Gonzaga to play Baylor in preseason scrimmage

The Bulldogs and Bears will square off in Denver

The new-look Gonzaga Bulldogs will have quite the test before the 2023-24 college basketball season officially tips off.

Gonzaga Nation has confirmed that No. 11 Gonzaga will face No. 20 Baylor in a closed-door scrimmage in Denver, Colorado. The scrimmage date and time have not been made official, though the matchup will not count in the standings and rankings.

It will be the first time seeing transfers Steele Venters (Eastern Washington), Ryan Nembhard (Creighton) and Graham Ike (Wyoming) compete together against high-level competition. Nembhard is familiar with the Bears from his 30-point masterpiece in the second round of last season's NCAA Tournament, though Scott Drew's program won't look the same this season.

Baylor lost its top three scorers, as Keyonte George (15.3 points per game) and Adam Flager (15.6 ppg) departed for the NBA while LJ Cryer (15.0 ppg) transferred to Houston. Scott Drew brought in Toledo transfer Rayl Dennis, a 6-foot-2 guard who nearly averaged 20 points per game last season. Aside from offense, the Bears will look to tighten up defensively after being last in defensive efficiency in Big 12 play.

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Baylor has won two straight head-to-head meetings against Gonzaga, including a 64-63 victory last season in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The neutral site matchup was a rematch of the 2021 National Championship game when the Bears routed the Zags, 86-70. 

Closed-door scrimmages have become a common scheduling tactic for Mark Few over the years as another way to prepare his program for the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs and Bears tied in a scrimmage back in 2016 months before Gonzaga's first national championship appearance. Michigan State has been a common preseason foe, as the Zags and Spartans played in 2018 and 2019.

Mark Few says Graham Ike should be ready for Gonzaga's opener