Gonzaga-USF Basketball Game to be Played at Chase Center for Third Consecutive Year
The University of San Francisco Dons will host the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Chase Center in San Francisco on February 18th, marking the third consecutive season the game will be played at the NBA’s Golden State Warriors’ arena.
Gonzaga has dominated the series against USF, boasting a 33-game win streak dating back to 2012, with an average victory margin of 16.1 points. However, the most recent contest at War Memorial Gym, USF’s traditional home court, was a narrow 77-75 win for Gonzaga in 2023 after a late tip-in by Rasir Bolton. USF moved the game to the larger Chase Center, which seats 18,000, to increase ticket sales and broaden brand exposure; their last game at War Memorial drew 3,300 fans, while Chase Center games have exceeded 6,300 attendees.
USF coach Chris Gerlufsen acknowledged the trade-off in home-court advantage, stating before the 2024 matchup, “Hopefully, we’ll limit the number of tickets sold to Gonzaga fans. I think it’s great for our conference, it’s going to put our conference in a different light, on a national stage. So I’m good with it.” The Dons, who have a 68-35 record over the past three seasons under Gerlufsen, return key players Ryan Beasley, Tyrone Riley IV, and Ndewedo Newbury as they aim to challenge Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga will play five regular-season games in NBA, NHL, or WNBA arenas this season, including a neutral-site game against Kentucky at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on December 5th, as reported by ESPN.
The game will air on either ESPN or ESPN2, and officials stated that a specific tipoff time will be announced at a later date as Gonzaga looks to continue its dominance in the series.
