Spokane, WA -- (Sports Network) - Bragging rights in the Evergreen State are up for grabs tonight, as the 17th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs and the undefeated Washington State Cougars clash at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane.

Gonzaga is back home after taking the title at the EA Sports Maui Invitational last week where it defeated the likes of Colorado (76-72), Wisconsin (74-61) and Cincinnati (61-59) in overtime of the title game a week ago. With those three wins in as many days, the team vaulted into the AP Poll at No. 17, while an undefeated program like Washington State is on the outside looking in and barely getting any credit for a 6-0 start.

Then again, while the Cougars also won a tournament last weekend with their victories at the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, the competition was nowhere near that of Gonzaga's. In fact, aside from taking down San Diego by a whopping 93-56 score in the title game on Saturday to bring home the trophy, WSU has yet to defeat a single program from a legitimate power conference at the Division I level.

In terms of the all-time series between these two teams, the Cougars are ahead by a count of 97-46, dating all the way back to a 21-18 victory for WSU in 1907 at Gonzaga. The most recent encounter took place last year in Pullman where the Bulldogs crushed the Cougars in a 74-52 final.

The meeting with San Diego over the weekend belonged to Klay Thompson as he connected on 16-of-24 shots from the field, including 8-of-13 beyond the arc, as he set a new, single-game scoring record in the Great Alaska Shootout with a whopping 43 points, topping the effort set by Glenn Robinson of Purdue. As if the Cougars needed any more scoring help, Reggie Moore chipped in with 16 points, five assists and six steals for the squad as well. Thompson has been huge for this team in the early going and he has been doing it in all facets of the game, not just scoring. Thompson is averaging 4.8 rpg and is one of the leaders with his 21 assists and 12 steals, to go along with his 28.3 ppg of course. The sharpshooter has connected on an astounding 21-of-37 (.568) of his three-point attempts, which means he is shooting better on the perimeter than he is the field overall at the moment. Because of his efforts, the Cougars are posting 84.7 ppg while shooting 46.2 percent from three-point range and 52.3 percent from the floor altogether.

In a game that saw six ties and eight lead changes, the Bulldogs needed overtime to put away Cincinnati in the title game of the Maui Invitational, slipping by with a scant two-point decision after trailing by as many as 10 points in the second half. Except for Matt Bouldin who had a rough shooting game (1-of-7) and finished with just six points, every starter for the Bulldogs hit for double digits, beginning with Robert Sacre with 14 points. Steven Gray and Elias Harris both registered 13 points and seven rebounds and Demetri Goodson 12 points, while Bouldin remained active with a team-best 11 rebounds. Even though he had a rough game the last time out, Bouldin continues to lead the team in scoring with his 16.2 ppg and is also among the top players in the paint with 6.0 rpg as well. Gray, the player with the second- most experience on the unit, checks in with 15.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 3.2 apg, while Sacre and Harris account for 14.3 and 12.7 ppg, respectively. in order to push this group to 77.3 ppg. The Zags have been handling lesser teams on the glass with an advantage of almost seven rebounds per game, an effort that has helped the squad significantly in all aspects of the game.