UW-Zags won’t play next season

The winner of the Washington-Gonzaga basketball game Saturday in Spokane will hold the bragging rights longer than usual.

Washington coach Lorenzo Romar confirmed Wednesday that the schools will not meet next season, and he said any resumption of the series remains unsettled.

Washington expects to travel to Texas A&M next season as part of a new Pacific-10-Big 12 Conference challenge.

Romar said that, along with a visit to Louisiana State, a home game against Pittsburgh and an expected appearance in the Preseason NIT will provide enough big-time opponents without another game against perennially ranked Gonzaga.

“I would say (our schedule) is just too crowded (as a member of the Pac-10 Conference),” Romar said. “If we were an independent like Notre Dame or DePaul used to be … we’d probably do it. But we play in one of the toughest conferences in the country here, and …… With our scheduling philosophy we’ve always talked about how in your non-conference you have to get a lot of things done.”

Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth has expressed eagerness to continue the series or resume it as soon as possible.