May 20—Gonzaga won’t return to Rupp Arena this fall after Mark Few’s program and Kentucky mutually agreed to discontinue the six-year nonconference series that started in 2022.
The teams were scheduled to meet twice more, with Gonzaga slated to visit Kentucky in Lexington next season and the Wildcats expected to play at McCarthey Athletic Center in 2027-28.
According to a school release, “the decision was mutually agreed upon by both programs, to allow each program freedom to reevaluate future scheduling priorities, including conference obligations and nonconference opportunities.
“This decision was in the best interest of both programs as the series was set to end with a home and home in Rupp Arena in 2026-27 and the McCarthey Athletic Center in 2027-28. The Wildcats and Bulldogs valued the opportunity to compete in a high-quality series over the past four seasons.”
Although a joint statement from the schools indicated the decision was mutual, Matt Norlander of CBS Sports reported Wednesday on Bluesky that “Kentucky initiated that conversation to end the series two years early.”
The series started as an agreement between Few and former Kentucky coach John Calipari, a longtime friend of Gonzaga’s 28th-year head coach. The Zags played two games against Calipari-coached Kentucky teams, beating the Wildcats 88-72 on Nov. 20, 2022, at the Arena before holding on for an 89-85 win on Feb. 10, 2024, that bolstered GU’s NCAA Tournament resume.
The series was briefly in limbo when Calipari left Kentucky for Arkansas in the offseason, but newly hired Wildcats coach Mark Pope, who faced GU on multiple occasions during his West Coast Conference stint at BYU, honored the terms of the agreement and took his team to Seattle to face the Zags at Climate Pledge Arena on Dec. 7, 2024.
Gonzaga built an 18-point halftime advantage, but Kentucky trimmed the lead down before forcing overtime and eventually prevailing 90-89.
The Zags were coming off a 40-point loss to eventual national champion Michigan when they traveled to Nashville to play the Wildcats at Bridgestone Arena last season. GU stormed out to a 19-2 lead in the game and never looked back, cruising 94-59 behind 28 points and 10 rebounds from Graham Ike.
Gonzaga finishes with a 3-1 advantage in the series and plus-54 in the scoring column.
Two of Ike’s top-five scoring efforts in a Gonzaga uniform came against Kentucky, with the All-American forward also scoring 28 points in the overtime loss at Climate Pledge Arena. Ike scored 23 points in his other performance against the Wildcats for a three-game average of 26.3 points (58%) and 8.6 rebounds.
Without Kentucky, the Zags are still anticipating another strong nonconference schedule, featuring the season opener against Purdue at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a road game at Creighton, at least three games against high-major competition at the Players Era Festival in Vegas, a neutral-site test against Michigan State at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs and a neutral-site matchup with Duke at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.