After a long, chaotic, and still not fully resolved offseason, Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs will take the floor on Saturday in an exhibition battle vs. John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks.
It will, at least temporarily, give fans, coaches, and players a chance to focus on actual on-court basketball, rather than discussing TROs, NCAA rules, and everyone's eligibility status with the regular season now less than two weeks away.
Gonzaga has two exhibition games ahead of the official start of the regular season. Not only do the Zags take on Arkansas on Saturday, but they will host Lewis-Clark State next Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
Who will play?
Gonzaga is expected to have 13 of 15 players available on Saturday, with Florida State transfer forward Chauncey Wiggins and Real Madrid big man Izan Almansa the lone ineligible players as of this writing.
Wiggins is part of the Georgia lawsuit, which remains stayed, per the Georgia Court of Appeals, while Almansa has yet to be cleared by the NCAA due to his experience playing professionally overseas and in the NBA G League.
Unless either situation is resolved before Saturday's tipoff, both players are expected to sit out - thinning Gonzaga's frontcourt rotation and giving more opportunities to freshman Sam Funches and sophomore Parker Jefferson against Arkansas.
What to watch for
Gonzaga's frontcourt duo of Massamba Diop and Braden Huff played against each other earlier this month at Kraziness in the Kennel, meaning Saturday gives fans a first glimpse at how the star big men look playing alongside one another in coach Few's offense.
Huff is back after averaging 17.8 points on elite efficiency in 18 games last year, before a knee injury ended his season in mid-January. Diop may not be as offensively impactful as All-American Graham Ike was, but he offers more rim protection and enough ball handling and outside shooting to give Huff real room to operate around the rim.
Gonzaga also has a bevy of new college basketball players set to make their debut on Saturday afternoon. 23-year-old French guard Nathan de Sousa is projected to play the most minutes out of the first year college group, and how he gets utilized as one of three Gonzaga point guards, alongside Xaivian Lee and Javon Bennett, is another key thing to watch.
Meanwhile Luca Foster, Sam Funches, Juwan Ekanga, and Carter Nilson are all expected to make their collegiate debut on Saturday, and the potentially hostile road environment at Bud Walton Arena will prepare each of them for life on the road in college basketball.
Below is a look at how to watch, stream, and listen to Gonzaga face Arkansas Saturday on the road at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville:
Gonzaga vs. Arkansas: TV channel, tipoff time, live stream
Date: Saturday, Oct. 24
Game time: 1:00 PM PT
Where: Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, AR)
How to listen: 590 AM and 96.1 FM (local), Varsity Network
How to stream: Hulu+Live TV
How to watch: SECN+
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