By The Numbers: Gonzaga, UCLA clash in battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2

What could be better than a potential national championship preview in November?

That's what sports fans will be treated to Tuesday when the No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs take on the No. 2 UCLA Bruins (10 p.m. ET on ESPN) in the Empire Classic in Las Vegas.

Not only is it a matchup of the highest-ranked teams in the nation, it's also a rematch of their epic 2021 Final Four thriller, in which the Bulldogs narrowly escaped on Jalen Suggs' overtime buzzer-beater.

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Here are the numbers to know ahead of this clash of titans.

4-2: Their game Tuesday will be the seventh all-time matchup between UCLA and Gonzaga, with Gonzaga owning a 4-2 advantage in the series.

22-20: This is the 43rd time the top two teams in the AP Poll have met, including the 25th time in the regular season. The last time the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked teams faced off in the regular season was on Nov. 5, 2019, when No. 2 Kentucky topped No. 1 Michigan State. The No. 1 teams have a slight edge, winning 22 of the 42 matchups overall and 13 of the 24 regular-season matchups.

3,149-3,148: This is the total score between the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked teams in the previous 42 matchups. While No. 1-ranked teams own a narrow two-win edge in all-time matchups, teams ranked No. 2 have an even slimmer one-point edge in the all-time scoring.

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8: The past eight matchups between teams ranked atop the AP Poll have all come in the regular season.

10: UCLA has played in the most 1-2 games of any team — nine heading into the matchup on Tuesday. This is the first time Gonzaga will play in a game between No. 1 vs. No. 2.

12: UCLA has 12 wins all time against No. 1-ranked teams. Only North Carolina has more, with 14.

5: This is only the fifth time that No. 1 and No. 2 will face each other in November or earlier.