Men's Basketball

            SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University opens the final weekend of the West Coast Conference regular season Thursday at BYU.

            The Bulldogs won the first meeting this season in Spokane 83-63 and leads the all-time series 3-2 in their NCAA Division I history after winning 2-of-3 meetings a year ago. The Zags lost in their inaugural trip to Provo, Utah, 83-73, won at the McCarthey Athletic Center 77-58 and downed the Cougars 77-58 in the WCC Tournament semifinals at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

            The Cougars, behind All-American Jimmer Fredette, took an 89-67 victory in the 2011 NCAA Third Round in Denver, Colo., the season prior to BYU joining the WCC. The Zags claimed a 46-41 victory Dec. 16, 1949, prior to Gonzaga entering the NCAA Division I ranks.

            While Gonzaga has wrapped up no worse than a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title for the 12^th time in the last 13 years, the Zags are one win or one Saint Mary's College loss from claiming their 10^th outright title. Gonzaga and Pepperdine University went 13-1 in 2002 and the Zags and SMC went 11-3 in 2011. Gonzaga has wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the WCC Tournament by virtue of its season sweep against SMC.

            The Bulldogs conclude the regular season at home Saturday against the University of Portland in a rare 2 p.m. matinee. Gonzaga's seniors will be honored in pre-game ceremonies.