Gonzaga men’s basketball 2024-25 schedule update: Zags confirm UCLA game in December

Bulldogs confirmed matchup with Bruins for Dec. 28 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

With less than 16 weeks to go until the official start of the 2024-25 college basketball season, the Gonzaga men’s basketball program is still entrenched in putting together its 10-game nonconference schedule.

Mark Few and the Bulldogs have embraced an “anywhere, anytime” mantra when it comes to scheduling over the past few years. Since 2018 — when the West Coast Conference switched from an 18-game to a 16-game league schedule to grant more non-league opportunities for its members — the Zags have gone toe-to-toe with 23 AP Top 25 teams in that span and have played in gyms from Hawaii to the Bahamas to make it happen. 

That sentiment remains true for the upcoming season, though recent waves in conference realignment have forced some slight changes in how Gonzaga approaches its non-league slate. After the WCC extended invitations to Washington State and Oregon State, the league adjusted its conference schedule from 16 to 18 games. In 2025, Grand Canyon and Seattle U will make it 13 members once they complete the move out of the Western Athletic Conference.

Elsewhere, the Big 12 added two games to its 18-game league schedule after bringing in four former Pac-12 schools; the ACC and Big Ten have grown to 18 teams apiece; the SEC will sit at 16 members with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma. As power conferences swell beyond their limits, there become fewer and fewer nonconference opportunities due to scheduling limits. The NCAA allows for teams to play 28 regular season games (plus three in-season tournament games like the Battle 4 Atlantis for example) regardless of conference affiliation. 

Still, the Zags have put together a competitive nonconference schedule as it already stands. Three of their known opponents were ranked in the top 25 of Bart Torvik’s 2024-25 projections, while the Battle 4 Atlantis event has five teams in the top 70.

To date, here’s a look at Gonzaga’s 2024-25 nonconference slate.

BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS: NOV. 27-29, BAHAMAS
(Arizona, Indiana, Louisville, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Davidson, Providence, Gonzaga)

The 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis field doesn’t pop out quite like last season’s 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 in their inaugural season in the Big 12 after they returned All-American guard Caleb Love as well as junior Jaden Bradley, sophomore KJ Lewis and 7-foot-2 center Motiejus Krivas. Tommy Lloyd lost some big names in the transfer portal, including 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 opted to withdraw, 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 Pat Kelsey, who revamped the entire squad through the transfer portal for his first season as the team’s coach. 

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

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

Gonzaga-Kentucky part three will be held at Climate Pledge Arena in the 2024 Battle in Seattle event in December.

Unlike the previous two meetings between college basketball powers — both of which were Gonzaga victories — the Wildcats are led by head coach Mark Pope, formerly at BYU before he was named John Calipari’s successor earlier this spring. Big Blue fans haven’t seen the 5-star recruits they’d be accustomed to 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.

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

A week after facing Kentucky, the Zags will travel cross country to battle the reigning back-to-back national champion Huskies at Madison Square Garden in New York.

For a moment it appeared Dan Hurley could be the next great college coach to take their 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 and Tristen Newton, all of whom are pursuing the NBA. Hurley brought in top-10 recruit Liam McNeely and two-time All-WCC guard Aidan Mahaney from Saint Mary’s. Perhaps the biggest re-acquisition was Alex Karaban, who announced he’s returning to Storrs, Connecticut, after testing the draft waters this spring. 

NICHOLLS STATE COLONELS: DEC. 18, THE KENNEL

The first-known home game in the nonconference portion of the season pits the Bulldogs against the Southland Conference’s runner-up, the Colonels.

Nicholls, which went 20-14 and 13-5 in league last season, will likely feature six or seven seniors in its main rotation. Head coach Tevon Saddler is set to return three of his top four scorers after losing his lead man Diante Smith (UT Arlington) in 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. 204 in Bart Torvik’s 2024-25 projections, 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)

The West Coast rivalry between the Bulldogs and Bruins has been renewed for the next two seasons, as the two will face off at the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers sometime next season followed by a matchup in Seattle during the 2025-26 season.

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 recommitting 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 transferred to Loyola Marymount before last season, 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.

Harris struggled in his first game against the Bulldogs last season, as he shot 4-of-13 from the field and committed four turnovers in the Lions’ 92-58 loss at the Kennel back in January.

SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS: DATE TBA, VIEJAS ARENA (SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA)

The only true road game in the nonconference slate is an undetermined 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. 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.