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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga, UConn set Dec. 15 date for Battle in Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena

Gonzaga forward Anton Watson (22) battles inside against Connecticut center Donovan Clingan (32) during the Huskies’ Elite Eight win last March in Las Vegas. (By Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

Gonzaga and UConn have set Dec. 15 as the date for their Battle in Seattle clash at Climate Pledge Arena.

The game time hasn’t been announced.

The Huskies routed GU 82-54 last March in the Elite Eight on their way to the program’s fifth national title. The teams will meet in the return game during the 2024-25 season at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Both teams’ rosters have changed considerably since last season. GU returns Anton Watson and Nolan Hickman and added transfers Ryan Nemhbard, Graham Ike and Steele Venters. The Zags lost all-time leading scorer Drew Timme, Julian Strawther and Rasir Bolton, and Hunter Sallis and Efton Reid opted to transfer.

UConn will be without Jordan Hawkins, Adama Sanogo and Andre Jackson. The trio combined for 38 points, 25 rebounds and 17 assists in the Elite Eight contest. The Huskies bring back starters Alex Karaban and Tristen Newton and added Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer. Center Donovan Clingan is widely projected as a 2024 lottery pick.

The Huskies are No. 5 and Gonzaga No. 7 in ESPN’s latest preseason rankings.

UConn holds a 4-2 series edge. All six games have been played on neutral courts and each of the first five was decided by five points or less. The Huskies won the first meeting 67-62 in the 1999 Elite Eight and went on to claim their first national championship.

Gonzaga edged the Huskies 73-70 in the third-place game of the 2015 Battle for Atlantis in the Bahamas and 85-82 in 2007 at TD Banknorth Garden, the Boston Celtics’ home court.

UConn defeated the Zags 88-83 in overtime in the 2008 Battle in Seattle.

The Battle in Seattle, after a five-year hiatus, returned in 2021 with Alabama posting a 91-82 victory over the Zags. GU officials said at the time it wouldn’t necessarily be an annual contest and there wasn’t a Battle in Seattle on last year’s schedule.

The Zags will make a pair of December trips to Seattle, including a Dec. 9 contest against Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena on UW’s campus.