Baylor, Gonzaga set massive college basketball showdown for 2024-25 season
Today at 08:37 PM
Oftentimes, prominent college basketball programs like Baylor and Gonzaga utilize “buy games” at the start of the year, which is when they pay a smaller team to play them to start with easy wins. However, the Bears and Bulldogs will forego that strategy this time around.
The two schools will play each other to open the 2024-25 campaign, via Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman.
“BREAKING: Baylor will play Gonzaga on Nov. 4 – the first day of the college basketball season, Global Sport s@globalsande and Events partner Sean McShane told TheFieldof68,” Goodman said. “The game this season will be played at Spokane Arena, and they have agreed to meet in each of the following two seasons at neutral sites to be determined.”
Although Gonzaga is based in Spokane, Washington, Spokane Arena is not its home court. That title belongs to McCarthey Athletic Center, which is on the university’s campus. Spokane Arena is in downtown Spokane and is home to the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League.
While Baylor will fly to Washington from Texas, playing the game on a neutral court still evens the playing field in what’s sure to be a blockbuster matchup.
“Give [Baylor coach] Scott Drew and [Gonzaga] Mark Few a ton of credit for doing this,” Goodman continued. “It's what the sport needs more of with these big-time coaches and programs.”
However, this battle of heavyweights took time to organize.
Baylor-Gonzaga took over two months to schedule
Drew and Few took time to figure out the game’s venue, via CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.
“Baylor’s Scott Drew and Gonzaga’s Mark Few are especially tight. The coaches have worked together over the last two months to secure a matchup that works for their programs while simultaneously serving as a boon to college basketball,” Norlander said. “They previously explored Las Vegas and even Mexico as potential destinations for this game, sources told CBS Sports, but logistics led them to playing in Gonzaga’s home city.”
The game will take place the night of November 4th, while the tip-off time and TV network are to be determined. Both squads should be inside the top 10 of the preseason AP Poll, so it’ll be a must-watch for college hoops heads.
With this marquee matchup, Few and Drew are setting a good example for the rest of the sport. While it’s understandable for big teams to want to start with “tune-up” games in November, it’s more entertaining for fans to see a National Championship rematch than a David vs. Goliath pairing.
The post Baylor, Gonzaga set massive college basketball showdown for 2024-25 season appeared first on ClutchPoints.
