MBB returns home to host Santa Clara

On January 19, 2025By Littum

THE OPENING TIP
– No. 16/16 Gonzaga and Santa Clara meet for the 103rd time in a West Coast Conference game at the McCarthey Athletic Center on Saturday at

– Gonzaga is coming off a 97-89 overtime loss at Oregon State on Thursday. Graham Ike led five Zag double-digit scorers with 26 points. Ben Gregg (15 pts, 13 rbs) and Ryan Nembhardt (13 pts, 10 asts) both finished with double-doubles. GU led for 19 minutes in a game that featured 14 lead changes and 10 ties.
– Ike is fourth in the West Coast Conference averaging 19 points per league game while shooting 59.7 percent from the field. He has three 20-point games over the past four games.
– Ryan Nembhardt 179 assists are first in the nation. The senior has 45 turnovers. Nembhard’s 9.4 assists per match ranks first in the country. His 3.98 assist-to-turnover ratio is third.
– GU and No. 1 Auburn is the only two programs in the nation with six players who have appeared in at least 10 games, averaging double figures in scoring.
– Gonzaga is fourth in the nation averaging 87.8 points per game, which would be third in GU history. (2020-21: 91.0)
– As a team, GU is number four in the nation in ratio between assists and turnovers (1.84). The Zags are sixth with an average of 18.9 assists per game.
-The Bulldogs are fourth in the country and shoot 80.7 percent from the free throw line. GU averages 16.3 made free throws per game. game, leading to the West Coast Conference.
– Khalif fight is 11th in the nation from the line at 92.3 percent (1st in the WCC). Made 50 consecutive free throws before missing, tied for second most in program history (Derek Raivio, 56)
– Gonzaga is 22nd in the nation in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents to 28.9 percent from behind the arc. Only four Zag opponents have shot at least 33% from 3-point range, and only four have made 10 or more threes in a game against GU.
– Graham Ike (58.6 percent) and Braden Huff (57.2 percent) is first and second in the WCC in field goal percentage.
– Mark Few was recently named a first-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

SPECIFY THE BRONCOS
– Santa Clara has won 10 of its last 12 with the two conference setbacks, both by three points, including a 57-54 road loss at Loyola Marymount on Thursday.
– In Thursday’s game, Cristoph Tilly scored 25 points and went 10-for-15 from the field. Adama-Alpha Bal added 14 points and five assists. Jake Ensminger pulled down 10 rebounds. SCU outshot LMU 38-32, but was held to 36 percent from the field, including 4-of-26 from three.
– Four Broncos averaged double-digit scoring led by Bal’s 13.7 points. Carlos Stewart Jr. is averaging 12.2 points and 2.9 assists. Tilly and Elijah Mahi collect 12.9 and 12.6 points.
– Santa Clara leads the WCC with 9.6 threes per game. excursion.

SERIES INFO
– This is the 103rd meeting between Gonzaga and Santa Clara. GU owns a 71-31 advantage in the series.
– GU has won 50 of the last 53 against the Broncos.
– The Zags are 47-5 against SCU under Mark Few.
– The Bulldogs are 36-6 all-time in Spokane in the series, and have won 16 straight at home against the Broncos. Santa Clara’s last win in Spokane was on February 12, 2007, 84-73.
– In last season’s meeting in Spokane, Graham Ike had a season-high 26 points in Gonzaga’s 94-81 win over Santa Clara on February 24, 2024. Ike added seven rebounds. Nolan Hickman scored 20 points and added five assists. Ryan Nembhardt finished with 17 points while adding six rebounds and six assists. GU took the lead with 4:13 left in the first half and did not relinquish it.
– Gonzaga is 26-24 all-time at Santa Clara, but has won 22 of their last 24 at SCU.
– Santa Clara won the first all-time meeting between the programs, 67-62, at Santa Clara on February 3, 1959.

UP NEXT
– The 177th all-time meeting between GU and Portland.
– The Zagers have a 110-66 advantage in the series.
– GU has won 19 straight against the pilots.
– The Bulldogs are 46-2 against Portland under Mark Few.
– The Pilots’ last win in the series came on January 9, 2014, 82-73, in Portland.
– In the first meeting this season in Spokane, Gonzaga cruised to an 81-50 victory in the 2025 Community Cancer Fund Classic at the Spokane Arena on Jan. 2. Nolan Hickman had 13 points, and Ryan Nembhardt added 10 points and nine assists for the Bulldogs. Dusty Stromer scored 12, Braden Huff had 10 points and Michael Ajayi pulled down 15 rebounds.
– GU is 38-22 in Portland in the series. The Zags have won nine in a row, and 25 of the last 26, at the Chiles Center.
– In last season’s meeting in Portland, the Zags rolled to an 86-65 on February 22, 2024. Graham Ike scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Nolan Hickman scored 19 points, making four three-pointers. Ben Gregg got 13 points. Ryan Nembhardt scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists.
– Gonzaga is 43-6 at home in the series and has won 19 straight over Portland at home, dating back to a 72-68 loss on February 19, 2003.
– Portland edged GU, 70-66, in the first-ever NCAA meeting on Jan. 18, 1959, inside the Spokane Coliseum.

BULLDOG BALANCE
– Gonzaga and no. 1 Auburn is the only two programs in the country with six players who have appeared in at least 10 games averaging double-digit scoring.
– Five different Zags have been leading scorers in a game this season, while four have led in rebounds.
– The Bulldogs have had six players in double figures three times this season, five players in double figures six times, four players seven times and three players five times.
– Four Zags have scored 20 points in a game this season, and eight have multiple 20-point games in their careers.

SABONIS’S NO. 11 COLLECTION OF THE GREATS
– Three-time NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis will be honored by Gonzaga Athletics on Jan. 18 during a ceremony at GU’s game against Santa Clara.
– Sabonis, who will become the sixth player in men’s program history to have his jersey displayed at the McCarthey Athletic Center, will be on hand for the ceremony. He will join Frank Burgess, John Stockton, Adam Morrison, Kelly Olynyk and Dan Dickau among those with their jersey numbers hanging in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
– Sabonis remains Gonzaga’s all-time leader in career field goal percentage at .632. In just two seasons, he scored 1,002 points to become the 41st player in school history to score 1,000 points. He also grabbed 694 rebounds, which is 11th all-time at GU.

GOLDEN GRAHAM
– Graham Ike is fourth in the West Coast Conference in scoring in league games (19.0), third in rebounding (9.3) and second in field goal percentage (59.7).
– He has three 20-point games over the last four games, eight this season and 39 in his career.
– Ike had a career-high 19 rebounds in the win over San Diego on Jan. 8.
– The 19 rebounds were a new McCarthey Athletic Center record, topping Drew Timme’s 17 against Kent State in 2022.
– The 19 rebounds were the third most under Mark Fewand the most since Domantas Sabonis’ 20 at Pacific in 2016. Josh Heytvelt had 22 at Pepperdine in 2007.
– Ike’s 19 rebounds were the second most by a player in the West Coast Conference this season. San Diego’s Sam Trouet had 20 against UC-San Diego on Dec. 21.
– That matched the third-most by a WCC player since 2020-21, and the sixth-most in the past 10 seasons.
– Ike’s 13 low free throws were one shy of tying the McCarthey Athletic Center record for most marks in a single game. He finished 13-of-15 from the line against USD.