#9/9 Gonzaga (18-1, 6-0 WCC) at Seattle (13-6, 2-4 WCC)
SATURDAY, JAN. 17 | 7 P.M. PT | SEATTLE | CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA
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THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga plays for its 12th straight win when it visits Seattle University Saturday at 7 p.m. The matchup will be played inside Climate Pledge Arena. It's the 73rd all-time meeting between the programs.
- The Zags won the first matchup this season, 80-72 in overtime, in Spokane on Jan. 2. GU trailed by 13 points twice in the second half, but rallied for the win in the first meeting in 36 years with the in-state foe.
- The Bulldogs are coming off an 86-65 win at Washington State Thursday. GU won its 11th straight game behind Graham Ike's 23 points and 11 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season. Adam Miller and Jalen Warley added 13 and 11 points. Warley had four steals and Ike dished out a game-high five assists. GU outscored the Cougars 52-12 in the paint, 27-8 in points off turnovers, and 16-2 in fastbreak points. The Bulldogs turned 17 offensive rebounds into 19 second chance points.
- The Zags have had at least 10 wins in-a-row in 17 seasons under Few, but this is the first since 2022-23.
- GU's 18-1 start matches the fifth-best start in program history, and was 5-0 in WCC play for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons. The Zags' eight straight road wins matches the second-longest streak in the nation.
- Gonzaga is one of six teams in the nation with both its offense (5th) and defense (12th) in KenPom's Top 12.
- The Zags' 29 kill shots, which are 10-0 scoring runs, are the most in the country. According to Evan Miyakawa, Gonzaga's four runs of 20+ this season is the most in the nation (Purdue has 3). The Zags' have nine runs of 15+, which also tops the country, with the next closest team being Houston with five.
- The Zags currently lead the WCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.89, 6th in NCAA), assists (19.7, 8th), bench points (36.9, 9th), effective field goal percentage (.580, 18th), fast-break points (15.5), field goal percentage (52.5, 3rd), field goal percentage defense (39.1, 17th), defensive rebounds per game (29.95, 6th), rebounds (42.89, 10th), scoring margin (23.4, 3rd), scoring offense (91.2, 11th), three-point percentage defense (29.9), turnover margin (4.4, 14th), and turnovers (10.4). GU tops the nation in points in the paint averaging 48.6 per game, and has made 230 more twos than its opponents (Arizona second at 148).
- Ike is fourth in the nation, and first in the WCC, with 11 double-doubles this season. Braeden Smith tops the WCC, and is 14th in the nation, with a 3.63 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- Ike tops the nation among active scorers in NCAA Div. 1 with 2,284 points, Indiana's Tucker DeVries is second at 2,234. Ike's 1,053 rebounds also ranks second among active players. He is the only active player with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.
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SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
- Seattle snapped a three-game skid with a 75-64 home win over San Diego Thursday. Junseok Yeo scored 18 points, one of four players in double figures. Braydon Maldonado added 16 points, while John Christofilis chipped in 11 off the bench, and Will Heimbrodt had 10 plus five rebounds and two more blocked shots. The Redhawks shot 48.1 percent from the field, hitting 25-of-52, including 40 percent from downtown at 8-of-20.
- Maldonado averages a team-high 15.1 points per game. He has made a team-best 42 threes at 38.2 percent. He is 10th in the country shooting 92.4 percent from the free-throw line.
- Will Heimbrodt chips in 13.1 points and 5.0 rebounds. Yeo is scoring 12.3 points per outing.
- Heimbrodt tops the WCC, and is seventh in the nation, averaging 2.67 blocks per game.
- Maurer is pulling down a team-high 5.1 rebounds. Maleek Arlington dishes out 4.5 assists per game.
- Seattle leads the WCC, and is 17th in the country, at 5.3 blocks per game. The Redhawks also top the conference averaging 15.05 turnovers forced per game. Their 40.5 field goal percentage defense is second in the league, and SU's 68.0 points per game allowed ranks third in the WCC.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the 73rd all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Seattle University.
- The Redhawks have a 50-22 advantage in the series all-time, but the Zags won the first matchup this season, 15 days ago in Spokane, 80-72 in overtime. GU trailed by 13 points twice in the second half, but rallied for the win in the first meeting in 36 years with the in-state foe. Braden Huff, Graham Ike, and Tyon Grant-Foster combined for 71 points. Huff led all scorers with 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field. Ike had a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Grant-Foster had 19 points and five blocks. The Zags outscored Seattle 18-6 to close regulation.
- The programs met 44 times as independents, 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 102nd all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Pepperdine in Spokane on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
- The Zags have a 70-31 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 50 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 54-2 against the Waves under Few.
- In the first meeting this season in Malibu, Tyon Grant-Foster had 18 points and four blocks, and Braeden Smith and Davis Fogle scored 15 points apiece to lead No. 7 Gonzaga to a 96-56 win over Pepperdine. Braden Huff had 10 points and Graham Ike had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
- In last season's game at GU, 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 35-12 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.
- GU has won 23 in-a-row inside the Firestone Fieldhouse and is 28-17 all-time in the meetings in Malibu.
- Gonzaga won the first-ever meeting, 93-70, in the Knights of Columbus Tournament in Portland, on Dec. 11, 1964.
 
ZAGS IN SEATTLE
- Gonzaga returns to Climate Pledge Arena, formerly the Key Arena, where it has plenty of history. The Bulldogs are 16-8 all-time in the building.
- Earlier this season in Climate Pledge Arena, GU beat No. 25 UCLA 82-72 on Dec. 13.
- The Zags' earliest games in the modern era in the building were in the first and second rounds of the 1999 NCAA Tournament, when GU 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.
 
WE'RE GOING STREAKING
- Gonzaga is riding an 11-game win streak.
- The Zags have had at least 10 wins in-a-row in 17 seasons under Mark Few, but this would be the first since 2022-23.
 
ANOTHER UNBEATEN WCC START
- Gonzaga is 6-0 to open conference play for the first time since starting 13-0 in 2021-22.
- This is the 17th time the Zags have started 6-0 in WCC play under Mark Few.
- The Bulldogs were 5-0 in WCC play for the 11th time out of the last 12 seasons.
- With the exception of the 2022-23 season's 2-1 start to league play, GU has opened 5-0 in WCC play in each season since 2014-15.
 
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.
- This is also the fifth-best start in program history.
- Previously, the Bulldogs have opened conference play with no losses or one loss in non-league action only six times.
 
IKE NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Ike finished one point shy of his career high with 34 points in Gonzaga's win over Santa Clara, though his 13 made shots from the field were a career best and the third most in the conference this season.
- Ike finished 13-for-17 from the field, including 1-for-1 from three-point range, adding 11 rebounds, for his conference-leading 10th double-double of the season.
- This is Ike's third conference player of the week honor and the fifth for Gonzaga this season.
 
20/29 VISION
- GU is two wins from its 29th straight 20-win season.
- The Zags' 28-straight 20-win seasons rank second for the longest active run in the country. (Kansas 37)
- Prior to the previous 28 seasons, the Bulldogs reached 20 wins in a season eight times since 1907-08.
- Gonzaga has won at least 25 games in each of the last 18 consecutive seasons, which is a NCAA Div. 1 record.
 
GOLDEN GRAHAM
- Graham Ike is the nation's active leading scorer with 2,284 career points. His 1,053 rebounds rank second. No other player has 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
- Ike also leads the country with 875 field goals made in his career, and is fourth with 502 made free-throws.
- His 42 career double-doubles rank second.
- His 11 double-doubles this season ranks fourth in the nation. He had two games with nine rebounds with double-digit scoring. He's reached double-digit scoring in all but one game.
- Ike ranks second in the WCC in scoring (18.1), second in rebounds (8.8), and second in field goal percentage (.555). In conference games, he ranks second in scoring (20.2), first in rebounds (9.7), and second in field goal percentage (.647).
- 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.
 
FINDING HIS GROOVE
- Through the first six conference games, Tyon Grant-Foster is averaging 13.0 points per contest at 65.9 percent (29-of-44) from the field.
- He also has 10 blocks in the six league games, which ranks second in the league.
- His five blocks against Seattle was a career-high.
 
SCORING BREAKDOWN
- Gonzaga tops the nation averaging 34.7 made field goals per game, third in extra scoring chances per game (8.0), sixth in first half points per game (44.0), second in second half scoring margin (12.3), and third in percentage of points from two-pointers (60.2).
- The Zags' 29 kill shots, which are 10-0 scoring runs, are the most in the country. During the six WCC games, GU has long runs of 21-0 (LMU), 18-0 (Pepperdine), 17-0 (Santa Clara), 10-0 (San Diego), 9-0 (Washington State) and 8-0 (Seattle).
- According to Evan Miyakawa, Gonzaga's four runs of 20+ this season is the most in the nation (Purdue has 3). The Zags' have nine runs of 15+, which also tops the country, with the next closest team being Houston with five.
 
LIFE ON THE ROAD
- Since the 2016-17 season, Gonzaga is a national best
77-10 (88.5) in true road games. Saint Mary's has the next best true road win percentage at 77.3 (68-20).
- Since the 2007-08 season, the Zags are 149-33 in true road games. GU's 81.9-win pct. in true road games is best in the nation. (SMC, 2nd, 134-54, .713)
- Since the 2005-06 season, Gonzaga is 307-94 in road or neutral games. The Zags' 76.5-win percentage in road or neutral games tops the nation over that span.