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Spokane, Wash. • In Thursday's 82-69 win at Portland, more than half the crowd of 3,500 were cheering for the BYU Cougars.
It was a different scene at the McCarthey Athletic Center on Saturday night, where there were fewer than 200 BYU fans in the sellout crowd of 6,000.
The Kennel, as Gonzaga's midsize arena is called, is the only venue in the WCC where BYU fans don't outnumber or come close to outnumbering the hometown fans. Even locals have trouble getting tickets to the games, let alone non-Zag fans.
More than a dozen GU students welcomed the Cougars by wearing white shirts, ties and bicycle helmets in an attempt to depict LDS Church missionaries.
The Zags entered the game on a 41-game home winning streak.
Regarding the atmosphere at Chiles Center on Thursday, BYU senior guard Skyler Halford said:
"It was pretty awesome. I mean, the atmosphere in here was great for a road game. It was unbelievable. We had this whole section of BYU fans, and we had a rough first half, but, man, that second half was fun to play in. There was so much passion, and everybody was playing together. The intensity level was so much higher. Those are the environments that you love to play in as a basketball player, so it was a lot of fun."
Lunardi's take
ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi was asked early Saturday if BYU can make the NCAA tournament field as an at-large team without defeating the No. 3 Zags this season.
"No, they cannot," Lunardi said during the "College GameDay" program.
Gonzaga is a No. 1 seed in ESPN's latest bracketology.
Worthington honored
It was a memorable week for BYU sophomore Luke Worthington, who announced on Tuesday that he will go on an LDS Church mission. On Friday, Worthington was named to the 2014-15 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball All-Academic Team. Worthington is the only BYU player on the team.
Worthington has a 3.4 GPA and is majoring in economics. He is averaging two points and 1.7 rebounds for the Cougars, who were 22-8 entering Saturday's game at Gonzaga.
To be considered for the All-Academic Team, players must have at least a 3.2 GPA and be significant contributors to their teams.
Briefly
Gonzaga started players from Canada and Poland and transfers from Kentucky and USC on Saturday, along with senior Gary Bell of Kent, Wash. BYU started four players from Utah County and a transfer from Wake Forest. … Tyler Haws played in his 135th game at BYU, tying Brandon Davies for third place in career games at BYU. … Former BYU quarterback Marc Wilson attended the game.
Twitter: @drewjay