Gonzaga @ Pacific preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 10, 2019 ) Pacific 36, Gonzaga 67

Top-ranked Gonzaga looks to stretch the nation's longest winning streak to 19 games when it visits Pacific in West Coast Conference play Thursday. The Bulldogs have already wrapped up their seventh straight regular-season conference crown and are seemingly on their way to being a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Gonzaga walloped visiting BYU 102-68 last Saturday for its seventh victory by 30 or more points in WCC play to increase its average winning margin in league play to 28.4 points. The Bulldogs lead the nation with a 90.7 scoring average and the mark also rates as the highest in school history. Gonzaga drubbed Pacific 67-36 on Jan. 10 in Spokane with the Tigers' meager point total rating as their second lowest behind a 58-32 setback against Saint Mary's on Feb. 21. Pacific has dropped five straight games after suffering a 63-56 home loss to Loyola Marymount on Saturday.

TV: 11 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT GONZAGA (27-2, 14-0 WCC): Junior forwards Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke are battling for WCC Player of the Year honors, and both players have sterling resumes. Hachimura has produced 18 20-point performances and is shooting 60.7 percent from the field while averaging 20.5 points, and Clarke has dominated in the interior with a school-record 90 blocked shots to go with averages of 16.5 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 68.4 percent from the field. Sophomore shooting guard Zach Norvell Jr. (16.1 points) has knocked down a team-leading 84 3-pointers and his 25-point effort against BYU represented his ninth 20-point outing of the campaign.

ABOUT PACIFIC (13-16, 3-11): Senior guard Roberto Gallinat scored a season-high 31 points on 10-of-18 shooting in the loss to the Loyola Marymount and owns a team-best 15.0 scoring average. "When my teammates see that I'm feeling it they always seem to find me in the right spot," Gallinat said after the loss. "When we band together defensively, we can be a great team." Sophomore Lafayette Dorsey (11.0) and junior guard Jahlil Tripp (10.9) also average in double digits for a squad that scores 67.1 per game.

TIP-INS

1. Gonzaga has won the past 13 meetings and holds a 15-1 series edge.

2. Bulldogs senior PG Josh Perkins, who recently became the program leader in career assists, ranks sixth in WCC history with 677.

3. The Tigers shot just 26.7 percent from the field and committed 22 turnovers in the earlier loss to the Zags.

PREDICTION: Gonzaga 93, Pacific 52