Tickets available for Gonzaga, UConn showdown in Seattle

The Zags-Huskies matchup is the first of a two-year home-and-home series between the programs

The Elite Eight rematch is official. 

The Gonzaga Bulldogs and UConn Huskies will play Dec. 15 at Climate Pledge Arena in the Continental Tire Seattle Tip-Off. Tip time for the showdown is set for 7 p.m. PT and will be televised on ESPN2.

Tickets will go on sale on Oct. 20, but fans can register to gain early access through a presale event on Oct. 19 by signing up here. 

The Dec. 15 matchup is the first of a two-year home-and-home series between the two programs. Madison Square Garden in New York City will host Gonzaga-UConn during the 2024-25 season, though an official date has yet to be determined.

An impressive second-half run powered the Huskies past the Bulldogs in last season's Elite Eight meeting en route to winning the 2023 National Championship. UConn's dominant run through the tournament marked the fifth time since 1985 that a team won each of its NCAA Tournament games by double digits.

But it won't be the same faces leading both squads when they meet in Seattle.

Gonzaga, ranked No. 7 in ESPN's preseason Top 25 rankings, lost several key pieces from last season, including Drew Timme and Julian Strawther. Mark Few rebuilt the roster over the offseason through the transfer portal and international recruits. The Zags landed Steele Venters (Eastern Washington), Ryan Nembhard (Creighton) and Graham Ike (Wyoming) to mix with returners Anton Watson and Nolan Hickman in the starting lineup. Few also got late commitments from Croatian guard Luka Krajnovic and Serbian forward Pavle Stosic, while freshman Dusty Stromer and Korean forward Jun Seok Yeo look to make their debuts as well. Ben Gregg and Braden Huff are also back to bolster the frontcourt.

Preseason No. 5 UConn returns three of five starters to gel with a top-five 2023 recruiting class. Dan Hurley brought back Tristen Newton, Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan while snagging Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer, who led the Scarlet Knights in scoring at 13.2 points per game. Top-20 recruit Stephon Castle should make an impact right away as well.

The Continental Tire Seattle Tip-Off is one of many early-season college basketball events put on by Intersport, a Chicago-based agency that will also host the Legends of Basketball Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 2. The event will feature Gonzaga vs. USC and Washington vs. Colorado State at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The Bulldogs' season begins with the annual Kraziness in the Kennel event on Saturday before opening night against Yale on Nov. 10. 

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