May 9 – Gonzaga continues to add big names to both its roster and its non-conference schedule ahead of what should be a highly anticipated 2024-25 season for Mark Few and the Bulldogs.
Gonzaga and UCLA, two West Coast college powers that have become nearly inseparable over the past half-decade, have drummed up more enthusiasm for the 2024-25 season by agreeing to a two-year non-conference run, according to a report from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.
The Zags and Bruins will open the series this fall in Inglewood, Calif., with a game at the Intuit Dome, the new home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers. The return game will take place during the 2025-26 season at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena.
According to the CBS report, the dates and times of both games are yet to be determined.
College basketball fans have been able to plan for regular matchups between Gonzaga and UCLA over the past two decades. This has become especially frequent since 2020-21, when the Bulldogs and Bruins faced off in an epic Final Four showdown that culminated in Jalen Suggs’ famous 3-pointer in the second overtime.
The teams have faced each other in each of the three years since then, all producing the same result, and UCLA will look to snap out of a four-game losing streak when the Bruins and Zags meet next season.
Gonzaga scored an 83-63 victory over UCLA in the 2022 Empire Classic in Las Vegas, when the teams were respectively ranked first and second in the country. There was another memorable NCAA Tournament meeting the following season, when the Bulldogs and Bruins met in the Sweet 16, also played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Gonzaga rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit before Julian Strawther hit a 3-pointer with 7.2 seconds left to lift the Bulldogs to a 79-76 victory.
During the last meeting between the programs, Gonzaga’s Anton Watson scored a career-high 32 points and guided the Bulldogs to a 69-65 victory on the final day of the Maui Invitational in Honolulu.
Gonzaga owns a 7-2 record in the series, winning four straight against UCLA and five of the last six.
With the exception of Watson, Gonzaga returns seven of the eight players who played in the last meeting between the schools. The Bulldogs have also made some key additions to the transfer portal, adding Pepperdine guard Michael Ajayi and recently landing a commitment from Arkansas guard Khalif Battle.
The UCLA roster has undergone significant changes since the Bruins failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament and finished the season with a losing record (16-17) for the first time since 2015-16.
Sixth-year coach Mick Cronin is flush with transfers. One of the most notable is former Gonzaga guard Dominick Harris, who averaged 14.3 points and shot 44% from 3-point range last season at Loyola Marymount before missing down the stretch. season due to injury. Harris scored 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the field during LMU’s game against Gonzaga, but missed the return game in Los Angeles.
Cronin’s transfer class also includes USC forward Kobe Johnson, Louisville guard Skyy Clarke, Oklahoma State forward Eric Dailey Jr., Oregon State forward Tyler Bilodeau and South Dakota State forward William Kyle III.
The Bruins recently signed Harvard Westlake guard and Gatorade California Player of the Year Trent Perry, a former USC signee who once named Gonzaga as one of his six finalists.
UCLA also returns contributors from last year’s team, including guards Dylan Andrews, Sebastian Mack, Brandon Williams and Lazar Stefanovic, along with offensive players Aday Mara and Devin Williams.
Both teams have appeared in several very early college basketball polls, with Gonzaga coming in at No. 4 in ESPN’s most recent rankings and UCLA at No. 19.
Other highlights of Gonzaga’s non-conference schedule include a trip to the Battle 4 Atlantis, where the Bulldogs could face Arizona, Indiana, Louisville, Creighton, West Virginia, Oklahoma or Davidson over three days, and neutral-site games against the current national champion. UConn at New York’s Madison Square Guard and Kentucky at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena.
The Bulldogs are also scheduled to host Washington and travel to face San Diego State at Viejas Arena.
