SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University's men's basketball team will tip off the season Friday when Southern Utah University visits the McCarthey Athletic Center for a 6 p.m. tip.

It will be the first meeting between the clubs since Nov. 3, 1996, when the Bulldogs opened the season in Cedar City, Utah, and were handed a 71-47 thrashing at the hands of the Thunderbirds. The starting point guard for the Zags that night was freshman Matt Santangelo, current analyst on the IMG Radio Network. Santangelo and the Zags would go 15-12 that season, advance to the second round of the NIT the following season and then begin Gonzaga's current run of 14 straight NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999.