Report: Gonzaga, Baylor will meet in first week of 2024-25 college basketball season

Bulldogs and Bears could face off in Las Vegas during the opening week of the season, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander

Dec 2, 2022; Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Nolan Hickman (11) watches a three point attempt against Baylor Bears guard Keyonte George (1) in the second half at Sanford Pentagon. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports / Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

A ranked matchup between Gonzaga and Baylor is reportedly set to take place during the opening week of the 2024-25 college basketball season, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.

During a podcast with Gary Parrish that was released Tuesday, Norlander reviewed the Bears’ nonconference schedule and said that while the game has not been announced yet, a rematch of the 2021 national championship game could take place on a neutral site court in Las Vegas.

“They’re gonna play Gonzaga barring something falling through — which won’t happen, [Mark] Few and Scott Drew are very, very tight,” Norlander said. “They’re gonna play Gonzaga in the first week of the season. Sounds like that game’s location is to be determined … I think Sin City is going to be the spot for Gonzaga-Baylor in the first week of the season.”

Based on how both nonleague schedules look, the Zags and Bears could meet up anytime from Nov. 4, the official start of the new college hoops season, to Nov. 8. Gonzaga has a home game slated for Nov. 10 against fellow Big 12 school Arizona State, which officially joined the conference this offseason, while Baylor has a home game against Sam Houston State penciled in for Nov. 12. 

The probable top 25 matchup would be quite the start to the season for two teams hoping to make deep NCAA Tournament runs in 2025. Baylor, which has finished in the top 16 of KenPom in each of the last five seasons, is projected to continue that trend as the No. 14 team in Bart Torvik’s 2024-25 projections. Despite losing four of five starters from last season’s 24-11 team, Drew brought in quite the riches of talent this offseason to make up for the losses.

Miami transfer Norchad Omier, a 6-foot-7 wing who averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds per game in 2023-24, along with former Duke product Jeremy Roach, an All-ACC guard last season, headline an incoming transfer portal class that’s ranked No. 13 in the nation according to EvanMiya.com. Even more impressive perhaps is the Bears’ 2024 recruiting class, ranked No. 4 in the country on 247Sports, which is highlighted by five-star wing and probable NBA lottery pick, VJ Edgecombe, as well as four-stars Rob Wright and Jason Asemota.

Drew’s also brought back 6-foot-4 guard Jayden Nunn, who started all 35 games as a junior, and 6-foot-5 wing Langston Love. Baylor is ranked No. 6 on ESPN’s way-too-early top 25 rankings and is No. 7 on CBS Sports’ Top 25 and 1 from Parrish. 

The Zags, just behind the Bears in Parrish’s rankings at No. 8, return seven of their top eight scorers from last season’s Sweet 16 squad and brought in a talented transfer portal class of their own. Pepperdine transfer and All-WCC wing Michael Ajayi is a candidate to start, while Arkansas grad transfer Khalif Battle and Tarleton State transfer Emmanuel Innocenti bring much-needed help to the backcourt with scoring and defensive versatility.

Gonzaga and Baylor last met in a closed door scrimmage in Phoenix, Arizona, in October 2023. Nolan Hickman and Anton Watson led the way with 17 points apiece while Nunn had 16 for the Bears, who also featured eventual first round pick Ja’Kobe Walter. The two schools also met in a nonconference showdown in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, during the 2022-23 season, which Baylor came out on top, 64-63.

The Bulldogs’ 2024-25 nonleague schedule is even more loaded with the addition of Baylor to the slate. After heading down to California to face San Diego State at the Viejas Arena (Nov. 18), Gonzaga also faces Kentucky in Seattle on Dec. 7, followed by a game at Madison Square Garden against back-to-back champion UConn (Dec. 14) and a matchup against West Coast rival UCLA at the newly built Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California (Dec. 28). The Battle 4 Atlantis, featuring Arizona, Indiana and Providence, will take place Nov. 27-29.

Including home games against the Sun Devils (Nov. 10) and Nicholls State (Dec. 18), Gonzaga can schedule up to three more nonleague games in accordance to NCAA rules, which states a team can play 28 regular season games plus three in-season tournament games.