Brigham Young @ Gonzaga preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 31, 2019 ) Gonzaga 93, Brigham Young 63

Second-ranked Gonzaga has already wrapped up its seventh straight West Coast Conference title as it enters Saturday's home contest against Brigham Young. The Bulldogs own the nation's longest winning streak of 17 games and figure to ascend back to No. 1 in the country if they defeat the Cougars.

Gonzaga rolled to a 92-64 victory over Pepperdine on Thursday and wrapped up the crown with that victory combined with BYU's 77-71 loss to San Francisco. "A conference title is one of the goals on our board at the start of the year," Bulldogs coach Mark Few said afterward. "It's a heck of an accomplishment. Everybody has their eyes on bigger prizes." Gonzaga routed the Cougars 93-63 in Provo on Jan. 31 and BYU followed up with five straight wins before Thursday's disappointing loss to the Dons. "The outcome of the game was obviously disappointing," Cougars coach Dave Rose told reporters. "But one thing these guys have done is they've been resilient all year and we'll get back in the gym (Friday) and then head up to Spokane and swing away up there against the No. 2 team in the country and see how we do."

TV: 10 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT BYU (18-11, 10-4 WCC): The Cougars collapsed in the loss to San Francisco as they let a 14-point lead with eight minutes left slip away. Junior forward Yoeli Childs had 28 points and 14 rebounds against the Dons for his 16th double-double of the season and he has team-best averages of 21.3 points and 9.8 rebounds, while junior guard TJ Haws (17.8 points) also had a big outing with 25 points. "This one will sting for a little bit, but we have to move on and we have to have a good practice to get prepared for Gonzaga," Haws told reporters.

ABOUT GONZAGA (26-2, 13-0): Senior point Josh Perkins had 10 points and nine assists against Pepperdine to raise his career assists total to 670, surpassing school legend Matt Santangelo (668 from 1996-2000) for most in school history. "It means a lot, it means everything," Perkins, who averages 10.5 points and 6.9 assists, said in a postgame television interview. "A lot of credit goes to my teammates. Without them, I'm nothing." Junior forward Rui Hachimura (team-best 20.4 average) scored 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting against Pepperdine for his 17th 20-point performance of the season.

TIP-INS

1. Gonzaga holds a 16-6 series edge.

2. Bulldogs PF Brandon Clarke (16.7 average) had 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots against Pepperdine for his ninth double-double of the season.

3. BYU is 14-2 when leading at halftime after seeing its lead evaporate against San Francisco.

PREDICTION: Gonzaga 85, BYU 68