Gonzaga to play USC in Legends of Basketball Las Vegas Invitational

The Bulldogs' nonconference schedule is almost complete

The Gonzaga Bulldogs and USC Trojans will headline the Legends of Basketball Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 2. The West Coast powerhouses are scheduled to meet at MGM Grand Garden Arena in a battle of preseason top-25 teams. 

The college basketball doubleheader is scheduled to tip off at 4 p.m. PT when Colorado State and Washington meet on CBS Sports Network, with the Zags and Trojans taking the court at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Tickets for the event will go on sale on Oct. 13, with a one-day presale event on Oct. 12. 

USC, which tips off the season in Las Vegas against Kansas State on Nov. 6, is one of Gonzaga's five confirmed preseason top 25 teams on its 2023-24 nonconference slate. The Zags could potentially have matchups against Tennessee, Kansas, UCLA or Marquette at the 2023 Maui Invitational in November as well.

It will be the fourth all-time meeting between Gonzaga and USC. The Bulldogs came out victorious in the previous matchup, an Elite Eight showdown in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, though the Trojans won the previous two matchups.

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The Trojans, ranked No. 21 in ESPN's preseason top 25 rankings, boast one of the top recruiting classes in the country heading into the 2023-24 college basketball season. After earning its third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance last season, USC welcomes five-star point guard Isaiah Collier (No. 1 recruit on 247Sports Composite) and top-five combo guard Bronny James (No. 22 on 247Sports Composite) to headline the No. 3 2023 recruiting class in the country. Additionally, the Trojans brought back leading scorer Boogie Ellis (17.7 points per game) and landed former Washington State forward DJ Rodman in the transfer portal.

The Zags, ranked No. 7 in ESPN's preseason rankings, brought in a handful of transfers and international recruits over the offseason, headlined by Steele Venters (Eastern Washington), Graham Ike (Wyoming) and Ryan Nembhard (Creighton) to pair with returners Anton Watson, Nolan Hickman and Ben Gregg. Mark Few also landed foreigners Luka Krajnovic (Croatia) and Pavle Stosic (Serbia). Four-star recruit Dusty Stromer and Korean forward Jun Seok Yeo also look to make their Gonzaga debuts.