Report: Gonzaga lines up Oklahoma for Nov. 8 game at Spokane Arena

Gonzaga has added another marquee game to its men’s basketball schedule that won’t require leaving town.

The Zags will face Oklahoma on Nov. 8 at the Arena, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. The Sooners are coming off their first NCAA Tournament appearance in coach Porter Moser’s fourth season at the helm.

Gonzaga’s nonconference schedule is filling up with quality opponents, including UCLA at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle; Kentucky in Nashville, Tennessee; Baylor at a to-be-determined site; a road game against Arizona State; and a loaded 18-team field at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.

Gonzaga and Oklahoma were in the Battle 4 Atlantis last November but didn’t play each other. The Zags dropped their opener to West Virginia before rebounding to beat Indiana and Davidson. Oklahoma won the title after close wins against Providence, Arizona and Louisville.

The Sooners won their first 13 games and climbed to No. 12 in the AP poll before losing 107-79 to Alabama in their SEC debut. Oklahoma (20-14 overall) dropped its first four conference games and finished 6-12 to share 13th place with Texas.

The ninth-seeded Sooners fell to No. 8 UConn 67-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Oklahoma is reshaping its roster with star freshman guard Jeremiah Fears a projected lottery pick, four players exiting in the transfer portal and five exhausting their eligibility.

The Sooners have added four transfers – Notre Dame forward Tae Davis, Miami guard Nijel Pack, Alabama forward Derrion Reid and St. Joseph’s guard Xzayvier Brown.

Davis was Notre Dame’s second-leading scorer at 15.1 points per game. Pack has a career average of 14.3 points on 40.3% 3-point shooting in 122 games at Kansas State and Miami.

Reid, a 2024 McDonald’s All-American, averaged 6.0 points and 2.8 rebounds as a freshman with the Crimson Tide. Brown was first-team All-Atlantic 10 after averaging 17.6 points, fourth in the conference.

Gonzaga opened last season with a 101-63 rout over Baylor in a top-10 matchup Nov. 4 at the Arena. College basketball’s opening date this season is Nov. 3.

Gonzaga is 3-1 against Oklahoma. The Zags rolled to an 87-71 victory in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Drew Timme scored 30 points while OU’s Austin Reaves, who recently completed his fourth season with the Los Angeles Lakers, scored 27.

GU beat the Sooners 72-47 in the semifinals en route to winning the 2012 Old Spice Classic near Orlando, Florida. In the lone series meeting in Spokane, Gonzaga won 83-69 at the Arena on Dec. 31, 2009. The game was delayed for 45 minutes after Oklahoma 300-pound forward Keith “Tiny” Gallon shattered the backboard on a foiled dunk attempt after Robert Sacre had tipped the ball away.

The Sooners won the first meeting 72-68 in 2007 in Oklahoma City.