‘We should probably play.’ Gonzaga, Oregon set to meet in long-awaited series between prominent PNW programs

PORTLAND – In some cases, nonconference scheduling requires years of planning, strategy and dialogue.

In others, compelling nonleague matchups between the best programs in college basketball materialize out of thin air.

The origins of Sunday’s Northwest Elite Showdown matchup between No. 7 Gonzaga and Oregon? A drinking hole in San Antonio, Texas, not far from where Florida, Houston, Duke and Auburn were playing for national championship game spots this April at the Alamodome.

Gonzaga’s Mark Few and wife Marcy were making the rounds when they stumbled into Oregon coach Dana Altman. The terms of a two-game, neutral-site series – starting Sunday at the Moda Center (3 p.m., Peacock), followed by a 2027 or 2028 game at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena – weren’t exactly hashed out on a bar napkin, but Few and Altman initially broached the idea of playing in San Antonio. Preliminary discussions evolved into concrete plans months later.

“Well, I remember we had a couple beers standing there talking,” Altman said last month on a Zoom call. “We were both disappointed the way our seasons ended and so (at) the Final Four, you kind of drown in your sorrows a little bit because no one ends, except for one team, the way you want. But we had a discussion there that we probably should play.”

Altman (786 wins) and Few (753) respectively rank No. 5 and 6 in total wins among active NCAA Division I coaches. Oregon and Gonzaga are two of just four programs on the West Coast that have made the Final Four this century. Their campuses are separated by just 460 miles – a fraction of the distance Oregon has to travel for road games in the Big Ten. They’ve only played once with Few and Altman at the helm, but that was a chance meeting at the 2019 Battle 4 Atlantis.

A nonleague series felt long overdue.

“I think it just – this is kind of sometimes how these games happen,” Few said. “… Had a great talk and then I think we touched base again a little bit later and just said gosh, we have an opening, you have an opening. … So this one just happened to be able to fit in to not only our dates, but also just the balance of the schedule of who you’re playing and also playing as many home games as you can to feed the beast, as I say.”

The Gonzaga coach has an extensive network of coaching friends and colleagues he respects, but Few’s admiration and appreciation for Altman runs particularly deep. Few was born and raised in the small Lane County town of Creswell, located just 18 miles from Oregon, which meant rooting for the Ducks was essentially a birthright.

“I grew up staying up till 11:30 or whatever at night to watch Ronnie Lee and Greg Ballard and all those guys,” Few told Portland-based radio host John Canzano earlier this week. “When I was a kid, I’d keep stats on my little stuff and there was no ESPN, there wasn’t anything. You’d watch it on whatever it was, KEZI or something late at night, tape delayed.

“Obviously going to Oregon, I’m happy and proud what he’s done with that program. It’s been amazing, it’s been the greatest run in my opinion – not even my opinion, it’s just been the greatest run for basketball down there at that school.”

This season may not go down as one of Altman’s greatest, though. The 16th-year coach has a knack for orchestrating mid-year transformations, but the Ducks (6-5) might require something even greater if they hope to punch Altman’s 10th NCAA Tournament ticket at the school. Oregon is winless against teams ranked inside the top 100 at KenPom.com and the Ducks dropped five consecutive games from Nov. 24 to Dec. 6, losing all but one by double figures.

Oregon’s skid included a 76-66 defeat to Creighton, which lost 90-63 to Gonzaga two weeks earlier, and an 84-73 setback to the UCLA team the Zags beat in Seattle, 82-72, last Saturday.

“Gonzaga’s a lot further along than us. It’s going to be a tough game. They’re well-coached, they’re really talented, they’re really deep,” Altman said. “We’re going to have to play our A-plus game, we’re going to have to handle the ball, not going to have to give them second shots. They’re good enough on their first possession; they don’t need a second one. We’re going to have to play our tails off.”

Two former Gonzaga recruits, guard Jackson Shelstad and forward Nate Bittle, return to Oregon’s roster as All-Big Ten first-team selections. Both have worked through injuries during nonconference play and Altman indicated Bittle still isn’t moving the way he was prior to suffering an ankle injury against San Diego State at the Players Era Festival. Bittle had 18 points in Wednesday’s game against Portland, but he was contained to only three points – on 0 of 11 shooting – in Oregon’s last game against a quality opponent.

“They’re really talented inside,” Altman said of Gonzaga. “We’re going to have to protect the rim a lot better than we’re doing.”

Braden Huff (19 points per game) and Graham Ike (17) are hitting on all the right notes for Gonzaga ahead of the team’s nonconference finale. One of those two has scored at least 24 points in each of the last four games. They combined for 48 points against Kentucky, 45 against UCLA and 51 against Campbell, thanks mostly to Huff’s career-high 37-point game.

“We’re really excited for the opportunity. Oregon’s a good team, dealt with some injuries this year and I think they’ll be fully healthy against us,” Huff said. “It’s going to be a fun one. We know we’re going to get their best, they’re going to get our best. We’ll be ready to go Sunday.”

It will be the 27th all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Oregon, but first since 2019 when the Zags outlasted the Ducks 73-72 in overtime, and the first matchup in the continental U.S. since 1983. Gonzaga is 5-2 all-time at the Moda Center/Rose Garden.