GameDay coming to Gonzaga: "It says everything about our home court is what it really says"
Feb. 21—There is a quality slate of conference games Saturday, including No. 8 Texas visiting No. 9 Baylor and No. 5 Purdue entertaining No. 17 Indiana that should go a long way toward deciding the Big 12 and Big Ten titles, respectively.
Not to mention several high-profile matchups such as Auburn/Kentucky, Arkansas/No. 2 Alabama and No. 6 Virginia/North Carolina, the latter two airing on ESPN.
ESPN's College GameDay opted to bring its two-hour morning show Saturday to the McCarthey Athletic Center, leading up to No. 12 Gonzaga and No. 15 Saint Mary's rivalry clash at 7 p.m.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few believes it's a testament to the program's success and fan base.
"It's an honor and really a big deal to get chosen," said Few, shortly after the Zags defeated Pepperdine 97-88 on Saturday. "I mean, there's a lot of great games coming up this weekend and for them to choose us says everything about the program. It says everything about the game.
"It says everything about our home court, is what it really says, and kind of the community. Everybody needs to celebrate and enjoy and come out and put on a good show."
Few has experienced five previous GameDay shows involving his teams. Saturday will even the record with three of those on the road and three at home, the first two coming in 2006 and 2009.
The GameDay news was about 10 hours old after Saturday's win in Malibu, California, but it didn't dampen junior wing Julian Strawther's spirits.
"As a kid, I feel like I always saw (the show), especially for (college) football, and it was really cool," Strawther said. "I'm super excited. I feel it's super big for our program and for the school. I know the school is really excited about it. ... I think it's something cool and it's going to bring a whole different atmosphere to the game."
Gonzaga is 2-3 in prior GameDay games, including an 80-76 win over Stanford at the Kennel in 2006 in its first appearance and a 74-64 road win over Saint Mary's in 2017 in its most recent appearance.
The Zags, who lost to the Gaels 78-70 in overtime on Feb. 4 in Moraga, California, trail first-place Saint Mary's by one game in the West Coast Conference standings.
Gonzaga senior forward Drew Timme might have to adjust his usual Saturday morning routine with GameDay, which airs from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., in town.
"I'm not gonna lie, I'm not waking up," said Timme, when asked if he watches the show on Saturday mornings. "But it's super cool that it's coming here. I don't know if it's ever been to Spokane before, maybe before my time, but it's super cool they're able to come up. I know there's some big games going on, but this is a big game this week. Obviously, we have to take care of business first (Thursday vs. San Diego), but it's exciting."
Timme had ESPN's Jay Bilas as a guest on his Gimme Timme podcast in late November. Bilas, who has been on GameDay since its inception in 2005, will join Dan Shulman and reporter Holly Rowe on ESPN's broadcast of Gonzaga-Saint Mary's.
