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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga-Detroit Mercy key matchup: Scoring machine Antoine Davis tests Ryan Woolridge

Gonzaga is heavily favored against Detroit Mercy, but the game offers at least one intriguing subplot: Titans sophomore guard Antoine Davis is one of the nation’s most prolific scorers.

Davis, son of head coach Mike Davis, averages 25.2 points, third nationally. He was No. 3 nationally last year at 26.1 points, drilling an NCAA freshman record 136 3-pointers. Stephen Curry, with 122 3s at Davidson, and Trae Young, with 118 at Oklahoma, are second and third on that list, respectively.

The 6-foot-1, 160-pound Davis has scored at least 20 points in 33 of 42 career games. He torched Wright State for 48 points, one shy of the school record, last season.

Detroit Mercy relies on Davis, who has taken 33.2% of the team’s field-goal attempts and 34.7% of the 3-pointers. He’s shooting just 36.3% from the field and 29.3% on 3s, but he’s had two games with 10 made 3-pointers and 23 with at least four treys. He averages a team-high 4.4 assists per game.

Gonzaga’s Ryan Woolridge draws another challenging defensive assignment after facing Oregon’s Payton Prichard, Michigan’s Zavier Simpson, Washington’s Quade Green and Arizona’s Nico Mannion in the last month.

Woolridge won’t do it alone with his teammates certainly aware that Davis drives the Titans’ offense.