NO. 5 UCONN AT NO. 10 GONZAGA
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle
Tip time: 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
Records: UConn 9-1, Gonzaga 8-2
Last game: UConn beat Arkansas Pine Bluff, 101-63, Saturday; Gonzaga defeated Mississippi Valley State, 7840, Monday
Series: UConn leads 4-2, winning the last meeting 8254 in NCAA West Regional final on March 25 in Las Vegas. All six games occurred on neutral courts, including an 88-83 overtime win in 2008 in Seattle.
Probable starters: UConn, 6-5 graduate guard Tristen Newton (17 pts, 7.2 rebs, 6.1 assists), 6-6 graduate guard Cam Spencer (15.8 pts, 3.8 rebs), 6-3 fr. guard Solo Ball (6.7 pts, 2.5 rebs), 6-8 r-so. forward Alex Karaban (15.6 pts, 6.2 rebs), 7-2 so. center Donovan Clingan (13.2 pts, 6 rebs, 2.1 blks)
Gonzaga, 6-0 jr. guard Ryan Nembhard (11.8 pts, 5.7 assists, 3.7 rebs), 6-2 jr guard Nolan Hickman (12.6 pts, 2.3 rebs), 6-6 fr. guard Dusty Stromer (6.4 pts, 4.1 rebs), 6-8 grad forward Anton Watson (13.9 pts, 8.2 rebs), 6-9 r-jr. forward Graham Ike (14.2 pts, 7.9 rebs)
Noteworthy: Teams meet in the Continental Tire Seattle Tip-off. … UConn is 2-1 versus ranked teams this season, beating No. 15 Texas and No. 9 North Carolina and losing at No. 5 Kansas. … Gonzaga is 1-1 vs. ranked opponents, losing to No. 2 Purdue and beating No. 24 UCLA. … Zags reside in the West Coast Conference. … Top reserve: 6-10 r-fr. forward Braden Huff (11.7 pts, 4.3 rebs). … Common foes: Arkansas Pine Bluff (UConn won 101-63, Gonzaga won 111-71), Mississippi Valley State (UConn won 87-53, Gonzaga won 78-40). … Prior to UConn’s win in NCAA regional, the previous five meetings with Gonzaga were decided by less than six points and a total of 18 points. … Since the 2014-15 season, the Zags are 8-2 versus current Big East foes. … Hot: UConn has won 26 of its last 27 nonconference games. Cold: Hassan Diarra shooting 26.7% (4-for-15) from 3-pt. range. … Huskies first in the Big East in scoring offense (87.4) and scoring defense (63.2). … UConn 5th in the nation in rebounding margin at 13.8. … Twenty-four of Samson Johnson’s 28 field goals via the dunk. … Up next: UConn opens the Big East season on Wednesday, Dec. 20 at Seton Hall.