Sept. 3, 2015 Complete 2015-16 Schedule
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Gonzaga men's basketball head coach Mark Few announced his squad's 13-game non-conference schedule for the upcoming season on Wednesday.
The non-conference slate is loaded with perennial powers in Arizona and UCLA and a pair of true road games at Washington State and SMU. In the span of two weeks to open the season, the Zags will play in the annual Armed Forces Classic in Okinawa, Japan, come home for a pair and then hit the Caribbean for the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
All-told, Gonzaga's full schedule will include at least five matchups with teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season, and a potential for a sixth with a possible Battle 4 Atlantis matchup with Texas. Of the five remaining matchups, two are with West Coast Conference foe BYU, and the remaining three are with Arizona, UCLA and SMU. Those three teams combined to win five games in the NCAA Tournament last season.
Of the teams on Gonzaga's non-conference schedule, all but one finished with at least a .500 record. That leaves at least nine games against .500 or better, and possibly as many as 11 depending on the results of GU's Battle 4 Atlantis games. Of those initial nine, five teams won at least 20 games in 2015.
"The strength of this schedule is in the top two or three schedules we've put together and when you factor in travel, it makes it even tougher," Few said. "The schedule puts us in great events that are high exposure with high-level opponents. It will serve us well in building our resume for the NCAA Tournament."
After an exhibition at home against Eastern Oregon on Nov. 7, GU's trip to Japan will officially open the regular season in the Armed Forces Classic at the United States Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler against Pittsburgh Nov. 13 on ESPN at 4 p.m.
Gonzaga will return to the McCarthey Athletic Center for the regular season home opener against Northern Arizona on Nov. 18. The game will renew an old Big Sky Conference rivalry, with the last meeting between the teams coming in 1979.
GU hosts Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 21 as part of the Battle 4 Atlantis before departing for the Bahamas to compete in the B4A's eight-team tournament. The Zags will be joined by Texas, Texas A&M, Michigan, Syracuse, UConn, Washington and Charlotte. Tournament play will run Nov. 25-27 in Atlantis' Imperial Arena and the Zags will take on Washington in the first round on ESPN.
Upon returning to the States, Gonzaga will make the short trek to Washington State to face the Cougars on Dec. 2. Last season, GU defeated WSU 81-66 at Spokane Arena behind 20-point efforts from returning big men Przemek Karnowski (22) and Kyle Wiltjer (21).
After that, the Zags will be back at McCarthey for the next four games, including visiting Pac-12 opponents Arizona and UCLA in the second part of a pair of home-and-home series. Gonzaga, who'll face UA on Dec. 5 on ESPN at 12:15 p.m., fell 66-63 in overtime to the Wildcats in Tucson last season. One week later, the Bruins will travel to Spokane looking to avenge a pair of Zag wins last season. That game is slated for Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. GU beat UCLA 87-74 in Los Angeles and 74-62 in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament in Houston, Texas. Both teams will be making their first trip to Gonzaga.
Those games will be sandwiched around a home contest with Montana on December 8. The Zags and Grizzlies last played in 2008 with GU taking a 77-54 win at home to give them nine straight wins in the all-time series.
Gonzaga will wrap up the home portion of its non-conference schedule with Saint Martin's on December 14th before hitting the road to Seattle for the annual Battle in Seattle. GU will host Tennessee in this season's BIS at KeyArena on Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. on ESPNU. Last season, Gonzaga won its fourth straight Battle in Seattle, beating Cal Poly 68-59 in front of a crowd of 11,741.
The remaining non-conference game on the schedule is a road trip to Dallas, Texas, to face SMU on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 during a break in West Coast Conference play. Gonzaga hosted the Mustangs last season in a top-25 matchup, and came away with an impressive 72-56 victory.
Gonzaga is coming off a school-record 35-3 season accompanied by a record 22-game win streak, WCC regular season and tournament titles, and a trip to the Elite Eight. The Zags return leading scorer Kyle Wiltjer, leading rebounder Domantas Sabonis and two-year starter Przemek Karnowski. All three were All-WCC performers, with Wiltjer earning multiple All-America honors.
For more information on tickets for the Battle in Seattle, Battle 4 Atlantis or other away games, visit www.GoZags.com/tickets or call (509) 313-6000.
