The Gonzaga Bulldogs’ non-conference slate has made moves this week, with now 12 of the 16 available slots filled. That doesn’t include the potential championship game at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The Ivy League’s Cornell Big Red is off to the Kennel on Dec. 31 (New Year’s Eve) for the first time ever, according to The Bracketeer’s Rocco Miller. Led by now third-year coach Jon Jaques, Cornell finished with a 15-13 overall record and 8-6 in Ivy League play
for a fourth-place finish in last season’s standings.
Here is the full update to the 2026-27 non-conference schedule, with not all dates/locations/times finalized.
*at Arkansas Razorbacks (Oct. 2026, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas)
vs. Purdue Boilermakers (Nov. 2, 2026, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada)
vs. New Mexico State Aggies (Nov. 7, 2026, at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington)
vs. LSU Tigers (Nov. 14, 2026, at Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Washington)
vs. Montana State Bobcats (Nov. 17, 2026, at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington)
Kansas State Wildcats/Players Era Festival (Nov. 24-28, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada)
vs. Eastern Oregon Mountaineers (Dec. 2, 2026, at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington)
vs. UCLA Bruins (Dec. 5, 2026, at Honda Center in Anaheim, California)
at Creighton Bluejays (Dec. 12, 2026, at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska)
vs. Michigan State Spartans (Dec. 19, 2026, at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California)
vs. Cornell Big Red (Dec. 31, 2026, at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington)
vs. Duke Blue Devils (Feb. 20, 2027, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan)
vs. Oregon Ducks (To be determined)
*exhibition
The battle with the Big Ten Conference’s Oregon Ducks is still on the fence, either taking place in the 2026-27 or 2027-28 campaign. This would be the second game of their two-year neutral site series.
The Pac-12 Conference has adopted a 16-game double round-robin schedule. The Pac-12 men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Under the tutelage of Commissioner Teresa Gould, the two-year contract will span both the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons.
Next season’s tournaments will take place from March 9-13, a day before the NCAA Tournament’s Selection Sunday. The top two seeds will receive double byes straight to the semifinals. The third and fourth seeds will receive a bye to the quarterfinals.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
