Gonzaga 2024-25 schedule update: Season opener vs. Baylor in Las Vegas?

A neutral site matchup with the Bears immediately becomes one of Gonzaga’s most anticipated nonconference games of the season

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Gonzaga men’s basketball fans have a lot of big games to circle on their calendars between November and December.

Right off the bat, the Bulldogs will reportedly square off against Baylor in what will very likely be a top 25 matchup at a neutral site, potentially in Las Vegas, during the first week of the season. Though the date and location have yet to be confirmed, that means there’s a real possibility the season tips off against a ranked opponent, which has only happened twice before in the Mark Few era (2003 vs. No. 17 Saint Joseph’s and 2020 vs. No. 6 Kansas). 

It just goes to show how difficult the nonconference slate will be, once again. Including the matchup against the Bears, the Zags will face at least four teams that are in the top 25 of Bart Torvik’s 2024-25 projections and another two against programs ranked inside the top 80. 

Here’s an updated look at Gonzaga’s nonleague schedule.

BAYLOR BEARS: TBD

This would be quite the start to the season for two teams hoping to make deep NCAA Tournament runs in 2025. Baylor, which has finished in the top 16 of KenPom in each of the last five seasons, is projected to continue that trend as the No. 14 team in Bart Torvik’s 2024-25 projections. 

Despite losing four of five starters from last season’s 24-11 team, head coach Scott Drew brought in top-tier talent this offseason to make up for the losses. Miami transfer Norchad Omier, a 6-foot-7 wing who averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds per game in 2023-24, along with former Duke product Jeremy Roach, an All-ACC guard last season, headline an incoming transfer portal class that’s ranked No. 13 in the nation according to EvanMiya.com. Drew also brought back 6-foot-4 guard Jayden Nunn, who started all 35 games as a junior, and 6-foot-5 wing Langston Love. 

Perhaps even more impressive is the Bears’ 2024 recruiting class, ranked No. 4 in the country on 247Sports. The class is highlighted by five-star wing and probable NBA lottery pick, VJ Edgecombe, as well as four-stars Rob Wright and Jason Asemota.

Baylor is ranked No. 6 in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings and is No. 7 in CBS Sports’ Top 25 and 1 from Parrish. 

ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS: NOV. 10, THE KENNEL

The likely home opener for the 2024-25 season comes against new Big 12 member Arizona State, which agreed to a home-and-home series that’ll conclude in Tempe, Arizona, the following season.

The Sun Devils’ introduction to the Big 12 will be without five of the team’s top six scorers from last season’s 14-18 (8-12 in the Pac-12) squad that finished ninth in the Pac-12 standings. Yet despite nearly 80% of the minutes played in 2023-24 gone, ASU sits at No. 69 in Torvik’s projections — up considerably from where it finished last season (127th).

Perhaps the expectation is that Bobby Hurley’s additions will make up for his subtractions. Five-star recruit Jayden Quaintance should go a long way with that cause, as the top-10 high school player from Raleigh, North Carolina, committed to ASU after he was released from his National Letter of Intent with Kentucky. The 6-foot-9 forward could play big minutes right away for Hurley’s squad as a freshman.

The Sun Devils also landed 6-foot-6 wing BJ Freeman (Milwaukee) and 6-foot-1 guard Alston Mason (Missouri State) in addition to retaining 6-foot-3 rising senior Adam Miller, who averaged 12.0 points and 3.2 rebounds last season.

SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS: NOV. 18, VIEJAS ARENA (SAN DIEGO)

The only true road game in the nonconference slate is a November date with the Aztecs at the Viejas Arena in San Diego, California, where the Zags hope to avenge last season’s head-to-head loss at The Kennel.

Brian Dutcher’s program, coming off a Sweet 16 appearance, has gone through some changes. Lamont Butler and Micah Parrish left via the portal, while star big man Jaedon LeDee is ready to test the next level. The Aztecs sought to replace that outgoing talent by bringing in Nick Boyd, a 6-foot-3 guard who started for Florida Atlantic’s Final Four team two seasons ago, as well as Wayne McKinney III, a double-digit scorer with San Diego this past season.

BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS: NOV. 27-29, BAHAMAS

(Arizona, Indiana, Louisville, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Davidson, Providence, Gonzaga)

This year’s Battle 4 Atlantis field doesn’t stand out quite like the 2023 Maui Invitational did, though half of the eight teams going to the Bahamas over Thanksgiving week were featured in the latest version of CBS Sports’ Top 25 and 1 rankings (Gonzaga, Arizona, Indiana and Providence).

The Wildcats (ranked No. 16 in CBS Sports’ rankings) appear ready to compete for the Big 12 title after they returned All-American guard Caleb Love, rising junior Jaden Bradley, sophomore KJ Lewis and 7-foot-2 center Motiejus Krivas. Tommy Lloyd lost some big names in the transfer portal, namely Kylan Boswell and Oumar Ballo, but he brought in two proven scorers at the mid-major level in Anthony Dell’Orso (Campbell) and Trey Townsend (Oakland). 

Ballo’s new team, Indiana, looks like an NCAA Tournament-caliber team on paper after coach Mike Woodson brought in Myles Rice (Washington State), Kanaan Carlyle (Stanford) and Luke Goode (Illinois) to mix with three of the top four scorers from last season. 

Providence, which joined the field late after Creighton withdrew for the NIL tournament in Vegas, welcomes back All-Big East forward Bryce Hopkins. Bensley Joseph (Miami), Jabri Abdur-Rahim (Georgia) and Christ Essandoko (Saint Joseph's) could also be starters on head coach Kim English’s first NCAA Tournament team.

Louisville is expected to be relevant once again under new coach Pat Kelsey, who brought in a transfer portal class that ranks second in the nation behind only Saint John’s.

The 12-game, three-day tournament will be televised on ESPN networks.

KENTUCKY WILDCATS: DEC. 7, CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA (SEATTLE)

Unlike the previous two meetings between the college basketball powers — both of which were Gonzaga victories — the Wildcats are led by head coach Mark Pope, who was the BYU coach before he was named John Calipari’s successor earlier this spring. Big Blue fans haven’t seen the 5-star recruits they were accustomed to seeing from the Calipari regime, but Pope has completely revamped the roster with experienced talent acquired via the portal. 

Headlined by Andrew Carr (Wake Forest), Otega Oweh (Oklahoma) and Kerr Kriisa (West Virginia), Kentucky has the No. 6 ranked transfer portal class in the country according to EvanMiaya.com. Pope also brought Jaxson Robinson over from Provo, Utah, landed sharpshooter Koby Brea from Dayton and got a guard with Final Four experience in Lamont Butler from San Diego State.

Kentucky, ranked No. 23 on Torvik, will also face Duke in Atlanta, Georgia, on Nov. 11 and will travel to Clemson on Dec. 3 before it heads to Seattle. 

UCONN HUSKIES: DEC. 14, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN (NEW YORK)

For a moment it appeared Dan Hurley could be the next great college coach to take his talents to the NBA, though after he spurned the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this summer, Hurley’s return marks a major win for college basketball and solidifies the Huskies as legit contenders to win their third title in a row and seventh as a program since 1999.

UConn’s quest for history will be without starters Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle, Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, all of whom are preparing for their first season in the NBA. Hurley brought in top-10 recruit Liam McNeely and two-time All-WCC guard Aidan Mahaney from Saint Mary’s to help offset the losses, though perhaps no move was bigger than the re-acquisition of Alex Karaban, who announced he’s returning to Storrs, Connecticut, after testing the draft waters this spring. 

UConn has a challenging stretch of its own in nonleague play, as it will head to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational with North Carolina, Michigan State, Memphis, Iowa State, Dayton, Colorado and Auburn from Nov. 25-27; the Huskies are home against Baylor (Dec. 4) and at Texas (Dec. 8) before their matchup with the Zags in New York.

NICHOLLS STATE COLONELS: DEC. 18, THE KENNEL

Better known as just Nicholls, the Colonels went 20-14 and 13-5 in the Southland Conference last season and will likely feature six or seven seniors in their main rotation in 2024-25. Head coach Tevon Saddler is set to return three of his top four scorers after losing his lead man Diante Smith (UT Arlington) to the portal. Saddler managed to reel in Seattle native and Mill Creek product Jaylen Searles (Utah Tech), a 6-foot-8 forward who averaged 10.1 points and 4.9 rebounds as a junior.

The Colonels checked in at No. 208 on Torvik, which is up slightly from where they finished 2023-24 (236th) — but would still project as a Quad 4 game for the Bulldogs if that projection was consistent in the NET Rankings.

UCLA BRUINS: DEC. 28, INTUIT DOME (INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA)

Gonzaga, which has won the previous four head-to-head meetings since 2021, will see a much different UCLA squad than it did in Hawaii this past season. Mick Cronin reeled in a top-20 transfer portal class headlined by two-time Pac-12 All-Defense selection Kobe Johnson from USC, former four-star recruit Eric Daily Jr. from Oklahoma State, former Kentucky commit Skye Clark from Louisville and 6-foot-9 forward Tyler Bilodeau from Oregon State. Four-star recruit Trent Perry, the No. 27 player in the 2024 class according to ESPN, committed to the Bruins after decommitting from USC, which he initially chose over Gonzaga.

The Zags can expect to see at least one very familiar face — Dominick Harris, a former five-star recruit at Gonzaga who committed to UCLA as a grad transfer this offseason. The 6-foot-3 guard who grew up less than 100 miles away from his new campus led the West Coast Conference in 3-point percentage (44.8%) while averaging a team-high 14.3 points this past season at Loyola Marymount.

The Bruins’ nonleague schedule is highlighted by a neutral site game against Arizona in Phoenix, Arizona, on Dec. 14 and the CBS Sports Classic against North Carolina in Madison Square Garden on Dec. 21.