#7/8 Gonzaga (6-1) vs. Arkansas – Pine Bluff (4-5)
TUESDAY, DEC. 5 | 6 P.M. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
TELEVISION: KHQ/ROOT Plus
ESPN PLUS (outside of region)
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
THE TIP OFF
– Gonzaga hosts Arkansas at Pine Bluff in a non-conference matchup Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Zags have won the previous two meetings between the programs.
– The Bulldogs are coming off an 89-76 win over Southern California in the Legends of Basketball Las Vegas Invitational Saturday. Ryan Nembhard and Dusty Stromer each scored 15 points, Graham Ike and Ben Gregg each added 14, Braden Huff added 12 points while Nolan Hickman chipped in with 10.
– The Bulldogs swept the West Coast Conference weekly awards, with Ryan Nembhard being named the WCC Player of the Week and Braden Huff tabbed the Freshman of the Week.
– The Zags finished fifth in a talented field in the Maui Invitational, with the only loss coming to eventual champion, top-ranked Purdue, 73-63, in the quarterfinals. GU led the Boilermakers for 21 minutes in the setback.
– The Zags are No. 7 in the Associated Press poll. The Bulldogs’ 138 straight AP Poll appearances top the nation.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN LIONS
– Arkansas at Pine Bluff has won four of its first five games of the season and averages 87.2 points per game, which ranks 15th in the nation and leads the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
– The Lions are coming off a 107-86 loss at Oklahoma on Nov. 30. Kylen Milton led UAPB with a game-high 24 points, while Rashad Williams added 20 with five three-pointers. Joe French (14) and Lonnell Martin Jr. (13) also finished in double-digit scoring. Ismael Plet grabbed 10 rebounds.
– Milton averages a team-high 21.2 points per game, with Williams chipping in 18.3 points and 3.89 assists. Williams has made a team-high 31 three-pointers, fourth in the country, at 43.1 percent.
– As a team, the Lions are ninth in the nation averaging 10.8 made three-pointers per game.
SERIES INFO
– This will be the third meeting between the Zags and Arkansas Pine Bluff, with GU winning the first two matchups.
– The Bulldogs cruised in the first meeting, 92-42, in 2002. Gonzaga won the last meeting as well, 110-60, in 2020. Both meetings were in Spokane.
– It will be the first of three meetings against a SWAC opponent over a 15-day span.
UP NEXT
– Gonzaga travels to Seattle to play at Washington Saturday at 8 p.m. It will be the 50th all-time meeting.
– The Huskies have a 29-20 advantage in the series all-time, but GU has won 14 of the last 15 matchups.
– Gonzaga has won the last seven meetings, dating back to a 99-95 Washington win in Dec. 4, 2005.
– Last season, No. 18 Gonzaga pulled away in the second half to beat Washington 77-60. Nolan Hickman and Anton Watson both scored nine points.
– Washington won the first meeting in the series,
23-14, on Feb. 24, 1910.
BALANCING ACT
– Six Zags have finished in double-digit scoring in each of the last two games.
– In the win over USC, six Bulldogs scored in double-figures, and Anton Watson had nine points.
– GU has had at least three double-digit scorers in its first seven games of the season, with five double-digit scorers in two of the games, and the last two outings with six double-digit scorers.
WHERE WE RANK
– Gonzaga is 11th in the nation in rebound margin (12.3) and 11th three-point percentage defense (25.3). It is 16th in rebounds per game (43.43). The Zags lead the West Coast Conference in each of those stat categories.
– GU is 17th in the country averaging 17 fastbreak points per game.
– Graham Ike is 23rd in the country pulling down 3.7 offensive rebounds per game.
– Anton Watson’s 62.5 field goal percentage is 33rd in the nation and second in the WCC.
BACK IN THE TOP TEN
– Gonzaga returned to the Top 10 in both the Associated Press and USA TODAY/Coaches’ polls.
– The Bulldogs are No. 7 in the AP Poll and No. 8 in the coaches’ poll this week.
– Since 2017, Gonzaga has been in the Top-10 in the AP poll 108 times, which ranks second in the nation.
ZAGS SWEEP WCC WEEKLY AWARDS
– Gonzaga swept this week’s Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Players of the Week with Ryan Nembhard being named the Credit Union 1 WCC Player of the Week and his teammate Braden Huff winning Credit Union 1 WCC Freshman of the Week.
– Nembhard averaged 18.5 ppg in the Bulldogs’ two wins last week over Cal State Bakersfield and USC. In the win over the Trojans, Nembhard posted 15 points and seven assists. Against the Roadrunners, he scored 22 points, along with five assists and two steals.
– This is the second straight week that Gonzaga has won WCC Player of the Week.
– Huff scored 12 points in both of the Zags’ contests last week. He secured six rebounds in both games combined, including four against Cal State Bakersfield. On the court for nearly 20 minutes per game last week, Huff connected on 10 of his 16 shots from the field combined.
ATTACK THE PAC
– Gonzaga has won its last 16 meetings against Pac-12 foes, and is 46-15 against the league under Mark Few. – The Zags have played each Pac-12 team under Few, except Oregon State and Arizona State. With the Pac-12 ending in its current form, GU boasts wins over each current Pac-12 member under Few except those two and California (64-72, 1999).
– The Bulldogs have won 21 of their last 24 games against Pac-12 competition since the 2014-15 season.
– Nine of the 16 wins during the current streak were over ranked Pac-12 opponents. Only three of the victories were in Spokane and three were true road wins.
– During the 16-game win streak over the Pac-12, the Zags beat Washington five times, UCLA four times, Arizona three, USC twice, and Utah and Oregon once.
Source link
credite