No. 14/15 Gonzaga (9-4, 0-0 WCC) at Pepperdine (6-8, 0-1 WCC)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 30 | 7 P.M. | FIRESTONE FIELDHOUSE | MALIBU, CA
TELEVISION: KHQ/ESPN+
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THE OPENING TIP
– Gonzaga opens West Coast Conference play against Pepperdine for the third straight season. The Zags and Waves meet in Malibu Monday at 7 p.m.
– Gonzaga is coming off a 65-62 loss to No. 22 UCLA in the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., Saturday. Graham Ike led the Bulldogs with 24 points and eight rebounds. Ryan Nembhard had 16 points and eight assists.
– The Bulldogs have won 28 straight West Coast Conference openers, dating back to a 72-61 loss at Santa Clara in 1996. Gonzaga has won all 25 WCC openers under Mark Few.
– Gonzaga’s nine straight true road wins is the second-longest active streak in the nation. (Saint Mary’s – 10)
– Ryan Nembhard’s 130 assists are first in the nation. The senior has 28 turnovers. Nembhard’s 10.0 assists per game also lead the country. His 4.64 assist-to-turnover ratio is third.
– Gonzaga is 11th in the nation averaging 87.2 points per game, which would rank third in GU history. (2020-21: 91.0)
– Five Zags are currently averaging double-digit scoring, with a sixth at 9.7 ppg. Five Bulldogs are 1,000-point career scorers.
– As a team, GU is seventh in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.88). The Zags are sixth averaging 19.2 assists per game.
– The Bulldogs are ninth in the country shooting 80.6 percent from the free throw line. GU averages 16.3 made free throws per game, which leads the West Coast Conference.
– Khalif Battle is 18th in the nation from the line at 92.5 percent. He made 50 straight free throws before missing which ranks second in program history (Derek Raivio, 56)
– Gonzaga is 15th in the country in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents to 27.7 percent from behind-the-arc. Only one Zag opponent has shot at least 33% from 3-point range, and only three have made 10 or more threes in a game versus GU.
– Graham Ike (58 percent) and Braden Huff (56.9 percent) are first and second in the WCC in field goal percentage.
– Mark Few was recently named a first-time nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
 
SCOUTING THE WAVES
– Pepperdine has won four of its last six, but is coming off a 91-80 loss at Santa Clara Saturday to open West Coast Conference play.
– Stefan Todorovic led the Waves with 25 points, three rebounds, four assists and a steal. Dovydas Butka added 16 points with eight boards and three assists. Moe Odum tabbed 14 points, six rebounds, nine assists and two steals.
– SCU outshot the Waves 51 percent to 45 percent from the field, and the Broncos made 15-of-33 from three-point range.
– Odum’s 105 assists are third in the nation, while his 7.5 assists per game are sixth. He chips in 12.1 points per game.
– Todorovic leads the conference averaging 19.7 points per game. His 276 points rank 10th in the nation.
– Butka averages a team-best 7.6 rebounds per outing.
 
SERIES INFO
– The Zags open conference play against the Waves for the third straight season.
– It will be the 99th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Pepperdine. The Zags have a 67-31 advantage in the series.
– GU has won 47 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 third-longest streak versus an opponent in Div. 1 history, and currently the longest active.
– The Bulldogs are 51-2 against the Waves under Few.
– In the latest matchup, GU won at Pepperdine last season, 86-61. It was Mark Few‘s 700th victory. Graham Ike scored 24 points and added seven rebounds. Nolan Hickman added 19 points making three three-pointers. Ben Gregg got his first start of the season and grabbed 10 rebounds. Ryan Nembhard dished out eight assists with no turnovers.
– Gonzaga has won 21 in-a-row inside the Firestone Fieldhouse and is 27-17 all-time in the meetings in Malibu.
– 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.
– Gonzaga won the first-ever meeting, 93-70, in the Knights of Columbus Tournament in Portland, on Dec. 11, 1964.
 
UP NEXT
– The 176th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Portland in the 2025 Community Cancer Fund Classic in the Spokane Arena Thursday.
– The Zags have a 109-66 advantage in the series.
– GU has won 18 straight versus the Pilots.
– The Bulldogs are 45-2 against Portland under Mark Few.
– The Pilots last win in the series came on Jan. 9, 2014, 82-73, at Portland.
– Gonzaga is 42-6 at home in the series, and has won 18 in-a-row over Portland at home, dating back to a 72-68 loss on Feb. 19, 2003.
– GU won the latest meeting in Portland 86-65 on Feb. 22. Graham Ike scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Nolan Hickman scored 19 points, making four three-pointers. Ben Gregg scored 13 points. Ryan Nembhard scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out seven assists.
– Last season in Spokane, Braden Huff scored 25 points, Anton Watson added 20 and Gonzaga beat Portland 96-64 on Feb. 7. The Zags made 15 three-pointers on 33 attempts (45.5 percent). Nolan Hickman had 12 points and shot 4 for 6 from beyond the arc. Ryan Nembhard had 10 points and six assists with no turnovers.
– Portland edged GU, 70-66, in the first-ever NCAA meeting on Jan. 18, 1959, inside the Spokane Coliseum.
 
FEW NAMED HALL OF FAME NOMINEE
– Mark Few is a first-time nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
-Candidates for the Hall of Fame Class of 2025 include Few, Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Dwight Howard, Doc Rivers, Billy Donovan, Sylvia Fowles, Chamique Holdsclaw, Lisa Bluder, Marc Gasol, and Micky Arison.
– Few is among just eight first-time North American nominees, joining a select group that includes names such as Donovan, Robert Horry, Howard, Rivers, and Amar’e Stoudemire.
– Finalists chosen from the applicable Category Screening Committees for the Class of 2025 will be announced on Feb. 14, in San Francisco as part of NBA All-Star Weekend. The entire Class of 2025 will be unveiled during a nationally televised broadcast at the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio on April 5.