#7/7 Gonzaga (13-1, 1-0 WCC) at San Diego (6-7, 1-0 WCC)
TUESDAY, DEC. 30 | 6:30 P.M. PT | SAN DIEGO, CA | JENNY CRAIG PAVILION
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THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga continues West Coast Conference play on the road at San Diego Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The Zags have won 19 straight over the Toreros, dating back to a 69-66 USD win in San Diego on Feb. 22, 2014.
- The Bulldogs are coming off a 96-56 win at Pepperdine to open West Coast Conference action. Tyon Grant-Foster had 18 points and four blocks, and Braeden Smith and Davis Fogle scored 15 points apiece. Graham Ike had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. Braden Huff finished with 10 points. GU pulled away midway through the first half with an 18-0 run. During that time, Pepperdine had a scoreless drought of 5:17. The Zags made 53 percent from the field, while the Waves finished at 33 percent.
- The Bulldogs have now won 30 straight West Coast Conference openers, dating back to a 72-61 loss at Santa Clara in 1996. GU has won all 27 WCC openers under Mark Few.
- Graham Ike eclipsed the 1,000 career rebound mark at Pepperdine. Only two players in West Coast Conference history achieved that feat, Bill Cartwright and Yoeli Childs. Only Jerry Vermillion reached 1,000 rebounds in a career at GU, grabbing 1,670 rebounds from 1952-55. Ike had 382 rebounds while at Wyoming.
- Ike ranks second among active scorers in NCAA Div. 1 with 2,176 points, Indiana's Tucker DeVries is first at 2,197. Ike's 1,005 rebounds also ranks second among active players. He is the only active player with 2,000 points and 1,000 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.
- GU is one of three teams in the nation with both its offense (4th) and defense (8th) in KenPom's Top 10.
- The Zags currently lead the WCC in scoring margin (25.9, 6th in NCAA), scoring offense (92.6, 13th), rebounds (43.3, 9th), rebound margin (11.5, 10th), defensive rebounds per game (30.1, 10th), assists (20.1, 8th), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.98, 4th), field goal percentage (52.2, 10th), field goal percentage defense (38.7, 26th), effective field goal percentage (.580, 26th), three-point percentage defense (27.9, 21st), three-point percentage (37.5), turnover margin (5.0, 16th), bench points (36.1, 21st), steals (8.8), fast-break points (15.71), and turnovers (10.1). GU tops the nation in points in the paint averaging 47.9 per game, and has made 165 more twos than its opponents, while Miami (FL) is second at 135.
- Ike is fifth in the nation, and first in the WCC, with eight double-doubles this season. Braden Huff is second in the country with 117 made field goals, and is sixth making 66.9 percent from the field (71.3% inside-the-arc). Braeden Smith tops the WCC, and is seventh in the nation, with a 4.79 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- Mark Few reached 750 wins in his career. The 750 victories came in 903 games, the second-fastest to 750 wins in NCAA Div. 1 history behind Adolph Rupp's 902 games.
 
SCOUTING THE TOREROS
- San Diego is coming off a 66-54 home win over Pacific to open West Coast Conference play Thursday. Ty-Laur Johnson made five threes and scored a game-high 22 points. Juanse Gorosito added 17 points, while Toneari Lane and Adrian McIntyre chipped in 12 and 10 points. The Toreros made 12 threes and held Pacific to 4-of-22 from deep. USD also turned 21 forced turnovers into 25 points.
- Johnson averages a team-high 13.7 points per game, along with 3.5 assists.
- Gorosito and Lane add 10.8 points each per outing.
- Vuk Boskovic grabs a team-best four rebounds per game.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the 105th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and San Diego. GU has an 82-22 lead in the series.
- GU has won 19 straight versus the Toreros, 30 of the last 30, and 52 of the last 55 matchups.
- The Bulldogs are 53-4 against San Diego under Few.
- The Toreros' last win in the series came on Feb. 22, 2014, 69-66, at San Diego.
- Gonzaga is 35-13 all-time at San Diego. The Zags have won 14 of their last 15 at USD, including the last nine.
- In the last matchup at San Diego, Braden Huff scored a career-high 26 points and Gonzaga eased to a 105-63 win 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.
- Gonzaga is 40-5 at home versus San Diego all-time, including 21-0 in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- GU has won 25 straight games at home in the series, dating back to an 82-70 loss on Feb. 17, 2000.
- In last season's lone meeting, Ben Gregg scored 23 points and Khalif Battle added 20, in a 93-80 Gonzaga win on Jan. 8, 2025. Graham Ike scored 15 points, but grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds. Braden Huff added 11 points.
- The Zags won the first-ever meeting, 72-62, on Feb. 1, 1980, in San Diego.
 
UP NEXT
- The 50th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and new West Coast Conference member Seattle University, in the McCarthey Athletic Center Friday at 6 p.m.
- The Redhawks have a 39-10 advantage in the series all-time, but the programs have not met since Feb. 12, 1980.
- The teams met 44 times as independent programs, and five times as members of the West Coast Athletic Conference.
- Seattle won the first all-time meeting 88-74, when the No. 16 Redhawks in Seattle's Civic Ice Arena on Jan. 10, 1952. The programs played four times that season, and GU upset the Seattle, 82-80, when it was ranked 11th in Spokane on Feb. 15, 1952.
 
NAVIGATED THE NON-CONFERENCE
- Gonzaga may have just completed its best non-conference slate in program history, finishing 12-1.
- The Zags won a program-record eight games against power conference (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, SEC) teams in during the 12-1 start, and tied the record for most games played against power-conference opponents under Few (9).
- GU outscored opponents by an average of 24.8 points, which is the highest nonleague scoring margin under Few.v Remove the Michigan game, and GU's margin rises to 30.1.
- Gonzaga won 11 of its 12 nonconference games by double figures. That would've been a perfect 12 for 12, but Oregon made a lay-in with three seconds remaining in the Zags' nine-point victory. The 11 double-digit wins is currently the most in the nation.
 
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.
 
1KE REACHES 1,000 REBOUNDS
- In the Zags' 14th game of the season, Ike finished with his eighth double-double which ranks fifth in the nation.
- He did so in milestone fashion, as he became the second Bulldog to ever eclipse the 1,000 rebound mark in a career.
- He is the only active player in NCAA Div. 1 with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
- Though 382 of Ike's rebounds came in his first two seasons at Wyoming, only Bill Cartwright and Yoeli Childs reached 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in WCC history.
- In Gonzaga's 30th straight conference season-opening win, Ike finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds at Pepperdine.
 
BULLDOGS OFF TO GREAT START
- Gonzaga is off to its best start to a season since 2020-21, when the Zags won every game (31-0) until the national championship loss to Baylor.
- Previously, the Bulldogs have opened conference play with no losses or one loss in non-league action only six times.
 
SCORING BREAKDOWN
- Gonzaga tops the nation averaging 34.9 made field goals per game, second in extra scoring chances per game (9.1), fifth in first half points per game (46.1), third in second half scoring margin (13.4), and 12th in first half margin (12.6).
- The Zags' 19 kill shots, which are 10-0 scoring runs, is tied for the second most in the country.