Gonzaga-UCLA game set for late December

The Bulldogs and Bruins renew their West Coast rivalry at the newly built Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on Dec. 28

Nov 22, 2023; Honolulu, HI, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Ben Gregg (33) drives to the basket past UCLA Bruins guard Lazar Stefanovic (10) and guard Sebastian Mack (12) during the first period at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Erler-USA TODAY Sports / Steven Erler-USA TODAY Sports

Gonzaga’s nonconference game against UCLA has been set for Dec. 28 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, the school confirmed in a news release Thursday. The pair of West Coast schools agreed on a two-year series that'll move to Climate Pledge Arena the following season on Dec. 13, 2025.

The Bulldogs and Bruins will officially meet for the fifth time in as many seasons after it was reported by Jon Rothstein that the two sides were finalizing a two-year series back in May.

The Zags have won the previous four head-to-head meetings, the most recent a 69-65 win at the 2023 Maui Invitational in November, when Anton Watson scored a career-high 32 points and shot 14-of-15 from the field at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Two of the previous four wins came in thrilling fashion — Jalen Suggs’ deep 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime knocked off the Bruins in the 2021 Final Four, followed by Julian Strawther’s go-ahead triple in the Sweet 16 round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament gave Gonzaga a 79-76 victory. 

The Bulldogs also came out with a 20-point win over the Bruins in Las Vegas during the 2021-22 season.

The next installment featuring Mark Few and Mick Cronin has another interesting storyline embedded within — Dominick Harris, a former five-star recruit at Gonzaga who transferred to Loyola Marymount before last season, committed to UCLA as a grad transfer in April. The 6-foot-3 guard led the West Coast Conference in 3-point percentage (44.8%) while leading the Lions in scoring at 14.3 points per game.

Also, four-star recruit Trent Perry committed to UCLA after he decommitted from USC. The No. 27 ranked player in the 2024 class had Gonzaga in his final list of schools before he initially chose the Trojans in October.

Cronin also reeled in two-time Pac-12 All-Defense selection Kobe Johnson (USC), former four-star recruit Eric Daily Jr. (Oklahoma State), former Kentucky commit Skye Clark (Louisville) and 6-foot-9 forward Tyler Bilodeau (Oregon State) from the transfer portal. The Bruins’ incoming class ranks No. 20 in the country according to EvanMiya.com.

Even with the new faces, UCLA returns four of its five starters from that Maui Invitational game. 

The Bulldogs will be without their leading scorer from that Nov. 22 game in Hawaii, though Mark Few still returns seven of his top eight bucket-getters from the 2023-24 campaign and added All-WCC wing Michael Ajayi (Pepperdine), grad transfer Khalif Battle (Arkansas), defensive specialist Emmanuel Innocenti (Tarleton State) and reigning Patriot League Player of the Year Braeden Smith (Colgate), the latter of whom will redshirt next season.

With the roster set, Gonzaga’s 2024-25 nonconference schedule continues to take shape heading into the thick of summer. Last week, the game against Washington slated to take place sometime in Spokane was called off. Earlier Monday, the nonconference game against Kentucky was confirmed to take place at Climate Pledge Arena in the 2024 Battle of Seattle event on Dec. 7. 

Additionally, the Zags will head down to the Bahamas for three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament, an eight-team field highlighted by Arizona, Indiana and Providence, from Nov. 27-29. A week after Kentucky, they’ll travel across the country to face back-to-back champion UConn at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 14. The only true road game in the nonconference portion of the season against San Diego State at the Viejas Arena has yet to be determined. 

The Bulldogs' lone nonconference home game to this point is against Nicholls State out of the Southland Conference on Dec. 18.

Game time and ticket information for the Dec. 28 game will be announced in the coming weeks. Fans can stay up to date and receive presale access by registering atwww.intuitdome.com/hoops2024.