Caption:LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 08: Emmett Naar #3 of the Saint Mary's Gaels drives against Domantas Sabonis #11 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the championship game of the West Coast Conference Basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 8, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gonzaga won 85-75. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The No. 15 Gonzaga Bulldogs will travel to face the Portland Pilots on Thursday night in the second game of the conference series.
Gonzaga (17-4, 7-1 in West Coast Conference) won the first game at home, 103-57. The Bulldogs are coming off a rough week: they lost to Saint Mary’s at home and then defeated Santa Clara on the road 75-60 on Saturday, although they struggled in the latter matchup. The Zags are second in their Conference.
Meanwhile, Portland (8-13, 2-6 in West Coast) have improved after dropping their first six-straight conference games. The Pilots have recently won at San Diego 55-49, and beat down Loyola, 72-65. They are eighth in their conference.
Among Gonzaga’s strongest players is senior guard Silas Melson, who will be returning home to the town in Portland where he played in high school. Melson scored a career high 23 points against the Pilots earlier this year in Spokane, Washington and is averaging nearly 10 points per game in conference, but in five of those games he has scored a combined 18 points.
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Bulldogs freshman forward Corey Kispert, meanwhile, has missed two games with an ankle injury in the fall. He averaged 10.7 points before his injury, and that figure has fallen to just 5.3 since. He has only shot seven field goal attempts in the past three games.
Gonzaga vs. Portland:
Date: January 25, 2018
Time: 11 pm EST
Place: Chiles Center, Portland, Oregon
TV Channel: ESPNU
Caption:LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 08: Emmett Naar #3 of the Saint Mary’s Gaels drives against Domantas Sabonis #11 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the championship game of the West Coast Conference Basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 8, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gonzaga won 85-75. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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