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No. 20 Gonzaga faces improved Northern Colorado

Dec 17, 2007 - 7:02 PM Northern Colo (5-3) at No. 20 Gonzaga (8-2) 8:00 pm EST

SPOKANE, Washington (Ticker) - All Gonzaga would like to do on Monday against Northern Colorado is to avoid what happened last season.

The Bulldogs have won eight of their first 10 games for the third consecutive year. Last season, what followed was a four-game losing streak.

Gonzaga hasn't played since an 85-59 victory over Cal State Northridge on December 8. That was on the heels of a 51-47 loss to Washington State.

Sophomore guard Matt Bouldin leads three Bulldogs starters averaging double figures with 13.3 points per game. Junior guards Jeremy Pargo and Micah Downs average 11.6 and 10.3 points, respectively. Austin Daye, a 6-foot-10 freshman forward, has made only one start but averages 12.2 points for Gonzaga.

The game against the Bulldogs will be the second of a four-game road trip for the Bears, who opened the trip with a 69-53 loss at Denver on December 8. Gonzaga and Northern Colorado have played only once with the Bulldogs posting an 87-60 victory in the 2004-05 season.

The Bears, who have already surpassed last year's four-win campaign, are led by junior forward Jabril Banks in scoring (13.5 points per game) and rebounding (6.0 per game).