Baylor vs. Gonzaga on opening night at Spokane Arena! This year’s Zags purchase games are more difficult.

Baylor vs. Gonzaga on opening night at Spokane Arena! This year’s Zags purchase games are more difficult.

Nov. 4 at the Spokane Arena will mark the start of the 2024–25 NCAA basketball season between Gonzaga and Baylor, as reported on Wednesday by CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.

In the first week of the season, the two schools were trying to arrange a match for a neutral site court, as Norlander initially stated, mentioning Las Vegas as a possible host city. Although both parties finally decided to remain in the United States, certain foreign locations were also taken into consideration. The official start time and TV information are still pending.

The Nov. 4 matchup will likely be just the third time in the Mark Few era that the Zags open the regular season against an AP Top 25 team (2003 vs. No. 17 Saint Joseph’s, 2020 vs. No. 6 Kansas) seeing as that the Bears are No. 14 in Bart Torvik’s 2024-25 projections, and ranked highly in other notable preseason rankings. There’s also never been an earlier start to the college basketball season for Few in his 25 years as head coach (the Bulldogs started the 2019-20 campaign a day later on Nov. 5).

Gonzaga is 13-6 all-time at the Spokane Arena, including last season’s win over Pepperdine in the West Coast Conference opener. Few and company picked up a ranked win at their home away from home during the 2022-23 campaign when No. 4 Kentucky came to town for a matchup against the No. 2 Bulldogs. Three Zags scored more than 20 points to lead the way in an 88-72 victory.

Baylor, which has finished in the top 16 of KenPom in each of the last five seasons, is projected to continue that trend in 2024-25. Despite losing four of five starters from last season’s 24-11 team, head coach Scott Drew brought in quite the riches of talent this offseason to make up for the losses.

Miami transfer Norchad Omier, a 6-foot-7 wing who averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds per game in 2023-24, along with former Duke product Jeremy Roach, an All-ACC guard last season, headline an incoming transfer portal class that’s ranked No. 13 in the nation according to EvanMiya.com. Even more impressive perhaps is the Bears’ 2024 recruiting class, ranked No. 4 in the country on 247Sports, which is highlighted by five-star wing and probable NBA lottery pick, VJ Edgecombe, as well as four-stars Rob Wright and Jason Asemota.

Drew also brought back 6-foot-4 guard Jayden Nunn, who started all 35 games as a junior, and 6-foot-5 wing Langston Love.

Gonzaga and Baylor last met in a closed-door scrimmage in Phoenix, Arizona, in October 2023. Nolan Hickman and Anton Watson led the way with 17 points apiece while Nunn had 16 for the Bears, who also featured eventual first-round pick Ja’Kobe Walter. The two schools also met in a nonconference showdown in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, during the 2022-23 season, which Baylor came out on top, 64-63, and of course the 2021 national championship game.

With the Baylor game confirmed, Gonzaga’s 2024-25 schedule is officially complete.