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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga set to host WAC opponent Southern Utah on Nov. 17

The Gonzaga student section covers up during Long Beach State player introductions during a NCAA college basketball game with Long Beach State, Wed., Nov. 20, 2024, at the McCarthey Athletic Center. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)
By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com(509) 459-5584

Add Southern Utah to the group of nonconference opponents visiting Gonzaga during the 2025-26 basketball season.

The Thunderbirds are set to visit McCarthey Athletic Center on Nov. 17, according to the program’s nonconference schedule announced on Wednesday. A tipoff time and television broadcast details will both be released at a later date.

Gonzaga’s game against Southern Utah could be the Zags’ last contest before traveling to the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, where Mark Few’s team will play three games in three days.

Southern Utah’s trip to Spokane is part of a two-game swing to the Inland Northwest that will also see the Thunderbirds travel to Washington State for a game on Nov. 19.

Led by first-year coach Rob Jeter, Southern Utah is the fourth known nonconference opponent to visit Gonzaga during nonconference play. The Zags are also hosting Texas Southern (Nov. 3), Creighton (Nov. 11) and Campbell (Dec. 17).

The Thunderbirds finished 12-19 overall and 4-12 last season in WAC play, landing at No. 8 in the conference standings. Southern Utah will play one more season in the WAC before joining the Big Sky Conference as a full-time member in 2026-27.

Jeter is overhauling Southern Utah’s roster and is tasked with replacing every rotation player from last year’s team. The Thunderbirds reloaded through the transfer portal, adding a group of players that includes Jacksonville’s Zach Bell, UNLV’s Isaiah Cottrell, Holy Cross’ Jaiden Feroah, Fresno State’s Chuks Isitua and Long Island’s Jalen Lee.

It’ll be Gonzaga’s fourth game against Southern Utah and first since 2013. The Zags are 2-1 in the all-time series, winning games in 1996 and 2013 but losing to the Thunderbirds in blowout fashion, 71-47, during the 1997-98 season.

Gonzaga’s Tyon Grant-Foster, a transfer from Grand Canyon who’s still seeking an eligibility waiver from the NCAA, has history against Southern Utah from his time in the WAC. Grant-Foster scored 23 points in his only game against the Thunderbirds last season and averaged 22.5 ppg in two games against Southern Utah the year prior.

Emmanuel Innocenti, who transferred to GU last season after one season at Tarleton State, had 13 total points in two matchups with the Thunderbirds during the 2023-24 campaign.