On Saturday, the top-ranked Gonzaga men's basketball team will take on second-ranked Baylor as part of the Jimmy V Classic in Indianapolis.
Not only is this going to be the toughest match up of the Bulldogs regular season, this is a highly anticipated game around the country as this is a game between two potential Final Four teams.
Getting this game on the schedule was interesting as it wasn't a part of the Zags' original non-conference slate. As games came off of Gonzaga's schedule, it made room for replacements.
The top two teams in the country squaring off is quite the replacement.
"I think it just got a lot of people excited and ready for college basketball in a time where there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding it," Gonzaga's Coordinator of Basketball Administration TJ Benson said.
Benson helped put this schedule together. He said when the opportunity came to get the best teams together on national TV, the Zags didn't hesitate.
"Getting that game on CBS was a big deal, being on national television for that, to have that exposure, it's something I know we're excited about and I think everyone in the Gonzaga fan base feels the same way," he said.
Benson said putting this game together and other marquee match ups was all thanks to head coach Mark Few.
"Kansas and Auburn were his, Baylor was all him I had nothing to do with that one," Benson said. "Coach Few always wants that, he wants that exposure and to get our team in front of as many eyes as possible."
Few said he called Baylor head coach Scott Drew to get this game on the schedule.
"Scott and I talked about this a lot," he said. "This past summer we thought this was the right thing to do. We both knew we were going to have highly rated teams. We thought we need to find a way and place to play it. We thought not only would it be good for our programs, but for college basketball, especially doing it this early in the year."
With so many revolving pieces around scheduling games, the Bulldogs knew this contest against Baylor and a matchup with third ranked Iowa coming up in a couple of weeks were ones they would keep on the schedule no matter what.
"We were kind of able to manage and maneuver whatever games we needed to around those two games because we knew how big of a deal it was to be on CBS," Benson said. "It was a no brainer."
The game starts is at 10 a.m. on Saturday and will air on KREM 2. Before the game, KREM 2 will air a Bulldog Madness special featuring compelling stories and what to watch for in this match up. The show will start at 9:30 a.m.
