McCarthey Athletic Center – Spokane, WA
Tip-off: Wednesday, 11:00 p.m. ET
Line: N/A

#8 Gonzaga looks to keep their undefeated season rolling as they host Pac 12 and in-state foe Washington.

Sitting just a one hour flight from each other, Washington will travel to Gonzaga as these two powers of the Evergreen State will face off for the second year in a row. The Washington/Gonzaga rivalry had been an annual occasion in the late 90’s and earlier 2000’s, but the two stopped playing each other after 2006, only to resume with Gonzaga winning (80-64, Zags -9.5) at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas last season. The teams agreed in 2014 to renew the rivalry (starting officially this year through ’19-20). Including last season’s victory in the Bahamas, the Bulldogs have owned this “rivalry” (8-1, 7-2 ATS) since 1996. Headlining this game will be Gonzaga’s junior G Nigel Williams-Goss facing off against his former team and coach in Lorenzo Romar’s Huskies. Williams-Goss starred for two years in Seattle, an all-league performer in 2014-15, before shockingly announcing his intentions to transfer before last season. Williams-Goss and Gonzaga will have to deal with the new face of Washington basketball, freshman phenom G Markelle Fultz. Already having dispatched of one Pac 12 foe this weekend (Arizona, 69-62, Zags -5), Gonzaga will be a favorite in a building where they are 162-13 overall. While the McCarthey Center is one of the best home court advantages in college basketball, the Bulldogs did drop a surprising four contests at home last season (6-7 ATS at home). While Washington won’t be glad to have to visit the McCarthey Center, they’ll be happy to not see TCU again. The Huskies will have gone 12 days without playing anyone but the Horned Frogs and dropped both games against TCU in that span, 90-83 (Wash +1.5) in Las Vegas and 86-71 (Wash +7) at TCU on the 30th. Given their largest period of rest all season (7 days), the young Huskies will have fresh legs against their toughest opponent of the season. The Huskies are 3-4 ATS this season and do not own a Power-7 conference win this season.

The former face of the program (Williams-Goss) facing off against the current face of the program (Fultz) should alone make for must-see television on Wednesday night. Williams-Goss was a McDonald’s All-American with a choir boy reputation (he spurned Harvard to stay in the Pacific Northwest and start as a freshman from day one in Seattle) who’s since turned villain for doing a complete heel-turn and transferring – to reviled Gonzaga no less – at the conclusion of the 2014-15 season. Who knows what might’ve been in Seattle last season had Williams-Goss also been on a roster with graduated Andrew Andrews and NBA draft picks Dejounte Murray and Marquese Chriss. While Washington is having a very tough season, one thing that can be said for Coach Romar is that he’s one heck of a recruiter, as better than any aforementioned name in this paragraph is current Husky wunderkind, Fultz. Owner of a surreal stat line (22.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 6.6 APG), the 6’4” freshman is a lock to be a lottery pick, and his situation eerily resembles last season’s number 1 pick in the NBA Draft, Ben Simmons. Fultz is a do-everything talent surrounded by a mediocre roster. Everything seems to come easy for Fultz, who glides along the court getting to his spots without much resilience and scoring with scary efficiency (54% FG). One night he could threaten for a triple-double, the next he could go for 35. Lost in his offensive fireworks is that Fultz is a willing defender, averaging 2.1 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. Overall defense has been the Achilles heel for the Romar-coached Huskies for years now, and this season is no different as five of their seven opponents have shot 46% or better from the field. The Huskies allow just shy of 80 PPG, which is good for 238th in the country. On offense, Washington just hasn’t been able to put it all together in one game. They shot 46% FG and 82% (10-for-12) from three and still lost to TCU the second time around. The culprit: 38% FT (7-for-18) and 25 turnovers. Washington can be generally very careless with the ball (15 TO/G, 269th NCAA).

Williams-Goss (12.5 PPG, 4.6 APG) against his former squad is the headliner for this game, but Gonzaga’s success this season should tell you all you need to know as to why the junior guard left Seattle to move east. His numbers are down from the 15.6 PPG – 4.9 RPG – 5.6 APG all-league season in his last year as a Husky, but after two seasons of no postseason basketball, Williams-Goss obviously felt he had a better chance at an NCAA title in Spokane. He’ll have his hands full trying to contain his counterpart, the electric Markelle Fultz, but unlike Fultz, Williams-Goss has plenty of help. G Josh Perkins (13.1 PPG, 51.3 3PT) has made solid improvements in his junior season and gained the trust of Coach Mark Few, playing all 40 minutes in Gonzaga’s win over Arizona on Saturday. Perhaps the biggest boon to Gonzaga’s optimism this season has been the re-emergence of seven-foot senior C Przemek Karnowski (11.6 PPG) after an injury plagued junior season that resulted in back surgery. Karnowski played a season-high 25 minutes and poured in a game-high of 18 points against Arizona. This game against up-and-down Washington might not be the best fit for the lumbering center, but if Gonzaga can slow the pace down then Karnowski will be able to punish the smaller Huskies. Karnowski had 12 points (6-for-8 FG) and six rebounds in their early-season meeting last season before hurting his back. Freshman F Zach Collins (11.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 69.8% FG in 17 minutes) is arguably the second most-coveted NBA prospect in this game (behind Fultz) and hasn’t disappointed coming off the bench for Coach Few this season. Collins posted eight points and eight rebounds and two blocks in just 15 minutes. If Collins decides to return for his sophomore season in Spokane he’ll be a potential All-American. Gonzaga’s strength on the defensive side of the ball will serve them well against fast-paced Washington. The Bulldogs have held all of their opponents under 44% FG and contained Florida and Arizona to under 39% each from the field. Gonzaga’s last two opponents (MVSU, Arizona) are just 4-of-26 from three.