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GU basketball schedule loaded

September 20, 2007

Gonzaga University has released its men’s basketball schedule and, as usual, the non-league schedule is loaded.

The Bulldogs are guaranteed to meet three teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament and were ranked in the final polls a year ago.

The schedule also has nearly every game being televised for a fourth straight year.

“This is another challenging schedule,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said. “We’ll meet some outstanding teams, but I think this team is up to the task that lies ahead.”

The three NCAA Tournament teams dotting the schedule are Washington State University Dec. 5 at the McCarthey Athletic Center, the University of Tennessee Dec. 29 in the fifth annual Battle in Seattle at KeyArena and Jan. 26 at the University of Memphis.

The Cougars advanced to the NCAA second round a year ago and were ranked in 13th in the final Associated Press poll and 17th in the final USA Today/ESPN balloting. WSU defeated Gonzaga in Pullman last year to snap the Bulldogs’ seven-game winning streak in the series.

Tennessee lost to eventual NCAA runner-up Ohio State University in last year’s Sweet Sixteen. The Bulldogs and Volunteers have never met.

The Memphis game marks the third straight year the teams will have met, the Tigers coming out on top the previous two years, including a 78-77 overtime victory last year in the Ronald McDonald House Charities game at the Spokane Arena. Memphis advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight last season before falling to Ohio State.

Gonzaga will play in the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage and could face Bob Knight’s Texas Tech team in the second round.

Also on the non-conference slate this season are Saint Joseph’s University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Utah and the University of Georgia.

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