Gonzaga Basketball: 10 key storylines to watch for 2020-21 season

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 18: Gonzaga Bulldogs t-shirts are draped over stadium seats prior to the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Gonzaga Bulldogs at McCarthey Athletic Center on December 18, 2019 in Spokane, Washington. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /

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SPOKANE, WASHINGTON – FEBRUARY 20: A basketball sets on the court next to the Bulldogs logo (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /

Gonzaga’s effort to have a competitive non-conference schedule

As many of you may know, the unusual circumstances of the upcoming season have derailed non-league games at the moment. Many of the non-conference tournaments have been canceled, and a number of previously agreed to matchups have gone away. Now, 357 programs are scrambling to get enough quality matchups for 2020-21.

This is certainly a difficult time for many mid-majors, who are just looking for any quality competition to help with their at-large resumes. However, the Bulldogs program has had tremendous luck so far with their circumstance.

Gonzaga is greatly benefitting from already being in the 2020 Orlando Invitational, the one event where no team has pulled out. The city has shown the ability to pull off big events well (NBA postseason) and the Bulldogs could play the likes of Michigan State or Xavier in the tournament. They also are playing Tennessee in the Jimmy V Classic and Baylor, a preseason top-3 team in Indianapolis on December 5.

The program also has discussed hosting its own “bubble event” in Spokane. They have the ability to do so, having both their own arena (McCarthey Athletic Center) and an even larger Spokane area just a few miles away. The state of Washington seems to be more flexible when it comes to Covid restrictions than Oregon and California, so this could be a major opportunity for Gonzaga to get some quality mid-major opponents from out west, such as Big Sky, Big West, and WAC teams.

It hasn’t been perfect, with previously agreed to games against Arizona, Texas and others being pushed back towards next season. But with five quality non-conference matchups secured, Gonzaga just needs to add 1-2 more competitive games and the rest being cupcakes to be set. Compared to many other programs, the Bulldogs are currently in great shape.