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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga’s final season in West Coast Conference opens Dec. 28 at Pepperdine

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Braden Huff (34) moves the ball into the paint against Saint Mary’s Gaels forward Paulius Murauskas (23) during the second half of the WCC Tournament Championship on Tuesday, Mar. 11, 2025, at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. Gonzaga won the game 58-51. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com(509) 459-5584

Gonzaga fans can start attaching dates to the previously announced West Coast Conference men’s basketball pairings.

The Zags will play 18 games over 10 weeks during their 36th and final season in the WCC, according to the schedule released by the conference office Friday morning.

Specific dates for seven of Gonzaga’s conference games are still to be determined, as the WCC shifts to a new scheduling format in 2025-26 while aiming to maintain “date flexibility with national television partners to provide more national exposure for the conference on additional days of the week.”

Tipoff times and television broadcast details for all 18 games will be announced at a later date.

The schedule, which has primarily featured games on Thursday and Saturday, will also include Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday games this season.

Similar to the 2024-25 season, Gonzaga’s WCC calendar will start before the new year and with a game in Malibu, California. The Zags will open against Pepperdine at Firestone Fieldhouse on Dec. 28 before traveling to San Diego and Jenny Craig Pavilion on Dec. 30.

Gonzaga’s home conference opener will take place on Jan. 2 against new WCC member Seattle U. The Zags, who don’t leave the state of Washington in the month of January, host Loyola Marymount on Jan. 4 and Santa Clara on Jan. 8.

Specific dates for Gonzaga’s four ensuing games haven’t been finalized, but the stretch begins with a road rivalry game at Washington State on either Jan. 13, 14 or 15.

The Zags then travel to the opposite side of the state for their second game against Seattle U, on Jan. 17 or 18. It’s unclear if the Zags and Redhawks will play at the 1,000-seat Redhawk Center on Seattle’s campus or move the game to larger Climate Pledge Arena, where the Redhawks played multiple games last season.

Gonzaga will close the month in Spokane with games against Pepperdine (Jan. 20, 21 or 22), San Francisco (Jan. 24 or 25) and Saint Mary’s (Jan. 31).

Depending when both games are played, the Zags could be making two separate trips to Oregon for games at Portland (Feb. 3, 4 or 5) and Oregon State (Feb. 7 or 8).

Gonzaga returns home to play future Pac-12 foe WSU on Feb. 10, 11 or 12, before multiple road games in the Bay Area against Santa Clara on Feb. 14 and San Francisco on Feb. 18. GU’s road games against USF have been held at the Chase Center each of the last two seasons, but it is unclear if the Zags and Dons will play at the Golden State Warriors’ home arena or return to USF’s smaller venue on the Hilltop for the final regular-season meeting between the longtime WCC opponents.

The Zags will host two more WCC opponents, Pacific (Feb. 21 or 22) and Portland (Feb. 24, 25 or 26), before making one final trip to the Bay Area for a highly anticipated regular-season finale against Saint Mary’s on Feb. 28.

The WCC Tournament at Orleans Arena will begin with opening-round games on March 5, semifinal games on March 9 and a championship game on March 10.

Gonzaga conceded the WCC regular-season title to Saint Mary’s each of the last two seasons, but edged the Gaels for the conference tournament championship in 2025. In its final WCC campaign, GU will be trying to capture its 27th conference regular-season title. The Zags have shared or won 22 of the last 25 conference championships and 24 of the last 28.