The Gonzaga Bulldogs will take on the Kentucky Wildcats at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville next season on Dec. 5, according to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein.
The Zags and the Wildcats have squared off in each of the past three seasons as part of a six-year deal that the two schools agreed upon in the summer of 2022. Gonzaga won the first two matchups at the Spokane Arena in 2022 and then at Rupp Arena the following year, but the script flipped this past December at Climate Pledge Arena, where the Wildcats overcame an 18-point deficit to come away victorious in overtime.
The fourth installment in Nashville will likely feature a handful of new faces on both sides. At least six rotational players from the 2024-25 Zags team that won the West Coast Conference tournament have, or are set to, depart this spring via the transfer portal or graduation. Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle and Ben Gregg are set to graduate, while Dusty Stromer (Grand Canyon), Michael Ajayi (Butler) and Jun Seok Yeo are in the portal or have already committed elsewhere.
Gonzaga’s leading scorer for two seasons in a row now, Graham Ike, could return for a fifth year of college if he chooses to, though the 6-foot-9 forward hasn’t made a decision at this point. Ike scored a season-high 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in that 90-89 overtime loss to the Wildcats in December. Ike’s frontcourt mate Braden Huff hasn’t decided if he’s coming back to Spokane or not as well.
Source: Next season’s game between Kentucky and Gonzaga will be played on Friday, December 5th at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 11, 2025
For Mark Pope, he’s projected to return three rotational players from last season’s NCAA Tournament squad, including All-SEC guard Otega Oweh (16.2 ppg). Pope and his staff have already been very active in the transfer portal, acquiring All-ACC guard Jaland Lowe (16.8 ppg at Pitt) and Kam Williams (9.3 ppg Tulane) for more depth along the perimeter. Kentucky, ranked No. 6 in ESPN’s “way-too-early” top 25 for next season, also landed more size in 6-foot-7 forward Mouhamed Dioubate (7.2 ppg at Alabama).
The Bulldogs, checking in at No. 20 on ESPN’s 2025-26 rankings, are a finalist to land Maryland transfer Rodney Rice, a 6-foot-4 guard who helped the Terrapins to the Sweet 16 last season. Rice listed Gonzaga in his final six choices earlier this week.
Following the high-profile matchup against Kentucky, Gonzaga will take on the UCLA Bruins at Climate Pledge Arena on Dec. 13. There isn’t much else known about the Zags’ nonleague schedule at the moment, except that they’ll participate in a NIL-driven event called the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas during Thanksgiving week.
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