MBB Faces San Francisco in WCC Semifinals

2-seed Gonzaga (23-8) vs. 3-seed San Francisco (24-8)
MONDAY, MARCH 10 | 8:30 P.M. | LAS VEGAS | ORLEANS ARENA
TELEVISION: ESPN2
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THE OPENING TIP
– Gonzaga opens the 2025 Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Championships against third-seeded San Francisco in the tournament’s semifinals in the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas Monday at 8:30 p.m. GU swept the regular season meetings versus USF.
– The Bulldogs and Dons have met in the WCC semifinals in five of the last seven tournaments, including the last three.
– The Zags are coming off a 95-75 win over the Dons in San Francisco’s Chase Center March 1. Ben Gregg scored 23 points in the regular season finale. Ryan Nembhard matched the program record with 16 assists. Gonzaga shot 58 percent from the field.
– Nolan Hickman, Graham Ike, and Ryan Nembhard were named First Team All-West Coast Conference. Ike and Nembhard earned the honor for the second straight season, while Hickman was second team in 2023-24.
– Ryan Nembhard broke the West Coast Conference for most assists in a single season (currently at 311, previous record was 284) and most assists in conference play, finishing at 181.
– Nembhard became the 51st player in NCAA Div. 1 history to reach 800 career assists, and is now at 844. His 311 assists are first in the nation, to only 73 turnovers. He broke his own single season assist program record. Nembhard’s 10.0 assists per game also tops the country. His 4.26 assist-to-turnover ratio is second.
– As a team, the Zags are first in the nation in assists per game at 19.9 and assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.05. Gonzaga’s 366 assists were the most in conference play broke the league’s record of 341 set by Loyola Marymount in 1989-90.
– GU is 2nd in the country at 87.6 points per game, 2nd in field goal percentage (50.4), and 4th in free-throw percentage (80.3).
– Since Jan. 24, Bart Torvik computer ratings ranks GU sixth in the nation, with the ninth best offense and 20th best defense.
– Khalif Battle is second in the nation from the free-throw line at 93.9 percent (1st in WCC). Graham Ike (59.9%) is first in the WCC, and 15th in the country, in field goal percentage.
– Gonzaga clinched its 28th straight 20-win season, which ranks as the second longest active run in the country. (Kansas 33)
– Mark Few was named one of 17 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a first-time nominee.
 
SCOUTING THE DONS
– San Francisco advanced to the WCC Tournament semifinals for the fourth straight season with an 86-75 win over Washington State in the quarterfinals Sunday night.
– In the win over WSU, Ryan Beasley scored a game-high 29 points to lead San Francisco. He made 10-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-8 from behind-the-arc. Malik Thomas added 18 points, while Tyrone Riley IV had 10 points. Barry Wang finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. USF outrebounded the Cougars, 49-25. The Dons had a 21-5 advantage in offensive rebounds, finishing with a 21-4 edge in second chance points.
– Thomas leads the conference in scoring at 19.1 points per outing, and 20.3 per league game. He also tops the WCC with 1.7 steals per contest.
– Thomas was named First Team All-WCC, while Riley IV was tabbed to the league’s All-Freshman Team.
– USF leads the conference, and is third in the nation, in three-point defense allowing only 28.5 percent shooting.
 
SERIES INFO
– This is the 98th all-time meeting between GU and San Francisco. The Bulldogs have a 75-22 advantage in the series.
– Gonzaga is 54-4 against San Francisco under Mark Few.
– The Zags have won 31 straight versus the Dons. USF’s last win in the series came on Feb. 18, 2012, 66-65, at USF.
– The Bulldogs and Dons have met in the WCC semifinals in five of the last seven tournaments, including the last three.
– GU has won six of the seven all-time meetings in the West Coast Conference Tournament, including the latest in last season’s semifinals, 89-77.
– In the first meeting this season in Spokane on Feb. 13, Gonzaga beat San Francisco 88-77. Three Bulldogs finished with double-doubles, and five total finished in double-digit scoring with a sixth at nine points. Graham Ike finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Ryan Nembhard had 18 points and 13 assists. The game was tied at 38 at halftime, before GU opened the second half on a 20-8 run.
– In last season’s meeting in San Francisco, No. 23 Gonzaga pulled away from the Dons for an 86-68 in the Chase Center. Graham Ike led with 26 points, while Nolan Hickman scored 22 points and Ryan Nembhard added 15. The Zags led 35-34 at halftime, before opening the second half on a 13-0 run.
– Gonzaga has won 35 in-a-row in Spokane in the series, including all 20 in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
– The Bulldogs are 41-2 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.
– San Francisco edged GU, 64-62, in the first-ever meeting at USF on Jan. 28, 1961.
 
UP NEXT
– With a win, Gonzaga plays in the 2025 Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Tournament Championship Game in the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas Tuesday at 6 p.m.
– The Zags’ opponent will be the winner of Monday’s first semifinal between top-seeded Saint Mary’s and a team to be determined.
 
VIVA LAS ZAGAS
– Gonzaga is 66-17 all-time in the West Coast Conference Tournament with 21 titles and 30 finals appearances, including each of the last 27 seasons.
– The Zags are 52-6 under Mark Few in the WCC Tournament with title-game appearances in all 25 seasons.
– The Zags are 33-4 in the WCC Tournament since 2009, when the event moved to Las Vegas.
– GU’s four losses in the event in Las Vegas have all been to Saint Mary’s, the 2010, 2012, 2019 and 2021 championship games.
– The Bulldogs were 34-13 in the conference tournament prior to it coming to Vegas.
– The Zags have never lost an opening game of the tournament in Las Vegas, winning all 16.
– Gonzaga has won the opening game of tournament the past 27 years, dating back to a loss in 64-59 in the 1997 quarterfinals to fourth-seeded San Diego as a fifth-seed.
– The Bulldogs are 32-6 in opening games at the event, including 14-6 in the quarterfinals (nine straight wins).
– Gonzaga has won in the WCC tournament semifinals in each of the past 27 years. The Zags last loss in the WCC semifinals was 1994, 83-75, to San Diego in Santa Clara.
– The Bulldogs are 30-2 in semifinal games at the tournament, winning all 16 in Las Vegas.
– Gonzaga is 12-4 in the WCC Tournament finals played in Las Vegas.
– The Bulldogs are 21-9 in championship games at the tournament.
 
ZAG TRIO NAMED ALL-WCC FIRST TEAM
– Nolan Hickman, Graham Ike, and Ryan Nembhard were named First Team All-West Coast Conference.
– Ike and Nembhard earned the honor for the second straight season, while Hickman was second team in 2023-24.
– All five major individual awards – along with the All-West Coast Conference Teams and the All-Freshman Team – were voted on solely by the league’s nine head coaches.
 
HUFF NAMED TO WCC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
– Braden Huff was named to the 2025 West Coast Conference Academic Team.
– Huff boasts a 3.48 grade point average as a Business Administration major, with a concentration in marketing.
– On the court, Huff is scoring 10.7 points per game at 57.8 percent shooting from the field.
 
NEMBHARD NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
– After dishing out 31 assists in wins at Santa Clara and San Francisco, Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard earned his second Heluva Good Dip West Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week honors in the last three weeks.
– Nembhard tied the program record with a career-high 16 assists in the 95-75 victory over USF.
– He became the first player with consecutive 15-assist games versus NCAA Division I opponents since 2011.
– At Santa Clara, he became the first Division I player with two 15-assist games against the same opponent in a single season in 22 years.
– Nembhard had six turnovers to his 31 assists in the week.
 
ZAGS CLOSE TO 25 WINS … AGAIN
– The Bulldogs are two wins away from 25 wins this season.
– Gonzaga has won at least 25 games in each of the last 17 consecutive seasons, which is a NCAA Div. 1 record.
– The Zags have reached the 25-win plateau in 20 of the last 21 seasons, and 24 of the last 26.
 
NET AND SEEDING
– Gonzaga is currently 8 in the NET. These are the seeds the No. 8 team in the final NET rankings received in the NCAA Tournament since the NET started in 2018-19.
2024 – North Carolina (1 seed)
2023 – UConn (4 seed)
2022 – Texas (2 seed)
2021 – Ohio State (2 seed)
2019 – Michigan State (2 seed)
 
THE POINT GOD
– Nembhard’s 10.0 assists per game tops the nation. Purdue’s Braden Smith is second at 8.7.
– Nembhard tied the program record with a career-high 16 assists in the victory over San Francisco in the Chase Center. It also matched the WCC record in league play.
– Entering the win at Santa Clara, Nembhard needed five assists to break Emmett Naar of Saint Mary’s WCC season assist record of 284 set in 2017-18. Nembhard finished with 15 assists in the win to set a new record.
– 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.
– Nembhard became the first player in the country to eclipse the 100, 200, and 300-assist marks this season.
– Nembhard’s 4.26 assist-to-turnover ratio is second in the country. (CJ Fulton, Charleston 4.85)
– He is currently second in the West Coast Conference at 35:06 minutes per game.
– Nembhard led the WCC averaging 10.1 assists per league game. The previous conference record is 9.2 set by Orlando Smart of San Francisco in 1991.
– Nembhard tops the country among active leaders in career assists with 849. Dajuan Harris Jr. of Kansas is second at 839. Nembhard’s 6.53 assist career average is fourth among active leaders, and his 2.69 assist to turnover is fourth.
– The Gonzaga program career assist record is 712 set by Josh Perkins (2015-19), Nembhard’s two-year Gonzaga total of 554 assists is tied for fifth in GU’s all-time Top 10 with John Stockton from 1981-84. Jeremy Pargo is fourth at 589 from 2006-09.
– Nembhard has 18 double-digit assist outings, the most in the country, out of the 31 games this season, with a conference-best 12 double-doubles (14th in NCAA D1).
– 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.
– No Canadian player in Div. 1 has averaged more than seven assists per game.
– Only five players have finished a season averaging double-digit assists per game over the last 30 years.
– 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.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
– Ryan Nembhard moved to 13th in NCAA D1 history for most assists in a single season at 311, 13 away from Top 10, and 22 away from Top 5.
– Nembhard’s 849 career assists ranks 30th all-time in NCAA D1 history. He is 14 assists away from Top 25 and 35 away from the Top 20.
– As a team, Gonzaga is five assists from moving to second for most assists in a single season. The Zags are currently at 616 assists, the 2014-15 team had 620 in 38 games, and the 2018-19 team holds the record at 668 in 37 games.
– Ben Gregg’s 137 appearances ranks eighth all-time in program history, one behind David Stockton for seventh. five behind Kevin Pangos for sixth.
– Nolan Hickman’s 135 career appearances are 12th.
– Nolan Hickman is 11 made threes away from eighth all-time in GU career history (John Rillie, 230).
– Gregg is two wins (115) from ninth in program history in career victories, and Hickman (109) is seven away from tenth.
 
A CLOSER LOOK
– Gonzaga’s eight losses were by a combined 41 points and all by single digits, with the largest margin being eight points in overtime away from home losses.
– All but two of the Bulldogs’ wins have been by double-digits, the second game of the season against Arizona State (88-80) and at Pepperdine on Dec. 30 (89-82). GU has 14 20-or-more point wins this season.
– Three of the losses have been in overtime and two have been by one possession.
– GU led for double-digit minutes in five of those eight games, and the majority of the time in three.
– Gonzaga led in the second half at some point in each loss but the UConn game and Saint Mary’s home game. The Bulldogs and UConn were tied in the second half.
– GU trailed at half in five of those games, three by one possession, by three to UConn, by two to UCLA, and by one at Oregon State.
 
SPEAKING OFFENSIVELY
– GU is first in the nation in assists per game at 19.9 and in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.05.
– The program record for assist average is 18.8 per game in 2020-21. The last WCC team to average 20 assists per game at the end of the season was Loyola Marymount in 1989-90 at 23.8, the league record.
– The Bulldogs averaged 20.33 assists in conference play, with Santa Clara second at 17.56.
– GU’s 366 assists were the most in WCC play, breaking the league’s record of 341 set by Loyola Marymount in 1989-90.
– The Zags are second in the country averaging 87.6 points and second in field goal percentage (50.4).
– The program record for most points averaged per game is 90.9 in 2020-21, with 87.6 in 2018-19 second.
– GU is third in the country in points per possession at 1.194, and first making 32.1 field goals per game.
– The Zags are first in the country getting 48.9 points per game from two-pointers, after being top five in the nation in the category the last three seasons.
– Gonzaga is third in the nation averaging 42.3 points per first half and fifth in second half scoring 44.6.