#6/6 Gonzaga (21-1, 9-0 WCC) vs. Saint Mary's (19-3, 8-1 WCC)
SATURDAY, JAN. 31 | 7:30 P.M. PT | SPOKANE | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER
TELEVISION: ESPN
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
 
THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga opens the second half of the West Coast Conference schedule hosting Saint Mary's inside the McCarthey Athletic Center Saturday at 7 p.m. This is the 120th meeting between the programs that 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. The last 24 regular season WCC titles have been won or shared by GU or Saint Mary's.
- Last Saturday, Jalen Warley scored 19 points and Davis Fogle added 15 points and a last-second rebound as No. 8 Gonzaga edged San Francisco 68-66 in Spokane for its 14th consecutive victory. Tyon Grant-Foster added 15 points for GU, which was without its two leading scorers for the third straight game. Fogle grabbed nine rebounds. Braeden Smith had points and four assists. Emmanuel Innocenti made three steals.
- GU has clinched its 29th straight 20-win season, which ranks second for the longest active run in the nation.
- The Zags' 14 consecutive victories ranks as the fourth-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 21-1 start matches the fifth-best start in program history, and is 9-0 to open conference play for the first time since starting 13-0 in 2021-22. This is the 13th time Gonzaga has started WCC play 9-0 under Few.
- The Zags' 13 straight conference wins ranks as the third-longest active streak in the nation.
- Gonzaga is one of eight teams in the nation with its offense (19th) and defense (12th) in KenPom's Top 20.
- The Zags' 31 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 (1.79, 12th in NCAA), assists (18.5, 13th), bench points (38.1, 5th), effective field goal percentage (.570, 23rd), fast-break points (15.2), field goal percentage (51.7, 5th), field goal percentage defense (39.0, 13th), defensive rebounds per game (29.7, 7th), rebounds (42.6, 8th), scoring margin (22.4, 3rd), scoring offense (88.9, 15th), steals (9.2), turnover margin (4.7, 10th), and turnovers (10.3). GU tops the nation in points in the paint averaging 47.6 per game.
- Ike is ninth in the nation, and first in the WCC, with 11 double-doubles this season. Braeden Smith tops the WCC, and is 19th in the nation, with a 3.48 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- Ike is second in the nation among active scorers in NCAA Div. 1 with 2,284 points, Indiana's Tucker DeVries is first at 2,287. 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. 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.
­­­­
SCOUTING THE GAELS
- Saint Mary's is seeking its 20th-win of the season after beating Portland on the road last Saturday, 75-69. Paulius Murauskas dropped 24 points, including a perfect 9-9 from the line. The junior added nine boards, helping the Gaels to a +10 advantage on the glass. Mikey Lewis and Joshua Dent added 15 and 13 points respectively, each draining three threes. Dent added seven assists to lead the Gaels, while Harry Wessels notched his first career double-digit rebounding performance with 10.
- Murauskas was named the West Coast Conference Monday, his fourth honor this season. His 19.3 points per game leads the league, and his 132 made free throws rank fifth in the country. His 157 attempts rank 17th.
- The Gaels are the best free-throw shooting team in the nation, making 81 percent from the line. They lead the WCC shooting 18.3 free-throws per game.
- SMC is seventh in the country with a plus-11 rebound margin. It is 12th in NCAA Div. 1 allowing only 64.5 points per game. The Gaels top the conference shooting 37.6 percent from three-point range, and lead the league holding opponents to 29.7 percent from behind-the-arc.
- Andrew McKeever tops the WCC grabbing 9.4 rebounds per outing, and his 207 total is 13th in the nation. He is 19th in the country, and first in the conference, averaging 3.55 offensive boards per game.
- Joshua Dent leads the WCC at 35:47 minutes per game.Saxen enters the game No. 3 in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 4.19. The senior also averages 10.3 points and 1.3 steals. Murauskas is scoring 12.9 points per game. He leads the league pulling down 8.2 rebounds per outing, with Saxen second at 8.0.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.
 
UP NEXT
- The 178th all-time meeting between GU and Portland, Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Rose City.
- The Zags have a 111-66 advantage in the series.
- GU has won 20 straight versus the Pilots.
- The Bulldogs are 47-2 against Portland under Mark Few.
- The Pilots last win in the series came on Jan. 9, 2014, 82-73, at Portland.
- GU is 39-22 at Portland in the series. The Zags have won 10 in-a-row, and 26 of the last 27, in the Chiles Center.
- In the latest matchup last season, Ben Gregg went 10-for-10 from the field, finishing with a game-high 24 points, to lead Gonzaga to a dominant 105-62 win over the Pilots in Portland on Jan. 25. Five Bulldogs finished in double-digit scoring, with two more at eight points.
- In last season's meeting in Spokane, Gonzaga cruised to an 81-50 victory in the 2025 Community Cancer Fund Classic in the Spokane Arena on Jan. 2. Nolan Hickman had 13 points, and Ryan Nembhard added 10 points and nine assists for the Bulldogs. Braden Huff had 10 points.
- Gonzaga is 43-6 at home in the series, and has won 19 in-a-row over Portland at home, dating back to a 72-68 loss on Feb. 19, 2003.
- Portland edged GU, 70-66, in the first-ever NCAA meeting on Jan. 18, 1959, inside the Spokane Coliseum.
 
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 14-game win streak, which is the fourth-longest current run in the nation.
- The Bulldogs' nine straight true road wins match the longest current streak in the country.
- GU's 13 consecutive wins over conference foes is the third-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 9-0 to open conference play for the first time since starting 13-0 in 2021-22.
- This is the 13th time the Zags have started 9-0 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 rolled to a win at Seattle (71-50), over Pepperdine (84-60), and beat San Francisco (68-66).
- 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 three outings, GU has a plus-8 rebound margin and have outscored its opponents 114-62 in the paint. The Zags also held Seattle, Pepperdine, and USF to 38 percent shooting from the field, including 31 percent (22-71) from three-point range, while making 35 steals.
- Mario Saint-Supery averaged 7.9 points through the first 18 games, but has bumped his scoring average to 12.7 points per game over the last three games. Davis Fogle went from 6.1 points in 8.0 minutes per game to 15 points in 27.2 minutes per game. Jalen Warley and Tyon Grant-Foster add 12.7 and 12 points over the last three outings.
- Ismaila Diagne had 20 rebounds and four blocks in the last three wins, while averaging 16 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.
- Fogle scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in the win over San Francisco, while playing a career-high 32 minutes. Warley's 38 minutes were also a career-high and the most since 36 on Feb. 20, 2024.