Gonzaga, USC basketball finalizing charity exhibition game in Palm Springs: Report

Zags reportedly book rematch with new-look Trojans in Palm Springs

Dec 2, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Ryan Nembhard (left) and Southern California Trojans guard Kobe Johnson battle for the ball during the Legends of Basketball Las Vegas Invitational at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Gonzaga men's basketball is reportedly in talks to finalize an exhibition game with a power conference foe.

Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 reported Wednesday evening that the Zags and USC will play a charity game in late October in Palm Springs, California and, without broadcast details, could offer fans the first chance to see Gonzaga against a real opponent.

The matchup agains the new Big 10 entrant will take place on Oct. 26-27, Goodman said, which puts it in between Gonzaga's Kraziness in the Kennel fan fest (Oct. 5) and its season-opener against Baylor on Nov. 4.

It is set to take place at Acrisure Arena, an 11,000-seat venue in Palm Desert.

The event will reportedly help the cardiovascular care unit at Eisenhower Hospital in Rancho Mirage, according to Goodman, and that a date would be finalized next week.

Gonzaga beat USC 89-76 last December and will face a nearly completely different looking Trojans team.

Arkansas' Eric Musselman was hired to replace Andy Enfield, who left for SMU after 11 seasons. Musselman has taken the Razorbacks to the last three Sweet 16s (and the Elite 8 in 2022), but steps into a team that lost its top nine scorers from a season ago.

USC will look a lot different than last year after losing leading scorers Boogie Ellis and Isaiah Collier, as well as guard Bronny James to the pros and an exodus of contributors to the transfer portal.

Kobe Johnson (UCLA), Vincent Iwuchukwu (St. John's), Oziyah Sellers (Stanford) and Kijani Wright (Vanderbilt) are among those who left.

Harrison Hornery, a 6-foot-10 junior forward who averaged 3.3 points and 2.1 rebounds and 10.7 minutes per game, is the team's top returning contributor.

But Musselman has quickly beefed the roster back up, adding 11 players via transfer — and a lot of proven scoring capability — headlined by Xavier transfer guard Desmond Claude (16.6 points, 4.2 boards per game), former Michigan forward Terrance Williams (12.4 points, 4.5 boards per game) and Chibuzo Agdo, a Texas Tech/Boise State product who averaged 13.6 points, 5.1 boards and shot 41 percent from 3 last year.