#8/8 Gonzaga (20-1, 8-0 WCC) vs. San Francisco (13-8, 5-3 WCC)
SATURDAY, JAN. 24 | 5 P.M. PT | SPOKANE | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER
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THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga hosts San Francisco in the McCarthey Athletic Center in the 100th meeting between the programs Saturday at 5 p.m. The Bulldogs are playing for their 14th straight win, and 34th in-a-row over the Dons dating to 2012. USF's last win in Spokane was in 1989.
- GU has clinched its 29th straight 20-win season, which ranks second for the longest active run in the nation.
- The Bulldogs are coming off an 84-60 home win over Pepperdine Wednesday despite missing its top two scorers. Davis Fogle scored 17 points as the Zags beat the Waves for the 51st consecutive time. Tyon Grant-Foster and Mario Saint-Supery each scored 12 points, Adam Miller added 11, and Noah Haaland had 10. Ismaila Diagne pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds. GU limited Pepperdine to 38 percent shooting.
- The Zags' 13 consecutive victories ranks as the fifth-longest win streak in the nation. Gonzaga has had at least 10 wins in-a-row in 17 seasons under Few, but this is the first since 2022-23.
- GU's 20-1 start matches the fifth-best start in program history, and is 8-0 to open conference play for the first time since starting 13-0 in 2021-22. This is the 14th time Gonzaga has started WCC play 8-0 under Few.
- The Zags' 12 straight conference wins ranks as the fourth-longest streak in the nation.
- Gonzaga is one of four teams in the nation with its offense (10th) and defense (9th) in KenPom's Top 10.
- The Zags' 30 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 six.
- The Zags currently lead the WCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.80, 11th in NCAA), assists (18.9, 12th), bench points (38.2, 5th), effective field goal percentage (.574, 19th), fast-break points (15.4), field goal percentage (52.0, 3rd), field goal percentage defense (38.9, 11th), rebound margin (11.2, 7th), defensive rebounds per game (29.86, 6th), rebounds (42.9, 6th), scoring margin (23.3, 3rd), scoring offense (89.9, 14th), steals (9.1), three-point percentage defense (29.0, 18th), turnover margin (4.5, 14th), and turnovers (10.5). GU tops the nation in points in the paint averaging 48.2 per game, and has made 245 more twos than its opponents.
- Ike is sixth in the nation, and first in the WCC, with 11 double-doubles this season. Braeden Smith tops the WCC, and is 18th in the nation, with a 3.46 assist-to-turnover ratio.
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SCOUTING THE DONS
- San Francisco is coming off an 85-80 win over Washington State Sunday. USF ended the game on a 9-0 run. The Dons had four players score in double figures, led by Junjie Wang, who had 15 points. Guillermo Diaz Graham tacked on 14 points off the bench, and Ryan Beasley chipped in as well with 13 points, six assists, and three steals. Wang finished in double figures for the third straight game and the sixth time this season. He finished a perfect 4-of-4 from distance. Beasley tallied 10 or more points for the eighth straight game and team-leading 14th time this season. Tyrone Riley IV's six rebounds was a game-high. The Dons knocked down 12 of 22 shots (54.5 percent), which was the highest three-point percentage as a team this season.
- Beasley averages a team-high 14.2 points, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He's made a team-best 33 threes.
- Riley IV adds 12.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per outing.
- David Fuchs grabs a team-high 7.4 rebounds, while scoring 11.9 points per contest. Fuchs and Riley IV are both shooting 50.8 percent from the field.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the 100th all-time meeting between GU and San Francisco. The Bulldogs have a 76-22 advantage.
- Gonzaga is 56-4 against San Francisco under Mark Few.
- The Zags have won 33 straight versus the Dons. USF's last win in the series came on Feb. 18, 2012, 66-65, at USF.
- In the latest matchup, Graham Ike totaled 27 points and 10 rebounds and Gonzaga advanced to its 28th straight West Coast Conference Tournament championship game after an 85-76 victory over San Francisco on March 10 at Orleans Arena in a West Coast Conference semifinal.
- Gonzaga has won 35 in-a-row in Spokane in the series, including all 20 in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- The Bulldogs are 41-2 against USF in Spokane all-time. The Dons last won in Spokane in 1989, 67-64.
- In last season's meeting in Spokane on Feb. 13, Gonzaga beat San Francisco 88-77. Three Bulldogs finished with double-doubles, and five total finished in double-digit scoring with a sixth at nine points. Graham Ike finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds. The game was tied at 38 at halftime, before GU opened the second half on a 20-8 run.
- In last season's meeting in San Francisco, Gonzaga rolled to a 95-75 win in the Chase Center. The Bulldogs led for 37 minutes and had four double-digit scorers. Graham Ike finished with 15 points and six rebounds. Braden Huff added nine points. GU shot 57.6 percent from the field.
- GU is 28-18 all-time at San Francisco. The Bulldogs have won the last 13 matchups at USF.
- The Bulldogs and Dons have met in the WCC semifinals in five of the last seven tournaments, including the last three. GU has won seven of the eight all-time meetings in the West Coast Conference Tournament.
- San Francisco edged GU, 64-62, in the first-ever meeting at USF on Jan. 28, 1961.
 
UP NEXT
- The 120th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Saint Mary's. The Bulldogs lead the series 83-37, winning 27 of the last 36 meetings.
- The Zags and Gaels have played more times than any other two teams in the nation over the last 10 years, meeting 29 times with GU winning 19 of the matchups.
- Gonzaga is 58-17 against SMC under Mark Few.
- The Zags are 19-4 against SMC in the WCC Tournament, winning nine of the last 11 meetings in the event.
- Since the tournament moved to Las Vegas in 2009, only Gonzaga and Saint Mary's have won the title (GU 13 of 17). The programs have played every year in Las Vegas with two exceptions in 2015 and 2018. Prior to the event moving to Las Vegas, SMC and GU met only eight times in the tournament.
- The teams have faced off in the tournament 14 of the past 16 years, and in the finals in each of the past four years (GU 3-1), six of the last seven (4-2), and eight of the last 10 (6-2). The Gaels and Zags have met 15 times in the WCC Tournament finals, all since 2004, with GU winning 11.
- In the last meeting, Braden Huff scored 18 points and Gonzaga avenged two regular-season losses to Saint Mary's, beating the 19th-ranked Gaels 58-51 in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship on March 11 in Las Vegas. Graham Ike added 11 points. GU snapped SMC's seven-game win streak, while holding them to 0-for-16 shooting from three. Mitchell Saxen led Saint Mary's with 20 points but scored only six after halftime.
- In last season's meeting in Spokane, No. 24 Saint Mary's held off the Zags 74-67. Graham Ike led GU with a game-high 19 points. Nolan Hickman scored 14 points. Ryan Nembhard had 11 points and eight assists. Mitchell Saxen had 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds for SMC. Mikey Lewis added 18 points with five three-pointers.
- Gonzaga is 37-12 all-time at home against SMC.
- The Bulldogs are 27-21 all-time at Saint Mary's.
- The Bulldogs won the first all-time meeting between the programs, 94-77, in Spokane in 1955.
 
THE BEST IN THE WEST ... COAST CONFERENCE
- Gonzaga and Saint Mary's have finished in the top two of the West Coast Conference standings in 13 of the past 14 seasons, and 16 of the last 20 seasons. (SMC: second in 2021-22 and 2022-23, fourth in 2013-14 and third in 2006-07)
- The last 24 regular season titles have been won or shared by Gonzaga or Saint Mary's. The Zags have won or shared 21, while SMC has won or shared four.
- The last 14 WCC Tournament titles have been won by either Gonzaga or SMC. GU has 11 of those 14 titles.
 
20/29 VISION
- Gonzaga clinched its 29th straight 20-win season.
- The Zags' 29-straight 20-win seasons rank second for the longest active run in the country. (Kansas 37, NCAA record)
- 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.
 
WE'RE GOING STREAKING
- Gonzaga is riding a 13-game win streak, which is the fifth-longest current run in the nation.
- The Bulldogs' nine straight true road wins match the second-longest current streak in the country.
- GU's 12 consecutive wins over conference foes is the fourth-longest current active streak of its kind.
- 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 8-0 to open conference play for the first time since starting 13-0 in 2021-22.
- This is the 14th time the Zags have started 8-0 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.
 
EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY
- With the absence of Braden Huff and Graham Ike due to injuries, the Zags have rolled to a 71-50 win at Seattle and an 84-60 victory over Pepperdine.
- Huff and Ike combine to average 35.9 points and 14.4 rebounds as Gonzaga's top two scorers and rebounders, which was 39 percent of the Bulldogs' scoring prior to the last two games and 34 percent of the rebounds.
- In the last two outings, GU has a plus-14 rebound margin and have outscored its opponents 88-50 in the paint. The Zags also held Seattle and Pepperdine to 36.9 percent shooting from the field, including 18.6 percent (8-43) from three-point range, while making 12 steals.
- Mario Saint-Supery averaged 7.9 points through the first 18 games, but has bumped his scoring average to 16.0 points per game over the last two games. Davis Fogle went from 6.1 points in 8.0 minutes per game to 15 points in 25 minutes per game. They have combined to shoot 21-of-34 from the field (61.8 percent), including 7-of-11 from three-point range in the last two games.
- Ismaila Diagne had 18 rebounds and four blocks in the last two victories, while averaging 20 minutes per game. He was averaging seven minutes per outing in the first 18 games.
- Huff and Ike totaled 52 points in the first matchup of the season versus Seattle in Spokane, an 80-72 Zag win.
- The Redhawks led for nearly 35 minutes, and by 13 twice in the second half, in the first meeting on Jan. 2.
- GU led for nearly 35 minutes in the rematch in Seattle.
- In the Spokane game, SU had 41-40 edge in rebounds, with 15 offensive rebounds, and 12 made threes. In the game in Seattle, the Zags outrebounded the Redhawks, 44-24, and Seattle had only six offensive boards, and made only five of its 21 three-pointers.
- Saint-Supery scored a career-high 20 points to lead Gonzaga in the rematch in Seattle, while Jalen Warley (14), Davis Fogle (13), Tyon Grant-Foster (9), Emmanuel Innocenti combined for 43 points. Ismaila Diagne pulled down eight rebounds in his first collegiate start.
- Diagne followed it up with a career-high 10 rebounds against Pepperdine in Spokane, while Noah Haaland scored a career-high 10 points in 11 minutes.