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LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Loyola Marymount men's basketball team has their toughest test to date this Thursday, a trip to Spokane to face the nation's fifth-ranked team. The 6 p.m. tip will air on ROOT Sports Northwest, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, and NBC Sports California, as well as stream outside of those regions and in Los Angeles on TheW.tv.
 
LMU (13-4, 1-2) is coming off a game where they outscored Saint Mary's after the opening 12 points, while Gonzaga (14-2, 1-0) is outscoring WCC opponents by nearly 30 points per contest. The 23.7 scoring margin for GU is best in Division I.
 
The matchup will pair together two of the WCC's strengths: LMU's defense and Gonzaga's offense. The Lions lead the WCC in scoring defense (13th in NCAA), allowing just 61.2 points per game, conversely, the Bulldogs boast the nation's second-best offense after averaging 92.2 points per contest.
 
Another interesting battle will be the turnover watch. LMU forces 15.47 turnovers per game, second-best in the league. On the other end of the ball, Gonzaga only turns the ball over 11.0 times per outing, but their 1.68 assist to turnover ratio is third-best in the country.
 
LMU is looking to snap a winless streak in Spokane that dates back to the 1991 season. At that time, the Lions had won four-straight up north between 1988 and 1991 and 10 consecutive overall.
 
The brightest spot of the conference season to date has been sophomore Eli Scott. The Chino Hills, Calif., native is averaging 15.7 points and 7.7 rebounds in three WCC games this season, including team-highs 14 points and 12 rebounds in his last outing against Saint Mary's. Scott's 3.0 offensive rebounds per game since the start of conference play lead the league.