victory over No. 25 UCLA was the Zags' fourth win over a ranked foe this season.
- The four ranked victories are tied for the second-most in the nation with UConn and Duke. Arizona has five.
- GU had three wins over ranked teams all of last season.
- The Bulldogs' four Quad 1 wins (4-1) this season match the most in the country. GU is 5-1 versus Quad 1 and 2.
 
DOMINATING THE PAINT
- Gonzaga tops the nation in points in the paint averaging 49.3 per game, and has made 152 more twos than its opponents. Miami (FL) is second at 116.
- The tandem of Braden Huff and Graham Ike has evolved into the best scoring front court in the country, combining for 36 points per game this season.
- Ike is averaging 22.3 points, 4.3 assists and 8.7 rebounds since going 0-for-5 in 16 minutes against Michigan.
- Huff is averaging 25.5 points on 75.8% shooting from the field in the month of December.
- Huff tops the country with 103 made field goals, and is fifth making 67.8 percent from the field (72.3% 2-pt range).
 
BULLDOGS OFF TO GREAT START
- Gonzaga is a win shy of its best start to a season since 2020-21, when the Zags won every game (31-0) until the national championship loss to Baylor.
- The Bulldogs have opened conference play with no losses or one loss in non-league action only six times.
2020-21: 9-0      31-1       NCAA Runner-up (1-seed)
2019-20: 14-1*  31-2       NCAA Canceled
2016-17: 12-0    37-2       NCAA Runner-up (1-seed)
2014-15: 11-1    35-3       NCAA Elite Eight (2-seed)
2012-13: 13-1    32-3       NCAA Second Round (1-seed)
1994-95: 11-1    21-9       NCAA First Round (14-seed)
* loss was to Michigan in Battle 4 Atlantis finals
 
SCORING BREAKDOWN
- Gonzaga tops the nation averaging 35.3 made field goals per game, third in extra scoring chances per game (9.0), third in first half points per game (46.7), fourth in second half scoring margin (13.3), and ninth in first half margin (12.9).
- The Zags' 18 kill shots, which are 10-0 scoring runs, is tied with Duke and St. Louis for most in the country.