Gonzaga Basketball: First-Glance Reactions to 2014-15 Schedule

Gonzaga basketball officially released its 2014-15 nonconference schedule this week, and with that, the season’s slate of games is now set.

The Bulldogs enter this season with high aspirations for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.  The additions of power forward Kyle Wiltjer from Kentucky and small forward Byron Wesley from USC have bolstered what was already a solid lineup.

Mark Few has certainly chosen a difficult set of matchups to test his team heading into conference play.  There are a few highlights to the schedule, including the NIT Season Tip-Off, road games against top talents and the return of an almost-lost rivalry.

At Arizona and at UCLA

Gonzaga will play two road games against top Pac-12 teams this season.

The Bulldogs will first play in Tucson against the Arizona Wildcats on December 6. 

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Arizona defeated Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament 84-61 last year, and it returns much of its extremely talented roster from its Elite Eight run.

Led by a formidable frontcourt featuring Kaleb Tarczewski, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Brandon Ashley, Arizona will arguably be the most difficult opponent Gonzaga faces this season.

Just one week later, though, the Bulldogs will head to Pauley Pavilion to play UCLA.

UCLA has lost some great talents in Zach Lavine, Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams, but they retain Bryce Alford and Norman Powell and add two talented freshmen bigs in Kevon Looney and Thomas Welsh.

Of these two road games, UCLA is easily the more winnable contest, but both offer the Zags the opportunity to get a marquee win to add to its résumé.

St. Mary’s Will Not Be During Break

For the past two years, St. Mary’s has visited Gonzaga during the latter’s winter break. 

While Gonzaga has won both of those contests, the atmosphere sans students was subpar.

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This year, however, the Bulldogs will host the Gaels after the winter break, and the student section will be packed.

A mixture of not having students present for the St. Mary’s game and not losing to the Gaels over the last two years has lowered the intensity level on what is usually regarded as one of the best rivalries on the West Coast.

Led by senior center Brad Waldow and freshman sharpshooter Calvin Hermanson, St. Mary's will look to break its losing ways against the Bulldogs. But with a packed Kennel, I'd be shocked if that occurred on January 22.

Hosting Southern Methodist

Gonzaga will host SMU as part of the ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon on November 17.

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While this matchup lost some of its luster when Emmanuel Mudiay de-committed from SMU in favor of a professional contract in China, the Mustangs still boast a talented roster that competed in the American Athletic Conference last season.

SMU features two seniors who led the team in scoring last season, Nic Moore and Markus Kennedy.

Gonzaga has been a part of the Tip-Off Marathon for the past three years, blowing out each of its opponents.

SMU should be a tougher matchup than the Zags have faced this early in the season, but I would expect a win at home against the Mustangs.