#1/1 Gonzaga (10-0, 1-0 WCC) vs. BYU (9-2, 0-0)
THURSDAY, JAN. 7 | 5:30 P.M. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE, WASH.
TELEVISION: ESPN
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga and BYU meet for the 26th time on Thursday in Spokane, at 5:30 p.m. The Zags own an 18-7 advantage in the series.
- The Cougars snapped a six-game win streak for the Zags in the series, winning the latest matchup 91-78 in Provo on Feb. 22. Corey Kispert scored 16 points for the Bulldogs.
- Gonzaga has won six of the nine Spokane matchups in
the series, all coming inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- The Zags are coming off of an 85-62 win over San Francisco in the West Coast Conference opener last Saturday in Spokane. Corey Kispert scored 26 points, Joel Ayayi added 18 points and Andrew Nembhard had 14 for Gonzaga.
- The Bulldogs are one the last 10 unbeaten teams in the nation, and one of four teams that have at least 10 wins.
- GU is first in the nation in scoring offense (95.1), field goal percentage (55.4), and fourth in assists (20.7).
- According to KenPom, GU boasts the nation's second most efficient offense and 16th best defense.
- Corey Kispert (63.4) and Drew Timme (62.2) lead the WCC in field goal percentage. Kispert also tops the conference scoring 21.6 points per game and three-pointers made per game (3.1). He is second in the league in three-point field goal (50.8) and free-throw percentage (87.9).
- Jalen Suggs is first in the conference in steals (2.38).
- Joel Ayayi and Oumar Ballo were named the WCC Player and Freshman of the Week. Five different Zags have received the honor out of the possible six weeks. Suggs has earned the freshman recognition three of the six weeks.
- The Bulldogs 14 consecutive wins dating back to last season is the second-longest active streak in nation.
- Gonzaga currently owns the nation's longest home win streak at 44 straight victories. The Zags also own the country's longest neutral win streak at seven.
- The Bulldogs have won 31 of their last 32 games, and 41 out of their last 43 games. The best stretch in the country since the start of the 2019-20 season. GU went 26-1 in the 2020 calendar year.

SERIES NOTES
- This is the 26th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and BYU. The Zags have a 18-7 advantage in the series, with all 25 matchups coming under Mark Few.
- The Cougars snapped a six-game win streak for the Zags in the series, winning the latest matchup 91-78 in Provo on Feb. 22. Corey Kispert scored 16 points for the Bulldogs.
- Gonzaga has won six of the nine Spokane matchups in
the series, all coming inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- Last season in Spokane, Killian Tillie had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 1 Gonzaga beat BYU 92-69, on Jan. 18.
- GU has won six of the nine meetings in Provo, including
five of the last six matchups at BYU.
- GU has won all five of the meetings against the Cougars in
the WCC Tournament, including in the 2014, 2015 and 2018 championship games.
- The Cougars won the first-ever meeting, 89-67, in the third
round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament in Denver, Colo.
 
SCOUTING THE COUGARS:
- BYU has not played a game since Dec. 23, after a pair of West Coast Conference games were postponed. The Cougars are riding a four-game win streak with the latest win coming against Weber State, 87-79, in Salt Lake City.
- BYU has wins over Weber State, Texas Southern, No. 18 San Diego State, Utah, Utah State, St. John's, Utah Valley, New Orleans and Westminster. The two losses were to USC and Boise State.
- BYU is led by Alex Barcello who is averaging 16.9 points, 4.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game. Barcello has scored 186 points in 11 games, good for No. 6 in the nation in points scored. He is shooting a blistering 63% from beyond the arc, which is No. 1 in the nation among players who have shot 40 or more threes.
- Brandon Averette scored a season-high 30 points against Texas Southern and then racking up a season-high seven assists against Weber State.
- Matt Haarms adds 11 points per outing and leads the conference with 18 blocks. Caleb Lohner is averaging a team-high 6.6 rebounds.
 
A ZAG WIN WOULD ...
- Would be the 20th straight GU win in January.
- Make Gonzaga 153-17 in January games under Mark Few.
- Extend GU's home win streak to 45, currently the longest in the nation.
- Extend the nation's second-longest active win streak to 15.
- Be the 23rd straight win at home over a WCC opponent.
- Be the 40th straight victory at home over an unranked foe.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
- Following the San Francisco win, Joel Ayayi (512) and Drew Timme (507) both eclipsed 500 points in their careers.
- Corey Kispert tied Steven Gray for ninth in GU history for most career three-pointers at 210. Gary Bell Jr. is eighth with 219.
- Kispert is two wins shy of moving to 10th in program history for most victories in a career (105-10 career record).
- Aaron Cook is 18 points away from 900 in his career.
 
NOT BAD COMPANY
- The Zags have scored 85 or more points in each of their first 10 games of the season, with a season-high being 112 against Dixie State and a season-low of 85 versus San Francisco.
- Gonzaga is the first team since Arkansas in 1993-94 to score 85 points in each of its first 10 games of a season. That Arkansas team won the National Championship.
 
NOTHING BUT NET
- Gonzaga was ranked No. 1 in the first edition of the NCAA's NET ranking of the season.
- The NET, which stands for the NCAA Evaluation Tool, replaced the RPI after the 2017-18 season and it is used as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the NCAA tournament. The NET rankings will be updated daily through Selection Sunday.
- Baylor is second, followed by Tennessee, Illinois and Villanova.
 
AYAYI NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Joel Ayayi recorded three double-doubles in three wins for No. 1 Gonzaga during the week. He totaled 56 points, 31 rebounds, nine assists, four steals and a block in the victories. The redshirt junior made a remarkable 80.8 percent (21-of-26) of his shots from the field, including 8-of-11 (72.7 percent) from three-point range.
- Ayayi opened the week with a 17-point, 10-rebound effort in 20 minutes against Northern Arizona. The following night, he matched his career-high with 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting, along with 11 rebounds, in 27 minutes versus Dixie State. The Frenchman started conference play with 18 points and 10 boards in the win over San Francisco. Ayayi now has a conference-best four double-doubles so far this season.
- He bumped his rebounding average to eight per game, which is tied for third in the WCC. He's second to teammate Corey Kispert for best field goal percentage in the league at 62.2 percent. Ayayi is also Top-10 in the conference in assists per game, assist-to-turnover ratio, steals per game, and offensive rebounds per game.
 
BALANCING ACT
- In the six recognitions of the WCC Player of the Week so far this season, five different Zags have earned the honor. The exception came on Dec. 14, a week when GU did not play a game.
- This is the first time five different players from the same team have received WCC Player of the Week honors in the same season since SMC accomplished the feat in 2007-08.
- Gonzaga has placed four student-athletes on the WCC POW list, most recently in 2014-15 (Pangos, Wiltjer 3X, Karnowski and Sabonis).
 
BALLO NAMED WCC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
- Oumar Ballo enjoyed a breakout week for the top-ranked Zags, making all eight of his shots from the field in three victories. He scored a career-high 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting against Dixie State. The redshirt freshman pulled down five rebounds and had two steals in the win.
- For the week, Ballo averaged 7.3 points and played a total of 30 minutes.
- A Bulldog player has received the freshman of the week honor four of the six weeks, with Jalen Suggs collecting three recognitions.
 
CONFERENCE OPENING SUCCESS
- Gonzaga has now won 24 straight West Coast Conference openers, dating back to a 72-61 loss at Santa Clara in 1996.
- The Zags have won all 22 West Coast Conference openers under Mark Few.
- Gonzaga opened West Coast Conference play this season with an 85-62 win over San Francisco.