Report: Gonzaga, UConn agree to multiyear series beginning with 2023-24 game in Seattle

Gonzaga continues to load up its nonconference schedule, adding a game against the reigning national champions, and the team that ended the Bulldogs’ run at the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

The Bulldogs and UConn have reportedly agreed to a multiyear series that will bring the NCAA champion Huskies to Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena during the 2023-24 season, according to CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein.

Gonzaga and UConn will play in New York, at Madison Square Garden, during the 2024-25 season. Official dates and times for both games haven’t been determined.

Dan Hurley’s team is expected to return a few key pieces from a team that won all six NCAA Tournament games by double figures and finished with a 20.6 points per game margin of victory.

That included an 82-54 rout of Gonzaga in the Elite Eight, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Huskies led by as many 33 points , held the Bulldogs to their lowest 3-point shooting percentage of the year (2 for 20) and kept forward Drew Timme to just 12 points as the All-American dealt with foul trouble.

Both rosters should look different ahead of next year’s rematch at Climate Pledge Arena in downtown Seattle, home of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. Gonzaga’s expected to lose at least six of the 10 players who appeared in the Elite Eight matchup, including senior starters Timme, and Rasir Bolton, and junior Julian Strawther, a projected NBA draft pick.

With those losses and departures of Hunter Sallis (Wake Forest), Efton Reid (Wake Forest) and Dominick Harris (Loyola Marymount), Gonzaga was not widely projected to be a top-15 team until the Bulldogs added Creighton point guard Ryan Nembhard, Wyoming forward Graham Ike and Eastern Washington wing Steele Venters in the transfer portal.

UConn is losing at least two starters from the national championship team – guard Jordan Hawkins and center Adama Sanogo – but both teams are waiting on key decisions from players who’ve entered their names in the NBA draft.

The Bulldogs could still return starting forward Anton Watson and West Coast Conference Sixth Man of the Year Malachi Smith. Andre Jackson Jr. and Tristen Newton could still come back for another season at UConn.

The Huskies are bringing in one of the top recruiting classes in school history, featuring five-star combo guard Stephon Castle, four-star forward Jaylin Stewart of Seattle’s Garfield High and two other four-star prospects.

The Huskies checked in at No. 5 in ESPN’s most recent way-too-early preseason Top 25 poll and the Bulldogs were at No. 8.

Coming off a season in which they played one of the strongest nonconference schedules in program history, the Bulldogs will face another challenging slate in 2023-24, including road dates with Kentucky and Washington along with a trip to the Maui Invitational. Other teams at the Maui tournament include Kansas, Marquette, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, UCLA and Chaminade.

Gonzaga and Alabama played in the first marquee college basketball game at the Climate Pledge venue two seasons ago. The building also hosted NCAA women’s Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games last season.

Gonzaga, UW set date

Seattle-based Gonzaga fans can make plans to see the Bulldogs twice in their next season.

Gonzaga’s multiyear series against Washington will continue with a Dec. 9 game at the Huskies’ Alaska Airlines Arena, according to a report from Bracketeer.com’s Rocco Miller.

Due to a COVID-19 cancellation in 2021-22, the Bulldogs and Huskies elected to extend their four-game series, which started last season with a game at McCarthey Athletic Center. Gonzaga and Washington will return to Spokane for the 2024-25 season and conclude the series with a 2025-26 game in Seattle.

The Bulldogs picked up a 77-60 win in last year’s game and have won seven straight in the series.