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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga, Arizona State agree to two-game series, first matchup Nov. 10 at the Kennel

Gonzaga coach Mark Few’s team will face Arizona State on Nov. 10th at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Zags and Sun Devils will clash in 2025-26 in Tempe, Arizona. (By Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

Make that two Hurley-coached opponents on the Gonzaga men’s basketball schedule this season.

Gonzaga and Arizona State, coached by Bobby Hurley, have agreed to a two-game series with the first matchup Nov. 10 at the McCarthey Athletic Center, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. The return game will be during the 2025-26 season in Tempe, Arizona.

The Zags face UConn on Dec. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Huskies have won the past two NCAA championships under coach Dan Hurley, Bobby’s younger brother. UConn beat GU 76-63 in Seattle last December and routed the Zags 82-54 in the 2023 Elite Eight.

Gonzaga’s home nonconference schedule needed a boost after Washington pulled out of the final two games of a series with the Zags, including a GU home game this season.

Arizona State, which joined Arizona, Utah and Colorado in leaving the Pac-12 Conference for the Big 12, finished 14-18 last season, its third losing record in the past four years.

The Sun Devils have had four seasons with at least 20 wins and reached the NCAA Tournament three times in Hurley’s nine years.

ASU lost three of its four double-figures scorers from last season. The top returner is senior guard Adam Miller, who was third in scoring at 12.0 points on 39.3% shooting from the floor.

The Sun Devils have optimism for a turnaround this season with an influx of transfers and a strong recruiting class, led by five-star forward Jayden Quaintance.

Guard Austin Nunez started two games as an ASU freshman before transferring to Mississippi. After seeing limited playing time with the Rebels last season, Nunez has transferred back to Arizona State.

Other transfer additions: Basheer Jihad (Ball State), a 6-9 forward, averaged 18.6 points and 8.0 rebounds last year; 6-2 guard Alston Mason (Missouri State) averaged 17.5 points and made 72 3-pointers; 6-6 wing BJ Freeman (Milwaukee) averaged 21.1 points and 6.6 rebounds; and 6-8 Brandon Gardner (USC), who was limited to one game appearance by a foot injury.

Most of Gonzaga’s marquee nonconference games will take place on neutral courts, including UConn, UCLA (Intuit Dome in Los Angeles), Kentucky (Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle) and three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. GU also faces a road contest against San Diego State, but the date hasn’t been set.