#7/7 Gonzaga (14-1, 2-0 WCC) vs. Seattle (12-3, 1-1 WCC)
FRIDAY, JAN. 2 | 6 P.M. PT | SPOKANE | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER
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THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga hosts new West Coast Conference member, Seattle University, in the McCarthey Athletic Center Friday at 6 p.m. The programs meet for the 72nd time, but the first since a Redhawk win in 1980.
- The Bulldogs held off San Diego for a 99-93 road win Tuesday. Jalen Warley had 22 points and 14 rebounds for GU's 20th straight win against the Toreros. Tyon Grant-Foster scored 18 points while Mario Saint-Supery and Braden Huff had 14 apiece for Gonzaga, which won its seventh straight game. Graham Ike had 11 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes. The Bulldogs outrebounded USD, 44-27, and had a 22-8 advantage in second chance points. GU outscored the Toreros in the paint, 60-36. Five Zags finished in double-digit scoring.
- Huff is 15 points away from being the fifth Zag on the roster to reach the 1,000-point club in his career.
- 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 2,187 points, Indiana's Tucker DeVries is first at 2,197. Ike's 1,014 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 four teams in the nation with both its offense (4th) and defense (12th) in KenPom's Top 12.
- The Zags currently lead the WCC in scoring margin (24.6, 6th in NCAA), scoring offense (93.0, 12th), rebounds (43.4, 10th), rebound margin (11.9, 9th), defensive rebounds per game (30.1, 11th), assists (20.5, 8th), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.96, 6th), field goal percentage (52.5, 7th), effective field goal percentage (.583, 22nd), three-point percentage defense (28.8), three-point percentage (37.9), turnover margin (4.4, 23rd), bench points (37.3, 15th), fast-break points (16.3), and turnovers (10.5). GU tops the nation in points in the paint averaging 48.7 per game, and has made 175 more twos than its opponents.
- Ike is sixth in the nation, and first in the WCC, with eight double-doubles this season. Braden Huff is first in the country with 124 made field goals, and is seventh making 66.7 percent from the field (70.8% inside-the-arc). Braeden Smith tops the WCC, and is 11th in the nation, with a 4.29 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- 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.
 
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
- Seattle won its first-ever West Coast Conference game Tuesday, beating Washington State, 69-55. Brayden Maldonado led the Redhawks with 15 points and former Zag Jun Seok Yeo added 10 points. Austin Maurer scored six points and grabbed six rebounds. Seattle was outrebounded 54-28, but held the Cougars to 29 percent shooting from the field, including 4-of-27 from behind-the-arc.
- Maldonado averages a team-high 15.7 points per game. He has made a team-best 32 threes at 42.1 percent.
- Will Heimbrodt chips in 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds. Yeo is scoring 11.7 points per outing.
- Maurer is pulling down a team-high 5.3 rebounds. Maleek Arlington dishes out 4.67 assists per game.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the 72nd all-time meeting between Gonzaga and new West Coast Conference member Seattle University.
- The Redhawks have a 50-21 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 NCAA Div. 1 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, 1953.
 
UP NEXT
- The 105th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount.
- Gonzaga has an 83-22 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 34 of the last 36 meetings.
- The Bulldogs are 51-4 against LMU under Mark Few.
- Gonzaga is 42-7 at home against the Lions.
- In the last meeting, the Zags beat Loyola Marymount, 73-53, in Spokane on Feb. 6. The Bulldogs trailed 46-45 at the 10:27 mark of the second half, before going on a 28-5 run to put the game away. GU led for 36 minutes in a game that featured eight ties and eight lead changes. Gonzaga led 27-24 at halftime. Khalif Battle's 24 points led GU. Braden Huff added 14 points for the Bulldogs, while Graham Ike had eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
- In last season's first matchup in Los Angeles, Graham Ike scored 27 points, Khalif Battle added 26 and No. 19 Gonzaga rolled to a 96-68 victory at LMU.
- The Zags won the first all-time meeting between the programs, 75-71, in Spokane in 1953.
 
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.
 
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.