The Schedule has Arrived

After months of waiting, the GU men's basketball schedule has finally been released. As always, the schedule is challenging, as a majority of the toughest games will take place on the road.

Some Highlights from the schedule:

- The Zags will kick off the season by hosting Wayne State University. This is an exhibition game and it will take place on November 1, at 5:00 PM. After this, the team will travel to Colorado, where they will scrimmage the University of Texas.

- The Bulldogs will be participating in arguable the best preseason tournament, when they begin the Old Spice Classic on November 27. Oklahoma St. will be the opponent in the first round, and GU is joined by Tennessee, Georgetown, Siena, Wichita St., Maryland, and Michigan St. This should provide an excellent opportunity for the team to prove themselves in front of a national audience early in the season.

-Other highlights include a trip to Phoenix on December 6, when GU will take on the Arizona Wildcats. The Battle in Seattle will take place on December 20 and the opponent will be the UConn Huskies. The final game before conference play will see the team travel to Knoxville, in what could potentially be their second meeting with the Tennessee Volunteers. The Bulldogs will take a break from WCC play, when they host the Memphis Tigers on February 7.

Here are some quotes from Mark Few, and athletic director Mike Roth

"It's another challenging schedule that will get us NCAA-ready," Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said. "And like I seem to say every year, this is probably our toughest schedule yet."

"We have another great television package," Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth said. "In addition to being on one of the ESPN family of stations 13 times and Fox and CBS national once each, we have 13 appearances as part of our partnership with KHQ-TV and FSN. This is the fifth straight season every one of our games will be televised. We continue to have one of - if not the best - television deal in the country."

TKR's Take: This is a tremendously challenging schedule, but it remains frustrating that many of the best games will be on the road. It is nice that we get the Memphis Tigers in Spokane, but the game will be played at the Spokane Arena and not on campus. If the team is as good as many people believe it to be, then this schedule should provide GU with the forum to be a top 2 seed come NCAA Tournament time.

Later today, TKR will begin a breakdown of every opponent on the GU schedule. Kicking off the series will be the Wayne State Warriors.

What is your take on the schedule? Do you think that GU should be able to attract some BCS schools to the MAC? Share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment below.