Gonzaga (17-7, 8-3 WCC) at Pacific (8-18, 3-9 WCC)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8 | 5 P.M. | ALEX G. SPANOS CENTER | STOCKTON, CA
TELEVISION: KHQ/ESPN+
Seattle TV – FOX13+
Portland TV – FOX12+
LIVE VIDEO (Outside of KHQ Region/Not blacked out in Montana) | LIVE VIDEO (In KHQ/SWX Region) | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
 
THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga is back on the road at Pacific Saturday at 5 p.m. inside the Alex G. Spanos Center in Stockton, Calif.
- The Zags are coming off a 73-53 win over Loyola Marymount in Spokane Thursday. Khalif Battle led all scorers with 24 points. Battle broke a McCarthey Athletic Center record making 15 of his 16 free throw attempts. Ryan Nembhard moved to second in program history for most assists in a single season (238), finishing with nine assists to one turnover, and 15 points.
- Ryan Nembhard is six assists away from breaking his own school record for most in a single season set last year with 243.
- Ryan Nembhard's 238 assists are first in the nation, to only 53 turnovers. Nembhard's 9.9 assists per game also tops the country. His 4.49 assist-to-turnover ratio is second.
- As a team, the Zags are first in the nation in assists per game at 19.5 and assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.00.
- GU is the only program in the nation with six players, that have appeared in at least 10 games, averaging double-digit scoring.
- Gonzaga is second in the country averaging 87.6 points per game, fifth in field goal percentage (49.7), and sixth in free-throw percentage (80.1).
- Khalif Battle is sixth from the free-throw line at 92.6 percent (1st in WCC). Graham Ike (59.0 percent) and Braden Huff (55.6 percent) are first and second in the WCC in field goal percentage. Nolan Hickman tops the league shooting 45.2 percent (28-of-62) from three-point range in conference play.
- Graham Ike is third in the West Coast Conference averaging 18.5 points per league game, while shooting 60 percent from the field, which tops the conference. He is fifth grabbing 8.1 rebounds per conference game.
- Ben Gregg tops the WCC at 65.4 percent (51-of-78) from the field during conference play. He also leads the league shooting 71.4 percent (75/105) from inside-the-arc in all games.
- Ryan Nembhard was named to the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Top 10 Watch List. Graham Ike was named to the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Top 10 Watch List.
- Graham Ike and Nembhard Named to Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watchlist.
- Mark Few was recently named a first-time nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
- Pacific won its second straight home game Thursday, holding off San Diego, 71-69. Lamar Washington led all scorers with a game-high 19 for the Tigers, and dished out four assists. Petar Krivokapic registered 15 points, while Elijah Fisher tallied 14 points. Elias Ralph grabbed seven rebounds. Pacific finished 50 percent from the field.
- Washington has 17 double-figure scoring games this season and seven in the last eight games. Fisher has scored in double-figures in 25 of 26 games this season.
- Fisher averages a team-best 16.2 points per game, while Ralph and Washington add 15.7 and 12.7 points.
- Washington is third in the conference at 6.0 assists per outing, and Ralph is sixth at 7.4 rebounds.
- Pacific has surpassed its season win total by two games and conference win total by three games from a year ago.
- Two the Tigers' wins are a sweep over Washington State.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the 25th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Pacific. The Zags have won 23 of the previous 24 matchups in the series, including the last 21 straight.
- The Bulldogs are 21-0 against Pacific under Mark Few.
- The Tigers lone victory in the series came in Stockton in 1976, 70-60.
- In the latest meeting, Gonzaga cruised to a 102-76 win in Spokane last season on Feb. 17. Five Bulldogs finished in double-digit scoring, and GU made a season-high 66.1 percent (37-56) of its shots from the field. In the Zags' 20th win of the season, Graham Ike had 21 points, making all nine of his shots from the field. Ryan Nembhard recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists. Braden Huff had 14 of his 17 points in the second half. Nolan Hickman hit four three-pointers and finished with 16 points.
- Gonzaga has won 10 of the 11 meetings in Stockton, including the last nine.
- The Bulldogs won last season's meeting in Stockton, 82-73, on Jan. 27. All five Gonzaga starters finished in double-digit scoring led by Graham Ike's 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. Nolan Hickman scored 19 points, with three three-pointers.
- Gonzaga has won all 13 meetings in Spokane, including all 12 inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- The Zags edged Pacific, 85-83, in the first-ever meeting in Stockton on Feb. 5, 1959.
 
UP NEXT
- The 97th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and San Francisco on Thursday in the McCarthey Athletic Center at 8 p.m.
- The Bulldogs have a 74-22 advantage in the series.
- GU is 53-4 against San Francisco under Mark Few.
- The Zags have won 30 straight versus the Dons. USF's last win in the series came on Feb. 18, 2012, 66-65, at USF.
- In the latest meeting, No. 17 GU beat San Francisco 89-77 in the 2024 West Coast Conference tournament semifinals. Nolan Hickman scored 20 points as all five Gonzaga starters scored in double figures. Ben Gregg scored 17 points, and Ryan Nembhard had 16. Gregg made four threes in the second half. The Dons took a 35-27 lead late in the first half before Gonzaga roared back with an 11-point run, and led 38-37 at halftime.
- In last season's meeting in Spokane, Gonzaga held off the Dons, 77-72, on Jan. 25. Graham Ike had 22 points. Ryan Nembhard finished with 13 points and six assists. USF led 31-30 at halftime, but the Zags would take a 13-point lead with 2:44 left in regulation.
- Gonzaga has won 35 in-a-row in Spokane in the series, including all 20 in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- The Bulldogs are 40-2 against USF in Spokane all-time. The Dons last won in Spokane in 1989, 67-64.
- GU is 27-18 all-time at San Francisco. The Bulldogs have won the last 12 matchups at USF.
- The Zags and Dons have met in the WCC semifinals the last two seasons, and five of the last seven semifinal rounds.
- San Francisco edged GU, 64-62, in the first-ever meeting at USF on Jan. 28, 1961.
 
BULLDOG BALANCE
- Gonzaga is the only program in the nation with six players, that have appeared in at least 10 games, averaging double-digit scoring.
- Five different Zags have been the high-scorer in a game this season, while four have led in rebounds.
- The Bulldogs have had six players in double-figures three times this season, five players in double-digits eight times, four players eight times, and three players six times.
- Six Zags have scored 20 points in a game this season, and eight have multiple 20-point games in their careers.
 
SPEAKING OFFENSIVELY
- GU is first in the nation in assists per game at 19.5 and assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.00.
- The Bulldogs are averaging 19.73 assists in conference play, which leads the league by 2.4 assists per game.
- Gonzaga is averaging 21.6 assists over its last five games.
- The Zags are second in the country averaging 88.2 points per game and fourth in field goal percentage (50.0).
- Gonzaga is averaging 88.1 points in its WCC games. It would be the most points averaged in conference play since Loyola Marymount scored 97.8 points per game in 1991.
- GU is second in the country in points per possession at 1.190, and first making 31.8 field goals per game.
- The Zags are second in the country getting 48.0 percent of points from two-pointers, after being top five in the nation in the category the last three seasons.
- Gonzaga is second in the nation averaging 42.2 points per first half and fifth in second half scoring 44.5.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Ryan Nembhard is six assists away from breaking his own school record from most in a single season in program history.
- Nembhard became the first Zag with two 200+ assists in a single season:
Ryan Nembhard (2023-24) - 243
Ryan Nembhard (2024-25) - 238
Josh Perkins (2018-19) - 234
Matt Santangelo (1999-00) - 225
Blake Stepp (2003-04) - 207
John Stockton (1983-84) - 201
- Ben Gregg is three rebounds from 500 in his career.
- Ben Gregg's 130 appearances ranks 14th all-time in program history, six behind Drew Timme for 13th.
- Nolan Hickman's 128 career appearances are 16th all-time.
- Nolan Hickman is one assist from 300 in his career. He is six made threes away from 10th all-time in GU career history (Steven Gray, 210).
- Gregg is three wins (109) from the Top-10 in program history in career victories, and Hickman (103) is nine away. David Stockton currently ranks 10th at 112 from 2011-14.
 
THE POINT GOD
- Ryan Nembhard's 9.9 assists per game tops the nation.
- Nembhard is five assists shy of matching his own single season program record set last season with 243.
- Only five players have finished a season averaging double-digit assists per game over the last 30 years ...
1. Yuri Collins (St. Louis, 2022-23): 10.1 apg
2. Nelson Haggerty (Baylor, 1994-95): 10.1 apg
3. Ja Morant (Murray State, 2018-19): 10.0 apg
4. Chris De La Rosa (UMBC, 2011-12): 10.0 apg
5. Jason Brickman (LIU Brooklyn, 2013-14): 10.0 apg
- Nembhard, the nation's leader in assists became the first player in the country to eclipse the 200-assist mark this season, now at 238, the second-most in a single season in program history. He was the first player to 100 assists and the fastest to 100 assists in a season in program history.
- Nembhard is the first player in program history to have multiple 200 assist seasons.
- Nembhard's 4.40 assist-to-turnover ratio is second in the country. (CJ Fulton, Charleston 4.74)
- He is currently second in the West Coast Conference at 35:07 minutes per game.
- Nembhard currently leads the WCC averaging 9.8 assists per league game. The conference record is 9.2 set by Orlando Smart of San Francisco in 1991.
- The senior is third in the country among active leaders in career assists with 776. Dajuan Harris Jr. of Kansas leads at 798. Nembhard's 6.31 assist career average is fifth among active leaders, and his 2.62 assist to turnover is sixth.
- The program career record is 712 set by Josh Perkins (2015-19), Nembhard's two-year Gonzaga total of 480 assists ranks seventh in GU's all-time Top 10. Kevin Pangos is sixth at 536 from 2012-15.
- Nembhard has 14 double-digit assist outings, the most in the country, out of the 23 games this season, with 10 double-doubles.
- Last season, Nembhard became the first Bulldog to have back-to-back double-digit assist games since Derek Raivio had 11 assists versus Portland State and 13 assists against Montana to open the 2004-05 season.
- Nembhard was the first Zag to get back-to-back double-doubles with assists since Dan Dickau on Jan. 12 and 13, 2001 (13 pts, 10 asts at USF and 15 pts, 12 asts at SMC).
- He's the only player in the last 15 seasons to average 10 assists & a 5/1 or better A/TO ratio in any calendar month with at least 5 games played.
- He set a new Canadian record for career assists by a NCAA Div. 1 player.
Current All-Time Canadian D1 Assists Leaders:
1. Ryan Nembhard (Creighton/Gonzaga) 767
2. Marcus Carr (Pittsburgh/Minnesota/Texas) 747
3. Andrew Nembhard (Florida/Gonzaga) 691
- No Canadian player in Div. 1 has averaged more than seven assists per game.
- Nembhard finished with a career-high and single game tournament record 14 assists against Davidson in the Battle 4 Atlantis. He totaled 39 assists in the three-game event, setting a new tournament record, to just eight turnovers.
 
GETTING DEFENSIVE
- The Zags have held their last four opponents under 63 points and 39 percent shooting from the field.