Gonzaga basketball 2026-27 non-conference schedule tracker

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs officially entered the Pac-12 on July 1, 2026, beginning a new era of college hoops in Spokane.

Among the many changes for the Zags in the new league is the number of conference matchups. With nine total basketball playing members the Pac-12 will have a round robin scheduling format - where each team plays every other team twice, once at home and once on the road.

This balanced schedule is not only easier for fans to follow, but it also ensures an even playing field for every team in the conference. Everyone will have to make a trip to San Marcos, TX, everyone will have to play Gonzaga in Spokane, and San Diego State at Viejas Arena, etc.

Not only is this different than Gonzaga's final two seasons in the WCC, when they had an unbalanced conference schedule, but it also means the Pac-12 will feature just 16 regular-season conference games - compared to the 18 played in the West Coast Conference.

And now, with the NCAA now allowing college basketball programs to play 32 regular-season games, Gonzaga will be allowed to play 16 non-conference matchups in 2026-27 - up from 13 the previous two years.

Coach Few has long shown a willingness to challenge his team with a rigorous non-conference slate, and that will not change heading into the new conference.

Below is a look at what we know so far about Gonzaga's non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 season, the last 16 games the Zags will play before embarking on their first journey through the new look Pac-12 conference:

Exhibition: At Arkansas (Oct. 24, 2026)

It was reported by Jon Rothstein that Gonzaga will travel to Bud Walton Arena to take on John Calipari and Arkansas in a road exhibition game, set for Saturday, Oct. 24 - nine days before the season opener.

It's a great test for Gonzaga's young roster, and playing on the road in a hostile environment should help prepare this team for their rigorous schedule.

1. Purdue Boilermakers (Nov. 2, 2026)

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

In late February, Gonzaga announced they will begin the 2026-27 season with a bang, facing Matt Painter and the Purdue Boilermakers in a neutral-site matchup at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The game will take place on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, as part of the Hall of Fame series. It will be a men's basketball double-header, also featuring a rivalry showdown between former Pac-12 foes UCLA and Arizona.

Both games will be nationally televised through TNT, and more details - including ticket information - will be released at a later date.

2. New Mexico State Aggies (Nov. 7, 2026)

Gonzaga's (likely) first home game of the Pac-12 era will come against the Aggies of New Mexico State, a team that had great success for nearly two decades in the WAC but who has struggled since making the move to Conference USA.

This is the first of what will likely be 3-4 'buy' games this upcoming season, and will give Zag fans a first home look at the Bulldogs.

3. Incarnate Word (Nov. 10 or 11, 2026)

Rocco Miller reported Gonzaga will host Incarnate Word at home early in the season, somewhere between the home opener vs. New Mexico State and the Spokane Arena showdown against LSU.

Incarnate Word has been Division 1 since 2013 and has just one winning season since 2016, finishing ninth in the Southland last year. Gonzaga beat this program in their lone meeting, 103-68, back in 2017, and a similar result can be expected this go-round.

4. LSU Tigers (Nov. 14, 2026)

LSU head coach Will Wade | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Gonzaga will take on LSU for the first time in program history, with this game slated for Nov. 14 at the Spokane Arena. It will be a rematch against Will Wade, who was the coach at McNeese when Gonzaga thumped them, 86-65, in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

The Zags are looking for their eighth straight win at the arena, two which have come against SEC foes in Oklahoma last year and Kentuky in 2022.

5. Montana State Bobcats (Nov. 17, 2026)

Mar 13, 2024; Boise, ID, USA; Montana State Bobcats head coach Matt Logie | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Gonzaga will host Montana State as one of their home matchups this season, bringing back an old rivalry from the Big Sky. These two teams played each other 49 times from 1963-1979, with the Zags holding a 27-22 lead in the series.

However, despite Spokane and Bozeman being just 400 miles away, Gonzaga and Montana State have not played since 1997 - two years before coach Few took over in Spokane.

The Bobcats went 18-14 in 2025-26 year in coach Matt Logie's third year, and will be a solid buy game matchup for Gonzaga early in the season.

6. Players Era Festival (3 Games)

Gonzaga is committed to the Players Era Festival for the second year in a row in 2026. Players Era is a multi-team event (MTE) in its third year that will take place over Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas. Last year, Gonzaga beat Alabama and Maryland in their first two games - before an absolute beatdown at the hands of Michigan in the championship game.

The event is expanding from 18 to 24 teams, with an eight team bracket the week before Thanksgiving and a 16 team bracket the following week - which is the event Gonzaga is slated to participate in.

Gonzaga will open up the event against Kansas State on Nov. 24, and will play either Baylor or Alabama in the second game on Nov. 25. The time for those games is unknown, but both will be at T-Mobile Arena and will be broadast on TNT.

A third matchup will take place on Nov. 27 against one of the following: Creighton, TCU, Miami, or Michigan, while a fourth game could occur if Gonzaga wins all three matchups.

7. Eastern Oregon Mountaineers (Dec. 2, 2026)

Nov 14, 2023; Spokane, Washington, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Braden Huff (34) rebounds the ball against Eastern Oregon Mountaineers forward Brennen Newsom (1) | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Gonzaga will sandwich a trip to Vegas for Player's Era and a pseudo-road game against UCLA with a home tilt against NAIA Eastern Oregon - a team the Zags have played, and dominated, four times in the past six years.

Gonzaga beat the Mountaineers by 66 points in 2023 and 78 points in 2022, and should have similar success this season - with the game serving as a nice tuneup in the thick of the non-conference slate.

8. UCLA Bruins (Dec. 5, 2026)

Mar 20, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Gonzaga and UCLA will meet for the seventh year in a row, with the West Coast Hoops Showdown slated for early December at the Honda Center in Anaheim. It will be sandwiched between the Players Era Festival and a road tilt at Creighton, and should once again give the Zags a quality test against a veteran, tough UCLA roster.

9. Creighton Bluejays (Dec. 12, 2026)

Gonzaga hosted Creighton in mid-November at the McCarthey Athletic Center, blasting the then No. 23-ranked Bluejays by 27 points in what looked to be a signature win for coach Few's team.

It turns out Creighton wasn't nearly as good as anticipated, and in fact, the rough campaign resulted in longtime coach Greg McDermott retiring at the end of the season, passing the program over to coach-in-waiting Alan Huss.

This year Gonzaga will return the favor by playing Creighton at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, with Jon Rothstein reporting the game will take place Dec. 12. It will be a nice early season test for Huss, and one of Gonzaga's first true road games of the season.

10. Michigan State Spartans (Dec. 19, 2026)

Mar 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo reacts in the first half during a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Tom Izzo confirmed on the Staudt on Sports Show that his Michigan State team will play Gonzaga "in California" in 2026-27. It has now been reported by Jon Rothstein that this game will take place on Dec. 19 at Acrisure Arena - Gonzaga's first in-season matchup at the 11,000 seat arena located in the Coachella Valley, which opened in 2022.

This will be the first matchup between the Zags and Spartans since 2022 when they played on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier as part of the Armed Forces Classic, a game Gonzaga won 64-63 thanks to 22 points from Drew Timme.

11. Cornell Big Red (Dec. 31, 2026)

Gonzaga's final game of 2026, and likely the final non-conference game before Pac-12 play begins, will be against Cornell out of the Ivy League, set for New Year's Eve in Spokane.

Gonzaga and Cornell have never faced each other, another first time matchup in 2026 after LSU, and a final buy game for the Zags as they prep for conference play.

Big Red has made the NCAA Tournament just four times since 1955, with three of those appearances coming from 2007-2010. Cornell went 18-15 last year under coach Jon Jaques.

12. Oregon Ducks (Jan. 30, 2027)

Gonzaga and Oregon scheduled each other voluntarily for the first time in 41 years last season, squaring off at the Moda Center in Portland back on Dec. 21, 2025 - a game the Zags won by nine.

It took a long time, but the return game has finally been added to the slate, and it will take place at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. The game will also be in late January, giving the Zags a pair of power conference opponents to take on during the conference portion of the season.

Mar 3, 2026; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

13. Duke Blue Devils (Feb. 20, 2027)

Gonzaga will once again play a marquee non-conference matchup in mid-February, this time taking on the mighty Duke Blue Devils at Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit. It will be the sixth all-time matchup between these two programs, and first since No. 1 Gonzaga lost to No. 5 Duke in Las Vegas in 2021.

Gonzaga last played a non-conference game in February when they took on Kentucky at Rupp Arena in 2024, securing a massive win that propelled the Zags to a strong finish.

What's Next?

Gonzaga is now up to 15 of 16 non-conference games filled, and it could be 16 if the team plays a fourth game in the Players Era Festival.

So while the schedule isn't exactly finalized, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the only additions from here on out coming in the exhibition slate.

Check back for updates on Gonzaga's non-conference schedule as the offseason wraps up.

Add us as a preferred source on Google