SAN DIEGO – The two most dominant men's college basketball programs on the West Coast, San Diego State and Gonzaga, have signed to play a two game, home-and-home series over the next two years. The first matchup will be contested at the Bulldogs' McCarthey Athletic Center on December 29, 2023, with the return game at Viejas Arena in the 2024-25 season.
The December game will be the fifth time the programs have met and the first since the Aztecs upset then No. 12-ranked Gonzaga 72-70 at Viejas Arena on December 21, 2017. SDSU and the Zags have split the all-time series two games apiece, with both Aztec wins coming against a Gonzaga program that was nationally ranked at the time.
San Diego State, at the time ranked No. 25 in the AP Poll, won 79-76 on November 16, 2010, at the CBE Classic in Spokane, Washington against then No. 11 Gonzaga and in the aforementioned game in 2017. The Bulldogs earned a 72-69 win on December 19, 1959, at the Tournament of Roses event on a neutral court in Portland, Oregon, and 69-48 on November 16, 2014, in Spokane when the Zags were ranked No. 14.
Beginning at the start of the 2009-10 campaign, the Zags have won 86.0 percent of their games (425-69), best in the nation, and at "The Kennel" Gonzaga owns the second-best home record 207-14 (.937) in that time frame. The Aztecs rank sixth in the nation since the start of the 2009-10 season winning 75.8 percent (364-114) of its games overall and are seventh in defending its home floor going 199-25 (88.8 percent).
In addition, since the start of the 2019-20 season Gonzaga is 121-13 (.903) is the winningest team in the nation, while San Diego State is number three on that list with a 108-23 (.824) record.
After reaching the national championship game in the 2023 NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed, San Diego State returns three of its top four scorers from a team that finished ranked No. 2 in the nation in the Coaches Poll, the highest in program history, and No. 18 in the Associated Press. It had a 32-7 record, including a 15-3 mark in Mountain West action. SDSU won the Mountain West conference regular season and tournament titles, its league record 15th and 16th championships, as well as the South Regional in the NCAA Tournament.
Gonzaga, a 3-seed in last year's NCAA Tournament, fell to eventual national champion Connecticut in the Elite Eight. It finished the season with a 31-6 record, winning its 10th West Coast Conference (WCC) title in the last 11 seasons and 21st WCC tournament title overall.