Men's Basketball

            SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga University will face the University of South Alabama Dec. 14 in the 11^th annual State Farm Battle in Seattle at KeyArena, Idol Sports & Entertainment announced Friday.

            The event marks just the third all time meeting between the two teams, with the Zags winning each of the previous contests.  The teams last faced each other in 1999 in the Hawkeye Classic in Iowa City, Iowa, with the Zags defeating the Jaguars 80-63.  The first meeting came in 1996 in Seattle during the U.S. West Tournament where the Bulldogs knocked off South Alabama 60-43 in KeyArena.

            The Jaguars will be led by new head coach Matthew Graves who spent the last 10 seasons as an assistant coach at Butler University. Graves will be joined by former Butler star guard Darnell Archey who has accepted an assistant coaching position on the USA staff.

            Tickets for the State Farm Battle in Seattle will go on sale in early September at all Ticketmaster outlets.

            Throughout its history, the State Farm Battle in Seattle games have been among the largest college basketball games in the state of Washington. In 2008, the game set the state’s attendance record for a regular-season college basketball game with a sold out crowd of 16,763 who witnessed the Bulldogs play the University of Connecticut Huskies.  Mark Few and company have compiled a 6-4 record in State Farm Battle in Seattle games.

Previous State Farm Battle in Seattle Results

Dec. 13, 2003 – #17 Gonzaga 87, #3 Missouri 80 (OT)

Dec. 4, 2004 – Gonzaga, 68, Massachusetts 57

Dec. 10, 2005 – #11 Gonzaga, 64, Oklahoma State 62

Dec. 30, 2006 – #18 Nevada 82, Gonzaga 74

Dec. 29, 2007 – #11 Tennessee 82, Gonzaga 72

Dec. 20, 2008 – #2 Connecticut 88, # 7 Gonzaga 83 (OT)

Dec. 12, 2009 – #21 Gonzaga 103, Davidson 91

Dec. 4, 2010 – #20 Illinois 73, Gonzaga 61

Dec. 17, 2011 – Gonzaga 71, Arizona 60

Dec. 15, 2012 – #14 Gonzaga 68, Kansas State 52