Once Again, Gu Faces Tough Tests On The Road Basketball Schedule, Minus Unwilling Washington State, Still Not Complete

Some things about Gonzaga’s 2000-2001 men’s basketball schedule haven’t changed from last season, when the Bulldogs finished 26-9 after losing to Purdue in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

The Zags, despite the graduation loss of five key seniors, will once again play a couple of perennial national powers and potential top-10 teams. And they will once again go on the road to do so. GU, will play the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., on Nov. 29, and the University of Florida in Sunrise, Fla., on Dec. 16 in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic.

“Those should be two great challenges,” said Mark Few, the Bulldogs’ second-year coach, who is still trying to find two more games to fill this year’s work-in-progress schedule.

“But just like we’ve found in the past, we’ve got to agree to play on the road to get those kinds of games.

“We just can’t get those high-profile schools to play us in Spokane.”

The Bulldogs can’t even get Washington State to play them in Spokane. Not even in the Arena, where the two teams have met four of the last five years. Cougars coach Paul Graham, according to Few, nixed the WSU-GU matchup - for this year, at least.

“I’m disappointed, mainly for the basketball fan in Spokane,” said Few. “A lot of people can’t get into The Kennel to watch us play, and this gave some of them a chance to see us in the Arena.”

The Cougars lost to the Bulldogs 73-63 in the Arena last November.

Few said the two schools are still talking about resuming the rivalry next year, but details have yet to be worked out.

The loss of the WSU game left the Bulldogs with another hole on a schedule that is becoming increasingly difficult to put together. Two dates remain vacant, but Few recently agreed to a home-and-home deal with New Mexico. The Lobos will play GU in the Arena on Jan. 2 in return for a 2002 rematch at The Pit in Albuquerque, N.M.

Few had originally hoped to bring Rhode Island into the mix as part of a three-team deal, but things didn’t work out.

What is certain is that the Bulldogs will open their season at Eastern Washington University on Nov. 17. Non-conference home games are scheduled at Martin Centre for Nov. 19 against Wisconsin-Green Bay, Nov. 25 against Idaho, Dec. 2 against Washington and Dec. 30 against Monmouth.

Other non-conference road games include trips to Montana (Dec. 6), Boise State (Dec. 9) and Wisconsin-Green Bay (Dec. 19).

The Bulldogs open West Coast Conference play on Jan. 12 at San Francisco. Few said he is confident this year’s team, despite losing three-time All-WCC point guard Matt Santangelo, WCC scoring leader Richie Frahm and three other valuable seniors to graduation, can deal with any adversity that might arise from such a demanding schedule.

“Everybody looks at what we lost, but I know what we’ve got coming back,” he explained. “I think our front line, with Casey (Calvary), Zach (Gourde) and Mark Spink, is as solid as any in the WCC. And I think Dan Dickau is a lot better than people think.”

Dickau, a junior transfer from Washington, will replace Santangelo at the point.

Whatever transpires this winter, there will be big things happening on the Bulldogs’ schedule the next two years. According to Few, the Zags will play in the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage in 2001 and in the Maui Classic in Honolulu in 2002. Other teams scheduled to play in Anchorage include St. John’s, Indiana, Tennessee and Texas. Kentucky, Indiana, Massachusetts, Utah, Arizona State and Virginia will play in the Maui Classic.

“It’s literally a list of Who’s Who in college basketball,” Few said of the tournament fields. “Being able to play those team on a neutral floor is huge, instead of having to play on their home courts with their officials. It really levels the playing field.”