#12/11 Gonzaga (24-2, 12-1 WCC) at Santa Clara (22-5, 13-1 WCC)
SATURDAY, FEB. 14 | 7:30 P.M. PT | SANTA CLARA, CA | LEAVEY CENTER
TELEVISION: ESPN
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THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga goes for its 25th win of the season Saturday night at Santa Clara. The Zags have won 12 of the last 13 match-ups versus the Broncos inside the Leavey Center, and 22 of the last 24.
- The Bulldogs rolled to an 83-53 victory over Washington State Tuesday in Spokane. Graham Ike and Davis Fogle scored 20 and 17 for GU, while Mario Saint-Supery and Adam Miller both added 11 points. The Zags held the Cougars to a season-low in points on 39 percent shooting from the field. Gonzaga outscored WSU 50-22 in the paint, and had a 37-21 rebound advantage. The Bulldogs forced 21 turnovers.
- Gonzaga is one victory from the program's 19th straight 25-win season, extending its own NCAA Div. 1 record. The Zags have reached the 25-win plateau in 21 of the last 22 seasons, and 25 of the last 27.
- GU has clinched its 29th straight 20-win season, which ranks second for the longest active run in the nation.
- The Bulldogs' 32 kill shots, which are 10-0 scoring runs, are the most in the country.
- The Zags currently lead the WCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.84, 7th in NCAA), assists (18.4, 14th), bench points (36.5, 4th), effective field goal percentage (.565), fast-break points (15.5), field goal percentage (51.3, 6th), field goal percentage defense (39.7, 20th), defensive rebounds per game (28.58, 11th), rebounds (41.2, 16th), scoring margin (20.9, 4th), scoring offense (87.4, 15th), turnover margin (4.9, 5th), and turnovers (10).
- GU tops the nation in points in the paint at 46.5 per game, and has outscored its opponents by 299 points inside-the-arc, which leads the country. The Bulldogs have also made 272 more shots from the field than their opponents. Gonzaga leads the nation in rebound and turnover combined margin (rebounds + turnovers forced minus opponents' total) at +385. Arizona ranks second at +349.
- Ike has six straight 20-point games, which is tied for the second-longest streak by a Gonzaga player in the past 20 seasons (Derek Raivio, 8 games, 2006; Ike, 7 games, 2024; Kyle Wiltjer, 6 games, 2015-16). Ike leads WCC with three 30-point games this season, all in the past six games, matching the total from his first 131 career games. Ike is 14th in the nation, and first in the WCC, with 12 double-doubles this season.
- Ike is first in the nation among active scorers in NCAA Div. 1 with 2,338 points. His 1,067 rebounds also ranks second among active players. He is the only active player with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
- Braeden Smith is eight points from being the sixth player on the roster to reach 1,000 points in a career. He tops the WCC, and is 22nd in the nation, with a 3.21 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- Seven different Zags have led the team in scoring in a game this season. Six GU players have scored at least
20 points in a game, and 11 have reached double-digit scoring.
- Gonzaga Head Coach Mark Few returns as a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
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SCOUTING THE BRONCOS
- The Broncos held off Seattle U. for an 84-72 home win Wednesday. Santa Clara shot 58.6 percent in the second half and had three players score 15 or more led by a 21-point effort from Sash Gavalyugov. He made five three-pointers. Christian Hammond reached double-figure scoring for a team-best 22nd time, finishing with 17 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals. Allen Graves extended his double-figure scoring streak to 11 with 15 points thanks in part to a career-best 4-of-6 performance from 3-point range. He added five rebounds, dished out five assists, logged three steals and had a block. SCU only had three turnovers. The Broncos shot 13-of-35 from 3-point range for their 17th game with 10 or more triples on the season.
- Santa Clara is a perfect 13-0 in home games this season, tied for the third-longest home winning streak in program history.
- At 22-5, SCU is off to their best start since 1969-70 when the Broncos also started 22-5 en route to a third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
- Santa Clara's 13 victories in WCC play match the total from both the 1967-68 and 1968-69 teams for the best in program history. Both teams finished the year 13-1 en route to WCC Championship titles.
- SCU has won nine consecutive games for their longest winning streak since 1994-95.
- Hammond averages a team-best 17 points per game. Mahi adds 14.9 points per outing, with a team-high 31 made threes. Graves leads the Broncos with 6.6 rebounds and is first in the WCC with 33 steals.
- Santa Clara leads the conference in three-pointers per game (9.9) and three-point attempts (29.0). The Broncos also top the league grabbing 13.07 offensive rebounds per outing, and steals per game (9.4).
- Three of SCU's five losses have been by a possession.
- In WCC games, the Broncos' have outscored their opponents by an average of 16 points, which is second behind Gonzaga. Santa Clara tops the conference scoring 87.8 points per league game.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the 106th meeting between Gonzaga and Santa Clara. The Bulldogs own a 73-32 edge in the series.
- GU has won 52 of the last 56 against the Broncos.
- The Zags are 52-6 against SCU under Mark Few.
- In the first meeting this season in Spokane, the Bulldogs beat the Broncos, 89-77 on Jan. 8. Graham Ike finished one point off his career-high with 34 points. He made 13 of 17 field goal attempts and went 7 for 8 on free throws. Emmanuel Innocenti added 13 points for the Zags, who shot 58% from the floor to 43% for Santa Clara. GU led 80-57 with 5:44 left in the game.
- Gonzaga is 27-24 all-time at Santa Clara, but have won 23 of their last 25 at SCU.
- In last season's meeting in Santa Clara, the Bulldogs rolled to a 95-76 win at Santa Clara on Feb. 25. With 15 assists, Ryan Nembhard broke the WCC single season assist record. Graham Ike scored 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the field. Ismaila Diagne came off the bench to chip in nine points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field, with four rebounds and a block.
- Gonzaga is 37-7 all-time in Spokane in the series.
- Santa Clara won the first all-time meeting between the programs, 67-62, in Santa Clara on Feb. 3, 1959.
 
 
UP NEXT
- The 101st all-time meeting between Gonzaga and San Francisco Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the Chase Center.
- The Bulldogs have a 77-22 advantage.
- GU is 57-4 against San Francisco under Mark Few.
- The Zags have won 34 straight versus the Dons. San Francisco's last win in the series came on Feb. 18, 2012, 66-65, at USF.
- In the latest matchup, Jalen Warley scored 19 points and Davis Fogle added 15 points and a last-second rebound as Gonzaga edged San Francisco 68-66 in Spokane on Jan. 24. Tyon Grant-Foster added 15 points.
- 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. 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.
- Gonzaga has won 36 in-a-row in Spokane in the series, including all 21 in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- The Bulldogs are 42-2 against USF in Spokane all-time. The Dons last won in Spokane in 1989, 67-64.
- San Francisco edged GU, 64-62, in the first-ever meeting at USF on Jan. 28, 1961.
 
ZAGS CLOSE IN ON 25 WINS ... AGAIN
- The Bulldogs are one victory from 25 wins this season.
- Gonzaga has won at least 25 games in each of the last 18 consecutive seasons, which is a NCAA Div. 1 record.
- The Zags have reached the 25-win plateau in 21 of the last 22 seasons, and 25 of the last 27. (23 wins in 2006-07, 24 wins in 2002-03, and 24 wins in 1997-98)
 
FEW NAMED FINALIST FOR HALL OF FAME
- For the second straight season, Mark Few is a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
- The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the selection of Finalists for its Class of 2026 from the following committees: North American, Women's, Men's Veterans, Women's Veterans, International, and Contributors.
- The finalists will then be put forward to the Honors Committee to be considered for election as members of the Class of 2026. The new class will be announced on April 4, in a live broadcast on ESPN2 at 12 p.m. EST during Final Four Weekend.
- There are 20 finalists, with 11 from the North American Committee, including coaches Gary McKnight, Dick Motta, Doc Rivers, Kelvin Sampson, and Jerry Welsh.
 
BULLDOG BLOCKADE
- Gonzaga's defense has held six opponents to their season-lows in scoring this season.
- In the last two games, against Washington State in Spokane, the Cougars were limited to season-lows of 53 points and 21 rebounds. In Corvallis, Oregon State also grabbed a season-low 21 rebounds. The Beavers were limited to a season-low 43 attempts from the field, which matched the second-fewest by a GU opponent since 2004. WSU's 46 field goal attempts were its second-lowest output of the season.
- Seattle also committed a season-high 18 turnovers against the Bulldogs on Jan. 17.
- Campbell had a season-high 20 turnovers.
- Kentucky was held to a season-low 26.7 percent shooting from the field, with a season-low 16 made shots from the field.
- Southern Utah was held to a season-low 50 points on a season-low 29.5 percent from the field, 16 percent from three (4/25), grabbed a season-low 26 rebounds, and committed a season-high 23 turnovers.
- Arizona State was held to a season-low 36.2 percent shooting from the field with a season-low 21 makes.
- Oklahoma committed a season-high 16 turnovers.
- Texas Southern was held to a season-low 43 points, with season-lows of 15 makes from the field and 25.4 percent shooting, including 14 percent from 3 (3/21).
 
IKE NAMED TO WOODEN TOP 20 WATCH LIST
- Gonzaga's Graham Ike was named to the John R. Wooden Award, presented by Principal, 2025-26 Men's Late Midseason Top 20 Watch List.
- Selected by a panel of national college basketball experts, the list comprises 20 student-athletes who are frontrunners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball: the Wooden Award All-American Team and the Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player.
- The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2026 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year. Players not selected for the late midseason list remain eligible for inclusion on the Wooden Award National Ballot. The National Ballot will feature 15 top players who have demonstrated to their universities that they meet or exceed the Wooden Award qualifications.
- Wooden Award will rank 10 of the 15 players on the ballot in order of preference when voting opens during the NCAA Tournament. Voters will also consider performances in the tournament's early rounds, players' contributions to their teams and their character. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced during the week of the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight.
- The winners and the All Americans of the 2026 John R. Wooden Award, presented by Principal, will be honored at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.