SPOKANE, Wash. — The Gonzaga Bulldogs (18-7, 9-3) and San Francisco Dons (20-6, 10-3) meet Thursday, February 13, in the McCarthey Athletic Center for a high-stakes West Coast Conference clash starting at 8 p.m.
The Dons and Zags are neck and neck in the WCC standings, sitting in second and first place, respectively. If Gonzaga can pull out the win, it would jump San Francisco for second place with five regular season games remaining.
How to Watch:
Gonzaga vs San Francisco will be televised on ESPN, which can be accessed on most TV providers starting at 8 p.m. on Thursday.
You can stream ESPN directly on ESPN.com, ESPN+ or the ESPN App, but a TV provider login is required. Several other streaming platforms carry ESPN, including YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, fuboTV, and DirecTV Stream. Some free trials, like on fuboTV, may be available.
If you can’t watch it live, SWX will have highlights and postgame reaction on SWXLocalSports.com.
Betting Odds:
Gonzaga opens as big home favorites, with the line set at -13.5 points over the San Francisco Dons. The over/under is set at 153.5.
Gonzaga Men’s Basketball Game Notes:
THE OPENING TIP
– Gonzaga returns home to host San Francisco in a late Thursday tipoff in the McCarthey Athletic Center at 8 p.m.
– The Zags are coming off a 78-61 win at Pacific Saturday. Braden Huff led five Bulldogs in double-digit scoring with 17 points. He was 7-of-10 from the field off the bench. Khalif Battle added 16 points, making all nine of his free-throws. Graham Ike and Nolan Hickman added 13 and 12 points.
– Ryan Nembhard broke his own single season assist program record at Pacific. He needed six assists to pass the record he set last season and he finished with eight assists against the Tigers.
– Ryan Nembhard’s 246 assists are first in the nation, to only 56 turnovers. Nembhard’s 9.8 assists per game also tops the country. His 4.39 assist-to-turnover ratio is second.
– As a team, the Zags are first in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.00 and second in assists per game at 19.4.
– GU and Kentucky are the only programs in the nation with six players, that have appeared in at least 10 games, averaging double-digit scoring.
– Gonzaga is second in the country averaging 87.2 points per game, eighth in field goal percentage (49.5), and sixth in free-throw percentage (80.5).
– Khalif Battle is sixth from the free-throw line at 93.2 percent (1st in WCC). Graham Ike (59.3 percent) and Braden Huff (56.3 percent) are first and second in the WCC in field goal percentage. Nolan Hickman tops the league shooting 44.8 percent (30-of-67) from three-point range in conference play.
– Graham Ike is fourth in the West Coast Conference averaging 17 points per game, while shooting a conference-best 60.4 percent from the field in league games. He is fifth grabbing 7.5 rebounds per conference game.
– Ryan Nembhard was named to the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Top 10 Watch List. Graham Ike was named to the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Top 10 Watch List.
– Graham Ike and Nembhard Named to Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watchlist.
– Mark Few was recently named a first-time nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
SCOUTING THE DONS
– San Francisco has won four straight games, including a 65-64 home win over Saint Mary’s last Thursday. On Saturday, USF picked up a 72-66 victory at Loyola Marymount.
– In the win over LMU, Marcus Williams scored a game-high 19 points, while Ryan Beasley added 18 off the bench. Malik Thomas chipped in 14 points and three assists. Tyrone Riley IV grabbed eight rebounds.
– Riley IV was named the WCC Freshman of the Week after his 17-rebound week. He averages a team-high 5.5 per game.
– Thomas leads the conference in scoring at 19.2 points per outing, and 20.3 per league game. He also tops the WCC with 1.8 steals per contest.
– Williams is ninth adding 14.4 points. Williams is sixth in the league dishing out 4.2 assists per game.
– USF leads the conference, and is seventh in the nation, in three-point defense allowing only 28.7 percent shooting.
SERIES INFO
– This is the 97th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and San Francisco. The Bulldogs have a 74-22 advantage.
– GU is 53-4 against San Francisco under Mark Few.
– The Zags have won 30 straight versus the Dons. USF’s last win in the series came on Feb. 18, 2012, 66-65, at USF.
– In the latest meeting, No. 17 GU beat San Francisco 89-77 in the 2024 West Coast Conference tournament semifinals. Nolan Hickman scored 20 points as all five Gonzaga starters scored in double figures. Ben Gregg scored 17 points, and Ryan Nembhard had 16. Gregg made four threes in the second half. The Dons took a 35-27 lead late in the first half before Gonzaga roared back with an 11-point run, and led 38-37 at halftime.
– In last season’s meeting in Spokane, Gonzaga held off the Dons, 77-72, on Jan. 25. Graham Ike had 22 points. Ryan Nembhard finished with 13 points and six assists. USF led 31-30 at halftime, but the Zags would take a 13-point lead with 2:44 left in regulation.
– Gonzaga has won 35 in-a-row in Spokane in the series, including all 20 in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
– The Bulldogs are 40-2 against USF in Spokane all-time. The Dons last won in Spokane in 1989, 67-64.
– GU is 27-18 all-time at San Francisco. The Bulldogs have won the last 12 matchups at USF.
– The Zags and Dons have met in the WCC semifinals the last two seasons, and five of the last seven semifinal rounds.
– San Francisco edged GU, 64-62, in the first-ever meeting at USF on Jan. 28, 1961.
UP NEXT
– The 100th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Pepperdine in Spokane Saturday at 7 p.m.
– The Zags have a 68-31 advantage in the series.
– GU has won 48 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 52-2 against the Waves under Few.
– In the first meeting this season on Dec. 30, Khalif Battle scored 21 points, Braden Huff added 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting and No. 19 Gonzaga won at Pepperdine 89-82.
– 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.
– In last season’s matchup in Spokane, the No. 24 Zags rolled to an 86-60 win in the 2024 CCF Classic in the Spokane Arena. Graham Ike was one of five Zags in double-figures with 20 points. Nolan Hickman had 14 points with four threes. Ryan Nembhard finished with 10 points and seven assists, and Braden Huff added 11 points off the bench. Michael Ajayi had 14 points for the Waves.
– Gonzaga has won 22 in-a-row inside the Firestone Fieldhouse and is 28-17 all-time in the meetings in Malibu.
– Gonzaga won the first-ever meeting, 93-70, in the Knights of Columbus Tournament in Portland, on Dec. 11, 1964.
BULLDOG BALANCE
– Gonzaga and Kentucky are the only programs in the nation with six players, that have appeared in at least 10 games, averaging double-digit scoring.
– Five different Zags have been the high-scorer 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-digits nine times, four players eight times, and three players six times.
– Six Zags have scored 20 points in a game this season, and eight have multiple 20-point games in their careers.
SPEAKING OFFENSIVELY
– GU is first in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.00 and second in assists per game at 19.4.
– The Bulldogs are averaging 19.67 assists in conference play, which leads the league by 2.05 assists per game.
– The Zags are second in the country averaging 87.2 points per game and eighth in field goal percentage (49.5).
– GU is second in the country in points per possession at 1.048, and first making 31.6 field goals per game.
– The Zags are second in the country getting 47.7 percent of points from two-pointers, after being top five in the nation in the category the last three seasons.
– Gonzaga is second in the nation averaging 41.9 points per first half and fifth in second half scoring 44.4.
MILESTONE WATCH
– Ryan Nembhard is 38 assists from setting a new West Coast Conference record for most in a single season. He needs 21 assists to break the league record for most in a single conference season.
– Ben Gregg’s 131 appearances ranks 14th all-time in program history, five behind Drew Timme for 13th.
– Nolan Hickman’s 129 career appearances are 15th all-time.
– Nolan Hickman is four made threes away from 10th all-time in GU career history (Steven Gray, 210).
– Gregg is two wins (110) from the Top-10 in program history in career victories, and Hickman (104) is eight away. David Stockton currently ranks 10th at 112 from 2011-14.
THE POINT GOD
– Nembhard’s 9.8 assists per game tops the nation.
– Nembhard broke his own school record from most in a single season in program history in the win at Pacific.
– Nembhard became the first Zag with two 200+ assists in a single season:
1. Ryan Nembhard (2024-25) – 246
2. Ryan Nembhard (2023-24) – 243
3. Josh Perkins (2018-19) – 234
4. Matt Santangelo (1999-00) – 225
5. Blake Stepp (2003-04) – 207
6. John Stockton (1983-84) – 201
– Nembhard, the nation’s leader in assists became the first player in the country to eclipse the 200-assist mark this season, now at 246, the second-most in a single season in program history. He was the first player to 100 assists and the fastest to 100 assists in a season in program history.
– Nembhard is the first player in program history to have multiple 200 assist seasons.
– Nembhard’s 4.39 assist-to-turnover ratio is second in the country. (CJ Fulton, Charleston 4.75)
– He is currently second in the West Coast Conference at 35:07 minutes per game.
– Nembhard currently leads the WCC averaging 9.7 assists per league game. The conference record is 9.2 set by Orlando Smart of San Francisco in 1991.
– The senior is third in the country among active leaders in career assists with 784. Dajuan Harris Jr. of Kansas leads at 804. Nembhard’s 6.32 assist career average is fifth among active leaders, and his 2.62 assist to turnover is sixth.
– The program career record is 712 set by Josh Perkins (2015-19), Nembhard’s two-year Gonzaga total of 488 assists ranks seventh in GU’s all-time Top 10. Kevin Pangos is sixth at 536 from 2012-15.
– Nembhard has 14 double-digit assist outings, the most in the country, out of the 24 games this season, with 10 double-doubles.
– Last season, Nembhard became the first Bulldog to have back-to-back double-digit assist games since Derek Raivio had 11 assists versus Portland State and 13 assists against Montana to open the 2004-05 season.
– Nembhard was the first Zag to get back-to-back double-doubles with assists since Dan Dickau on Jan. 12 and 13, 2001 (13 pts, 10 asts at USF and 15 pts, 12 asts at SMC).
– He’s the only player in the last 15 seasons to average 10 assists & a 5/1 or better A/TO ratio in any calendar month with at least 5 games played.
– He set a new Canadian record for career assists by a NCAA Div. 1 player.
Current All-Time Canadian D1 Assists Leaders:
1. Ryan Nembhard (Creighton/Gonzaga) 784
2. Marcus Carr (Pittsburgh/Minnesota/Texas) 747
3. Andrew Nembhard (Florida/Gonzaga) 691
– No Canadian player in Div. 1 has averaged more than seven assists per game.
– Nembhard finished with a career-high and single game tournament record 14 assists against Davidson in the Battle 4 Atlantis. He totaled 39 assists in the three-game event, setting a new tournament record, to just eight turnovers.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
– The Zags have held their last five opponents under 63 points and 41 percent shooting from the field.
