BYU (14-3, 2-0) at No. 2 Gonzaga (12-2, 1-0)
- Tipoff: Thursday, 9 p.m. MST
- Venue: McCarthey Athletic Center (The Kennel)
- TV: ESPN2
- Livestream: WatchESPN
- Radio: BYU Sports Network on BYU Radio — Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM and KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.
- Series: The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 21-7, with the Zags winning the last three games in the series. BYU is 3-7 against Gonzaga in Spokane, Washington, last winning there in 2017.
The stakes
For BYU: The Cougars have the early lead in the West Coast Conference standings — they are a half game up on Gonzaga, San Francisco and Santa Clara — and a road win over the Zags would not only improve BYU’s position in the league but bolster their NCAA Tournament resume as well.
For Gonzaga: The Bulldogs have won 22 straight conference games and will be looking to extend their home winning streak, which is at 60 straight victories at the McCarthey Athletic Center. Both of those streaks lead the nation.
The trends
For BYU: The Cougars come in on a four-game winning streak, most recently beating Saint Mary’s 52-43 when BYU held the Gaels to 29.3% shooting from the field. Both BYU (61.9) and Gonzaga (64) are holding opponents under 65 points per game on average.

For Gonzaga: The Zags haven’t trailed in nearly a month — they last trailed 2-0 vs. Texas Tech on Dec. 18. Since then, they have not trailed in the last 158 minutes and 47 seconds of game time. In the team’s last five games, all wins since losing to Alabama, Gonzaga has trailed for just 14 seconds.
Next up
Plans can change due to COVID-19 issues, but as of now, BYU stays on the road for another key WCC matchup at San Francisco on Saturday. Gonzaga will hit the road for a conference game at Santa Clara on Saturday.