Jordan Mathews, undefeated Zags keep putting up Ws but ‘don’t think about running the table’

STOCKTON, Calif. – Jordan Mathews isn’t too caught up in Gonzaga’s unbeaten record, but he has been keeping an eye on one of the other unblemished teams in college basketball.

That would be younger brother Jonah, a freshman guard at USC. The Trojans were 14-0 before getting thumped by Oregon on Friday. The Ducks also knocked UCLA from the unbeaten ranks earlier in the week.

“It’s crazy,” Mathews said after Gonzaga moved to 14-0 with an 81-61 win over Pacific on Saturday. “My mom was like, ‘My boys haven’t lost,’ until last night.”

No. 7 Gonzaga figures to climb up a spot or two in the next AP poll. No. 2 UCLA, No. 5 Duke and No. 6 Louisville lost this week. The Zags are sixth in the USA Today rankings.

Gonzaga joins Baylor and Villanova as the three remaining teams with spotless records. The beginning of conference play tagged UCLA, USC and Creighton with their first losses.

“We talk every day and I told (Jonah) that’s how Pac-12 play is,” said Mathews, a transfer from Cal who had four 3-pointers and scored 16 points against Pacific. “If you don’t come ready, you’ll get smacked. They didn’t come ready Friday night but I’m sure they’ll bounce back.

“I’m happy for him. He’s playing at a high level.”

The younger Mathews is averaging 7.2 points and 20 minutes per game for the Trojans.

Mathews said the Zags “don’t think about running the table.”

Instead, he said, “we just hoop and out and play. You want to win every game and that’s our goal. If we keep winning, then it’ll handle itself.”

Center Przemek Karnowski agreed.

“I mean, we know we’re undefeated, but at the end of the day we take one game at a time,” he said. “If we take it one game at a time and we keep winning that’s why we stay undefeated.”