Gonzaga to host local Division II opponent for exhibition game

Originally posted on Gonzaga Bulldogs on SI
By Andy Patton | Last updated Aug 25, 2025 7:02 PM ET

Gonzaga still has not revealed its final non-conference schedule, but as other programs announce their completed slates fans can slowly begin to piece together who the Zags will be playing in 2025-26.

The latest update is that Mark Few and Gonzaga are set to host Division II Western Oregon University at the McCarthey Athletic Center on Oct. 27, 2025, in an exhibition contest before the official start of the 2025-26 college basketball season.

This was revealed by Western Oregon, who will also travel to Corvallis to play Oregon State in an exhibition game two days prior on Oct. 25.

Western Oregon competes at the Division II level in the Greater Northwest Athletic Conference, or GNAC, alongside Central and Western Washington, Seattle Pacific, Montana State Billings, and Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, ID. The Wolves, based in Monmouth, OR just outside of Salem, went just 5-23 last year and 2-16 in conference play.

Even the best DII teams won't give Gonzaga much trouble, with this game serving entirely as a tune-up for the Zags roughly one week before they begin the season at home against Texas Southern on Nov. 3.

Gonzaga's non-conference slate is nearly complete, with 11 known games out of a possible 13. In November Gonzaga will face Texas Southern at home on Nov. 3, Oklahoma at the Spokane Arena on Nov. 8, Creighton at home on Nov. 11, Arizona State in Tempe on Nov. 14, and a trio of games in Las Vegas as part of the Player's Era Festival, starting with Alabama on Nov. 24 and Maryland on Nov. 25. A third game will be played on Nov. 26, with the opponent to be determined based on how Gonzaga does in those first two games.

Turning to December, Gonzaga will play Kentucky at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Dec. 5 and then will head to Seattle to face UCLA eight days later on Dec. 13, followed by a home game against Campbell on Dec. 17 and a highly-anticipated neutral site game against Oregon at the Moda Center in Portland on Dec. 21.

Gonzaga was expected to play Baylor as part of a previously agreed upon three-year series which began last year at the Spokane Arena, a game Gonzaga won by 38 points to open up the campaign. However, neither side have reported on a matchup for this upcoming season, leading to speculation the series has been put on pause.

Fans can expect two more regular season games to round out the slate as well as one more exhibition game. If history tells us anything the exhibition game will be against a power conference opponent, while the two remaining regular season games will likely be 'buy games' against mid-major programs in Spokane.