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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga-UW basketball renewal will start in Spokane

Nigel Williams-Goss, who played for Washington in the 2014-15 season, will be playing for Gonzaga when the two teams renew their rivalry in Spokane next season on Dec. 7. (John Froschauer / Associated Press)

Gonzaga and Washington will renew their men’s basketball rivalry in Spokane.

The teams agreed in Aug. 2014 to a four-game series but didn’t nail down the site of the initial meeting. Washington announced Wednesday via twitter that the series opener will be played Dec. 7 at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Gonzaga will visit the Huskies at Alaska Airlines Arena during the 2017-18 season.

The Zags hoped to play host to the first meeting because next season’s schedule already includes an Orlando tournament and neutral-site matchups with Tennessee in Nashville and with Arizona at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Gonzaga and UW played 10 straight seasons with the Zags winning the last matchup 97-77 in 2006. GU won eight of the 10, seven by double digits. The Huskies won in 1997 and 2005, the latter by a score of 99-95.

Gonzaga handled Washington 80-64 in November at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.

Both teams will be replacing key players. The Zags lose the frontcourt tandem of Kyle Wiltjer and Domantas Sabonis and starting guards Eric McClellan and Kyle Dranginis. Nigel Williams-Goss, who sat out the 2016 season after transferring from Washington, should step into a starting role in GU’s backcourt.

Washington’s Marquese Chriss and Dejounte Murray declared for the NBA draft after standout freshmen seasons.