Gonzaga’s non-conference slate is coming into focus, and the latest addition gives Mark Few’s team one more home date before the heavy lifting begins.
Rocco Miller of Bracketeer.org reports the Bulldogs will host Incarnate Word from the Southland Conference on either Nov. 10 or Nov. 11. That would make it the fifth true home game on Gonzaga’s upcoming schedule and the 15th non-conference game overall.
The Zags already have a packed list of home dates at the McCarthey Athletic Center, with New Mexico State set for Nov. 7, Montana State on Nov.
17, Eastern Oregon on Dec. 2, and Cornell on Dec. 31.
Gonzaga will also meet LSU at Spokane Arena on Nov. 14.
Incarnate Word, based in San Antonio, TX, is heading into its 14th season at the Division 1 level, and every one of those years has come in the Southland. The Cardinals have posted four winning seasons since making the jump, with three of those coming in their first three years from 2013-2016.
Last season, Incarnate Word finished 12-19 overall and 7-15 in league play, landing tied for ninth and missing the conference tournament. The Cardinals lost seven players from that team to the transfer portal, though they did add Maximo Garcia-Plata from Florida State and Darrae Goodwin from San Diego.
This won’t be a new opponent for Gonzaga. The Bulldogs have faced Incarnate Word once before, rolling to a 103-68 win in November 2017. Rui Hachimura scored 18 points in 16 minutes that night, and current assistant coach Zach Norvell Jr. added 17 points off the bench.
There’s also a small Gonzaga-UIW connection that nearly became more relevant. Skylar Wicks, who committed to Gonzaga in late June before reopening his recruitment late last week, played for Incarnate Word in 2023-24 and averaged 13.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 30 games.
With this latest scheduling note, Gonzaga now has 15 non-conference games lined up and could reach 16 if it advances to the championship of the Players Era Festival. The Bulldogs have 32 regular-season games and 16 Pac-12 games on the docket, so the non-conference portion may already be complete. The one reported exhibition so far is a trip to Arkansas on Oct. 24, though another one or two could still be added in October before the season starts.
The marquee portion of the schedule is loaded with power-conference opponents. Gonzaga has 10 games against power-conference teams, and nine of those are on neutral courts.
That group includes Purdue on Nov. 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, LSU on Nov. 14 at Spokane Arena, UCLA on Dec. 5 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Creighton on Dec. 12 in Omaha, Michigan State on Dec. 19 at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, Oregon on Jan. 30 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, and Duke on Feb. 20 at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit. The final three of those matchups come in the Players Era Festival.
Gonzaga will begin its second year at Players Era on Nov. 24 against Kansas State, then face either Baylor or Alabama on Nov. 26.
The next day brings a game against one of Creighton, TCU, Miami, or defending champion Michigan. If the Bulldogs win all three, they’ll play again for the tournament title on Nov.
Before any of that, fans will get their first look at the 2026-27 team, or whoever is eligible at the time, at Kraziness in the Kennel on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 2:00 PM PT at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
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The concern is not just depth, but timing. Gonzaga has limited offseason runway to build cohesion, and the three-point shooting has to improve if this team is going to fully cash in on its veteran pieces and frontcourt size. Until the roster picture clears, though, the Bulldogs are left waiting on answers that could determine whether this is merely a talented team or one built to chase much more. [Read more 🡒]
Gonzagas Home Slate Is Taking Shape Ahead Of A Busy Start
Gonzagas early season calendar is starting to come into focus, and once again McCarthey Athletic Center will be busy from the jump. The Bulldogs are lined up for at least five home nonconference games, giving Mark Fews team a steady run of chances to settle in before the schedule tightens, with New Mexico State, Montana State, Eastern Oregon and Cornell already among the opponents set to come to Spokane.
The home slate still has a few details to be finalized, but the picture is clear enough to show how the season will be framed around a heavy dose of early games on Gonzagas floor. More of the nonconference schedule, along with the Pac-12 portion of the lineup, is expected in the coming weeks, which should provide a better sense of how demanding the overall path will be once the Bulldogs get through that opening stretch. [Read more 🡒]