Mark Few: Kentucky, Duke only top programs to not play at Gonzaga

A common complaint in the John Calipari era has been Kentucky’s non-conference schedule, particularly at Rupp. The Cats are in the midst of a seven-game home stand against, shall we say, easier opponents. This season, Kentucky only has two home-and-home games vs. non-conference opponents, Notre Dame and Louisville, in addition to the Champions Classic, CBS Sports Classic, and Big 12/SEC Challenge.

Following No. 1 Gonzaga’s win over then-No. 5 Texas on Saturday night, Bulldogs head coach Mark Few said he’s pleased so many big-name programs have come to Spokane over the years; however, he pointed out that two have not…Kentucky and Duke.

“We’ve had everybody come up here. There are only about two left that we haven’t had that we need to get up here at some point. Probably Kentucky and Duke and then we’ll have the whole market cornered. We’ve been very fortunate to have the people come up here and play us.”

Now, Gonzaga plays its fair share of neutral-site non-conference games too. This season, the Bulldogs play UCLA and Duke in Las Vegas, Alabama in Seattle, and Texas Tech in Phoenix. But, Few’s comments are a reminder of John Calipari’s strong preference for neutral-site games over true road games. Duke’s non-conference schedule is similarly stacked with cupcakes at Cameron Indoor Stadium. For the rest of college basketball, that trend may be changing.

Chris Beard: “The best teams in the country should play real road games”

Even though his team lost to Gonzaga 86-74, Texas coach Chris Beard told reporters afterward he believes true road games between top programs are good for the sport.

“After the game in the handshake lines, Coach was like, ‘Good game, Chris. Thanks for coming here and playing a game.’ And I said, ‘Right back at you, Coach. Thank you for giving us the opportunity and we’ll have these guys back in Austin next year.

“Sitting there last night, watching Villanova play UCLA, I just think it’s what’s right,” Beard added. “It’s what should happen in college basketball. I think the best teams in the country should play real road games and Coach Few has always been a guy that will do that and we will too. We look forward to playing a lot of games like this. I think it’s just what’s right for college basketball. It felt right watching that ‘Nova/UCLA game and tonight felt right.”

Kentucky’s neutral-home-home series vs. Michigan was shelved this season and is scheduled to start next year at the O2 Arena in London. The Cats’ series with Notre Dame was also originally planned to be neutral-home-home, but due to the pandemic, started in Lexington last year. This year, Kentucky will go to South Bend, leaving the neutral site option open in 2022-23. That leaves plenty of room on the schedule for a home-and-home (or neutral-home-home) series vs. a top program like Gonzaga. I won’t hold my breath.