Report: Gonzaga working on matchup with Michigan State on aircraft carrier in San Diego

Jim Meehan, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
·2 min read

Jun. 14—Gonzaga is reportedly working on scheduling a Veterans Day matchup with Michigan State on an aircraft carrier in San Diego.

No contracts have been signed and numerous logistical aspects need to be ironed out, but both schools are optimistic the Nov. 11 meeting will take place, according to CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein.

Gonzaga opened the 2015-16 season against Pittsburgh on a portable court at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Butler in Okinawa, Japan, as part of the Armed Forces Classic. The game was called off at halftime with Pittsburgh leading 37-35 due to unsafe court conditions. There were multiple instances of players slipping and sliding from moisture on the court in the opening 20 minutes.

Michigan State lost to North Carolina 67-55 in the first Carrier Classic in 2011 on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego. President Barack Obama and his family were among the 8,111 in attendance. The Spartans also lost to Connecticut in a hangar at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to open the 2012 season.

The 2012 Carrier Classic on the USS Yorktown in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, was a doubleheader. The Notre Dame women defeated Ohio State, but the men's game between Ohio State and Marquette was called off due to condensation on the court.

Michigan State holds a 4-1 record against Gonzaga. In the most recent meeting, Draymond Green scored a career-high 34 points in MSU's 74-67 victory at the McCarthey Athletic Center in December 2011. Rob Sacre and Elias Harris each scored 17 points, but the Zags fell 74-71 on the Spartans' home floor in 2009. Adam Morrison scored 43 points as Gonzaga outlasted MSU 109-106 in triple overtime at the 2005 Maui Invitational.

Gonzaga will entertain North Florida in the season opener Nov. 7 and Washington on Dec. 9. The Zags are scheduled to face Texas in Austin on Nov. 16, Baylor in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Dec. 2, and Alabama in Birmingham on Dec. 17. GU also will play three games at the PK85 holiday tournament Nov. 24-27 in Portland in an eight-team bracket that includes Duke, Florida, Oregon State, Portland State, Purdue, West Virginia and Xavier. Alabama and Michigan State are in the other eight-team bracket at the PK85.

Gonzaga is No. 1, Duke No. 5, Baylor No. 7, Texas No. 12, Alabama No. 21, Purdue No. 22 and Michigan State No. 25 in CBS Sports' Top 25 and 1 rankings.