MBB Welcomes NMSU for Home Opener - Gonzaga University Athletics

#15/12 Gonzaga (1-0) vs. New Mexico State (1-0)
SATURDAY, NOV. 7 | 2 PM | SPOKANE | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER
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THE STORY LINES
- The Zags are ranked No. 15 in the preseason Associated Press poll. GU received 637 points in the preseason ranking. It marks the 26th straight season Gonzaga has been ranked in the AP poll. It's the 17th consecutive year the Bulldogs have appeared in the preseason poll.
- Gonzaga joins Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky as the only programs that have appeared in each of the last 17 preseason AP Polls.
- The Zags enter the season ranked 12th in the preseason USA Today/Coaches poll.
- GU opens in the top 20 of the poll for the 14th straight year. GU appears in the Coaches' preseason poll for the 17th consecutive season.
- Last season, the Bulldogs advanced to their 27th straight NCAA Tournament, the third-longest active streak in the nation, and finished with a 31-4 record. Gonzaga finished No. 18 in the final AP Poll.
- It was the program's seventh 30-win season over the last 10 seasons. GU has 10 30-win seasons, all over the last 14 seasons. In that span since 2012-13, the Bulldogs have won a national-best 86.7 percent (431-66) of their games.
- Last season, the Zags extended its NCAA Div. 1 record to 19 straight seasons of at least 25 wins. GU's 29-straight 20-win seasons ranks second for the longest active run in the country.
- Over the last six seasons, Gonzaga is 174-32 (.845), the second-best winning percentage in the nation over that span. Only Houston was better at .860 (190-31), with Duke third at .797 (169-43).
- Few was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Aug. 15, 2026.
- In July it was announced that Few will return to the Team USA coaching staff for the 2027 FIBA World Cup and Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 as an assistant, a role he had at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 when he won a gold medal.
- Few enters his 28th season with a 772-156 (.832) record at Gonzaga, the highest winning percentage in NCAA Div. I history.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES
- New Mexico State opened the 2026-27 season with a 73-66 win over Western New Mexico on Nov. 3 in Las Cruces. The Aggies trailed 31-26 at halftime before opening the second half with an 11-2 run and outscoring the Mustangs 47-35 after the break.
- DJ Dudley led all scorers with 22 points in his Aggie debut, shooting 7-of-14 from the field and 4-of-8 from three-point range. Transfer forward Mark Lavrenov added 17 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double in his New Mexico State debut.
- New Mexico State was picked to finish sixth in the Conference USA preseason coaches poll. Senior guard DJ Dudley was named to the Preseason All-CUSA Team after earning Third Team All-CUSA honors at Louisiana Tech last season.
- The Aggies added 12 newcomers for 2026-27, including eight players with Division I experience. Dudley led Louisiana Tech with 13.8 points per game last season, while graduate guard KK Robinson averaged 15.6 points per game at Little Rock in 2023-24.
- Fifth-year forward Stephon Payne joins the Aggies after spending the 2025-26 season at Seton Hall, where he started all 33 games and averaged 6.5 rebounds per game. Across four Division I seasons, Payne has averaged 6.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and recorded 14 career double-doubles.
- The Aggies finished 16-16 overall and 8-12 in conference play in 2025-26, advancing to the Conference USA Tournament quarterfinals.
- Head Coach Jason Hooten enters his fourth season at New Mexico State and 17th season as a collegiate head coach. Hooten has guided his teams to six postseason appearances, including two trips to the NIT during his tenure at Sam Houston.
- New Mexico State returns three players from last season's roster, including junior forward Jae'Coby Osborne, the Aggies' leading returning scorer (6.0 ppg) and rebounder (4.9 rpg), and junior guard Gabe Pickens, who averaged 4.5 points and a team-high 3.0 assists per game in 2025-26.

ABOUT THE SERIES
- Gonzaga leads the all-time series against New Mexico State, 1-0, entering the second meeting between the programs on Nov. 7, 2026, in Spokane. The Bulldogs won the lone previous matchup, 80-68, on Dec. 7, 2013, at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- Sam Dower Jr. led all scorers with 22 points, including 14 in the second half. Gerard Coleman added 21 and Kevin Pangos added 15 points for Gonzaga.
- Gonzaga owns a combined 5-0 record against four of the 10 current Conference USA men's basketball programs: Western Kentucky (2-0), Kennesaw State (1-0), New Mexico State (1-0) and Sam Houston (1-0).
- In the latest meeting with a current Conference USA member, the Bulldogs defeated 14th-seeded Kennesaw State 73-64 on March 19, in the first round of last season's NCAA Tournament in Portland, Ore.

UP NEXT
- Gonzaga has a week off before playing LSU in the Bad Boy Mowers Series in the Numerica Veterans Arena in Spokane. The game will tipoff at 12:30 p.m.
- LSU enters the 2026-27 season under Head Coach Will Wade, who returned to Baton Rouge for his second stint leading the Tigers after previously coaching the program from 2017-22. Wade was named head coach on March 26, 2026, after leading NC State to a 20-14 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2025-26.
- The Tigers opened the 2026-27 season with a 100-57 win over LSU New Orleans on Nov. 3 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Donovan Dent led LSU with 19 points and 10 assists in the opener. Dent transferred from UCLA, where he averaged 13.3 points and 7.6 assists per game in 2025-26 and ranked third nationally in assists per game. Saliou Niang recorded 14 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and six steals.
- LSU's roster features several experienced transfers, including Dent, fifth-year guard Skyy Clark, senior forward Mo Dioubate and fifth-year center Brice Dessert. Dioubate transferred from Kentucky after averaging 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 2025-26, while Dessert is a 7-foot center.
- Gonzaga owns 20 wins over current Southeastern Conference programs during Head Coach Mark Few's tenure. The Bulldogs have won seven of their last nine matchups against current SEC members.
- During that stretch, GU picked up wins over Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Auburn, including last season's 94-59 victory over Kentucky and 95-85 win over Alabama.

ZAGS IN THE SPOKANE ARENA
- Gonzaga has created several memorable moments inside Numerica Veterans Arena, including last season's 83-68 win over Southeastern Conference member Oklahoma in the Bad Boy Mowers Series.
- The Zags also opened the 2024-25 season with a 101-63 win over No. 7 Baylor in a battle of Top-10 ranked teams at the Arena. GU has won its last seven games inside Spokane Arena.
- Early in the 2022-23 season, GU earned an 88-72 victory over Kentucky in the Numerica Veterans Arena. The Top-5 matchup drew 12,333 fans, the largest crowd ever for any event in the history of the Arena.
- The Bulldogs are 15-6 all-time in games played inside the Numerica Veterans Arena since it opened in 1995.

BULLDOGS BEAT BOILERMAKERS IN VEGAS
- Davis Fogle scored 22 points and No. 15 Gonzaga opened the season by defeating Purdue for the first time, winning 78-72 in the Hall of Fame Series in T-Mobile Arena on Monday night.
- Xaivian Lee, making his Gonzaga debut, added 18 points, Izan Almansa scored 11 and Braden Huff had 10.
- The Zags led for 35 minutes and outrebounded Purdue, 34-31. GU also made 26-of-34 from the line.

SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
- The Zags have now won 23 straight regular season-openers dating back to a 73-66 loss to Saint Joseph's in the 2003 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in New York City.
- GU has won 36 consecutive regular season home-openers since a 73-65 loss to Boise State on Dec. 7, 1988.
- Gonzaga has won all 21 regular season home-openers in the McCarthey Athletic Center and all 27 regular season home-openers under Mark Few.

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Players Mentioned

Izan Almansa

Davis Fogle

Braden Huff

Xaivian Lee

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