Gonzaga-UCLA tip time set for 1 p.m. on Dec. 28 at Intuit Dome

The tip time is set for Gonzaga’s last nonconference marquee matchup.

The 13th-ranked Zags and No. 18 UCLA will meet at 1 p.m. on Dec. 28 in the first college basketball game at the Intuit Dome, the Los Angeles Clippers’ new home venue in Inglewood, California.

The contest featuring the two West Coast powers was either going to tip at 1 p.m. or 5 , depending on the NFL’s flex scheduling announcement Tuesday.

The Zags (7-3) have dropped two straight games for the first time since December losses to Tennessee and North Carolina during the 2018-19 season. GU entertains Nicholls State on Wednesday and Bucknell on Saturday before facing the Bruins after the holiday break.

UCLA (9-1) has rattled off eight consecutive wins, the last three coming against former Pac-12 members Washington, Oregon and Arizona.

Gonzaga is 7-2 in the series with UCLA, including victories in each of the past four seasons. Two of those were memorable NCAA Tournament clashes with Jalen Suggs’ 40-foot bank shot handing the Zags a 93-90 overtime win in a 2021 national semifinal and Julian Strawther’s late 3-pointer propelling GU into the 2023 Elite Eight with a 79-76 victory in Las Vegas.

Grand Canyon and San Diego meet in the second game of the West Coast Hoops Showdown at approximately 3:30 p.m.