Gonzaga’s main non-conference game against Kentucky has officially been scheduled for the 15th annual Battle in Seattle on Dec. 7 at Climate Pledge in Seattle, according to a news release.
The third installment of the six-year series between college basketball powers was first reported by Jon Rothstein of KeynoteUSA Sports, and later confirmed by Gonzaga Nation, in May.
The Bulldogs won the previous two meetings against the Wildcats. In November 2022, Rasir Bolton, Drew Timme and Julian Strawther each scored more than 20 points to fuel an 88-72 victory over then-No. 4Kentucky. Last season, Graham Ike led the way with an 89-85 victory at Rupp Arena to defeat the then No. 17 Wildcats.
The December matchup will look different for a couple of reasons, though arguably no change is bigger than Mark Pope taking the reins from John Calipari, who left Kentucky to coach Arkansas in April. Pope, formerly at BYU, led the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and 2024, although he has yet to make it past the first round as a head coach. As a player, he was part of Kentucky’s 1996 national championship team.
Resume aside, Pope has revamped the roster virtually from scratch through the transfer portal. Led by Andrew Carr (Wake Forest), Otega Oweh (Oklahoma) and Kerr Kriisa, Kentucky has the No. 6 transfer portal in the country according to EvanMiya.com. Pope also brought in Jaxson Robinson from Provo, Utah, got sharpshooter Koby Brea from Dayton and got a guard with Final Four experience in Lamont Butler from San Diego State.
Conversely, the Bulldogs are expected to be a preseason top-10 team after returning seven of their top eight scorers from last season’s Sweet 16 team. Mark Few was also active in the portal, adding All-WCC wing Michael Ajayi (Pepperdine), 6-foot-5 graduate transfer Khalif Battle (Arkansas), defensive specialist Emmanuel Innocenti (Tarleton State) and reigning Player of the Year of the Patriot League, Braeden. Smith (Colgate), the latter of whom will redshirt next season.
The Wildcats are one of the few high-profile games on Gonzaga’s 2024-25 non-conference schedule. The Bulldogs have three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament, an eight-team field highlighted by Arizona, Indiana and Providence, Nov. 27-29. A week after Kentucky, they will travel across the country to take on back-to-back champion UConn at Madison Square Garden on December 14. Gonzaga will also face UCLA at the Intuit Dome (Inglewood, California) and San Diego State at Viejas Arena. (San Diego).
The Zags also face an 18-game league schedule as the West Coast Conference officially welcomes Oregon State and Washington State as affiliate members.
Gonzaga and Kentucky ended a multi-year series ahead of the 2022-23 season. After next season, the two will meet at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for the 2025-26 season. The final two games are scheduled for Rupp Arena (2026-27) and McCarthey Athletic Center (2027-28).
The Zags are 9-5 all-time in the Battle of Seattle event, which began in 2003 before taking a hiatus from 2015 to 2021. The last two events also featured SEC opponents: Alabama (2021) and Tennessee (2015). Last season’s game against UConn at Climate Pledge Arena was part of the Continental Tire Seattle Tip-Off, a non-Battle in Seattle event.
Tickets for the 2024 Battle in Seattle will go on sale to the public on June 28 at 10 a.m. at climapledgearena.com. Pre-sales begin June 26 and can be purchased directly through the Gonzaga website.
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