Gonzaga announces late-night tipoff for matchup with Kentucky

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Photo of Gonzaga head coach Mark Few by Junfu Han | USA TODAY NETWORK

Kentucky men’s basketball has known its opponents for the 2024-25 season for a while now, but the actual tipoff times and TV assignments have been slowly trickling. Coming into this week, the matchup with Gonzaga was the only game on the schedule without a start time.

That changed on Tuesday night though when Gonzaga released its complete schedule for the upcoming season. It revealed that the Bulldogs’ showdown against Kentucky on Saturday, Dec. 7 will begin at 10:00 p.m. EST on ESPN2. The game takes place at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, so it’ll be a 7:00 p.m. tip-time on the West Coast. It marks the Wildcats’ latest start for a regular season game this season.

Gonzaga will start the season ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll while Kentucky checks in at No. 23.

Tune in. 📺🗓️
📰Press Release: https://t.co/Dfcrt9yMFn pic.twitter.com/cxLIhH6fjg
— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) October 15, 2024

This will be the third of six games in this series. Looking ahead, the 2025-26 matchup will take place in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena. The 2026-27 matchup is scheduled to return to Rupp Arena with the 2027-28 venue set for the McCarthey Athletic Center on Gonzaga’s campus.

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For the majority of Mark Pope‘s new-look Kentucky roster, taking on Gonzaga will be a first. Only two of the 12 players on scholarship have gone head-to-head against Mark Few’s program.

San Diego State transfer guard Lamont Butler faced the Bulldogs once in Dec. 2023, finishing with four points, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal during just 11 minutes played in a win. Meanwhile, BYU transfer guard Jaxson Robinson faced Gonzaga twice during the 2022-23 season. Robinson recorded 17 points (5-9 FG), four assists, two rebounds, one steal, and one block in 36 minutes in Jan. 2023, and then 10 points (4-11 FG), one rebound, one assist, and one steal in 35 minutes a month later. BYU lost both matchups.

Plan accordingly for what will surely be a late night in December.

Kentucky Men’s Basketball 2024-25 Schedule

Date	Time (EST)	Opponent/Event	Location	TV
Oct. 7 (Mon.)	6:00 PM	Pro Day	Historic Memorial Coliseum	SEC Network+
Oct. 11 (Fri.)	7:00 PM	Big Blue Madness	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	SEC Network
Oct. 18 (Fri.)	6:00 PM	Blue-White Preseason Event	Historic Memorial Coliseum	N/A
Oct. 23 (Wed.)	7:00 PM	Kentucky Wesleyan (exhibition)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	SEC Network+
Oct. 29 (Tue.)	7:00 PM	Minnesota State Mankato (exhibition)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	SEC Network+
Nov. 4 (Mon.)	7:00 PM	Wright State	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	ESPNU
Nov. 9 (Sat.)	4:00 PM	Bucknell	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	SEC Network+
Nov. 12 (Tue.)	9:00 PM	vs. Duke (Champions Classic)	Atlanta \| State Farm Arena	ESPN
Nov. 19 (Tue.)	7:00 PM	Lipscomb (BBN Invitational)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	SEC Network+
Nov. 22 (Fri.)	7:00 PM	Jackson State (BBN Invitational \| Unity Series)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	SEC Network+
Nov. 26 (Tue.)	6:30 PM	Western Kentucky (BBN Invitational)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	ESPNU
Nov. 29 (Fri.)	7:00 PM	Georgia State	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	SEC Network
Dec. 3 (Tue.)	9:30 PM	at Clemson (SEC/ACC Challenge)	Clemson, S.C. \| Littlejohn Coliseum	ESPN
Dec. 7 (Sat.)	10:00 PM	vs. Gonzaga (Battle in Seattle)	Seattle \| Climate Pledge Arena	ESPN2
Dec. 11 ( Wed.)	8:00 PM	Colgate	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	ESPN2
Dec. 14 (Sat.)	5:15 PM	Louisville	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	ESPN
Dec. 21 (Sat.)	5:30 PM	vs. Ohio State (CBS Sports Classic)	New York \| Madison Square Garden	CBS
Dec. 31 (Tue.)	2:00 PM	Brown	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	SEC Network+
Jan. 4 (Sat.)	11:00 AM	Florida	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	ESPNU
Jan. 7 (Tue.)	7:00 PM	at Georgia	Athens, Ga. \| Stegeman Coliseum	SEC Network
Jan. 11 (Sat.)	8:30 PM	at Mississippi State	Starkville, Miss.\| Humphrey Coliseum	SEC Network
Jan. 14 (Tue.)	7:00 PM	Texas A&M	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	ESPN2/U
Jan. 18 (Sat.)	12:00 PM	Alabama	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	ESPN
Jan. 25 (Sat.)	2:30 PM	at Vanderbilt	Nashville, Tenn. \| Memorial Gymnasium	ESPN/2
Jan. 28 (Tue.)	7:00 PM	at Tennessee	Knoxville, Tenn. \| Thompson-Boling Arena	ESPN
Feb. 1 (Sat.)	9:00 PM	Arkansas	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	ESPN
Feb. 4 (Tue.)	7:00 PM	at Ole Miss	Oxford, Miss. \| Pavilion at Ole Miss	ESPN
Feb. 8 (Sat.)	12:00 PM	South Carolina	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	ESPN/2
Feb. 11 (Tue.)	7:00 PM	Tennessee	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	SEC Network+
Feb. 15 (Sat.)	8:00 PM	at Texas	Austin, Texas \| Moody Center	ESPN
Feb. 19 (Wed.)	7:00 PM	Vanderbilt	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	SEC Network
Feb. 22 (Sat.)	6:00 PM	at Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Ala. \| Coleman Coliseum	ESPN
Feb. 26 (Wed.)	9:00 PM	at Oklahoma	Norman, Okla. \| Lloyd Noble Center	SEC Network
March 1 (Sat.)	1:00/4:00 PM	Auburn	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	ABC/ESPN
March 4 (Tue.)	7:00/9:00 PM	LSU	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center	ESPN/2/U
March 8 (Sat.)	12:00 PM	at Missouri	Columbia, Mo. \| Mizzou Arena	ESPN/SEC Network