No. 19 Gonzaga plays Portland after Battle's 21-point outing

Updated Jan. 1, 2025 3:43 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Portland Pilots (5-10, 0-2 WCC) at Gonzaga Bulldogs (10-4, 1-0 WCC)

Spokane, Washington; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 19 Gonzaga takes on Portland after Khalif Battle scored 21 points in Gonzaga's 89-82 victory over the Pepperdine Waves.

The Bulldogs have gone 5-0 at home. Gonzaga averages 87.3 points and has outscored opponents by 17.3 points per game.

The Pilots have gone 0-2 against WCC opponents. Portland is 4-8 in games decided by at least 10 points.

Gonzaga's average of 7.5 made 3-pointers per game is 3.3 fewer made shots on average than the 10.8 per game Portland gives up. Portland has shot at a 44.2% rate from the field this season, 3.2 percentage points above the 41.0% shooting opponents of Gonzaga have averaged.

The Bulldogs and Pilots match up Thursday for the first time in WCC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Graham Ike is scoring 16.1 points per game and averaging 6.9 rebounds for the Bulldogs.

A.Rapp averages 2.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Pilots, scoring 14.4 points while shooting 41.1% from beyond the arc.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bulldogs: 6-4, averaging 84.0 points, 34.7 rebounds, 18.4 assists, 6.5 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.6 points per game.

Pilots: 3-7, averaging 75.2 points, 28.3 rebounds, 16.0 assists, 5.2 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.6 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.