Gonzaga Bulldogs: Extending the rivalry after BYU joins Big-12
BYU is leaving for Big-12 in 2023. That doesn’t mean the Gonzaga Bulldogs – Brigham Young Cougars rivalry has to end.
Every year, the Gonzaga – BYU is one team circled on the calendar as a must-watch. As a matter of fact, there was a recent article in BYU’s student newspaper about the Gonzaga Bulldogs – Brigham Young rivalry, from the Cougars’ perspective.
BYU is leaving the West Coast Conference for the Big-12 Conference in 2023, but the rivalry doesn’t need to end. Gonzaga and Brigham Young could still schedule each other as non-conference opponents.
This is the biggest rivalry game for Gonzaga among WCC schools (maybe all schools). Even though the Zags 22-7 record doesn’t scream “rivalry,” these matchups bring out the best in both teams.
Brief History
For Gonzaga, it seems like every season, the West Coast Conference championship (regular season or tournament) goes through Brigham Young. As in, the Zags need to beat BYU head-to-head.
Brigham Young is a program that put up double-digit conference win totals since joining the WCC in 2011 and in that time only failed to reach 20 total wins once (19-13 in 2018-19). BYU is also the last conference team to beat Gonzaga. On February 22, 2020, Brigham Young knocked off the then-second ranked Zags 91-78.
Speaking of recent upsets, turn the clock back to February 25, 2017. The Cougars came into Spokane to face an undefeated and number one ranked Gonzaga team, which had five future NBA players on the roster. It was the last conference game of the season and Brigham Young played like they had nothing to lose.
Undaunted, BYU pulled out a 79-71 win to hand the Gonzaga Bulldogs one of their only two losses that season. The other Zags’ loss came against North Carolina in the NCAA Championship Game.
Make it Happen
Gonzaga always plays tough teams before the WCC regular season begins. They aren’t shy about proving themselves against the best, and it doesn’t matter if they have to leave home to do it. So along with scheduling the likes of UCLA, Alabama, and Texas, they can surely add a former conference foe to the docket.
Zags fans have seen coach Mark Few schedule top opponents on the fly, so scheduling a semi-permanent series should be hard. He should set up some home-and-home series against the closest thing the Zags have to a rivalry team, BYU. Even better, schedule it for the same weekend every year.
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Do you think the Gonzaga Bulldogs should add BYU to their schedule after the Cougars go to the Big-12 Conference? Let us know in the comments section below.