Gonzaga, Duke to meet in Detroit for February nonconference showdown

Gonzaga is hopeful its 2026-27 season will end with a pair of games in Detroit, but Mark Few's team will make a pit stop in the Motor City nonetheless for a nonconference game against one of the most popular brands in the sport.

The Zags will face Duke on Feb. 20 at Little Caesars Arena, the home of the NBA's Detroit Pistons and the site of GU's Sweet 16 loss to Purdue in 2024.

The matchup is part of Duke's three-game partnership with Amazon Prime Video, which will broadcast the game against Gonzaga and the Blue Devils' nonconference tests against UConn and Michigan.

According to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, each of Duke's opponents will make north of $500,000 for playing in the games, with the Blue Devils set to receive significantly more as the primary organizer.

A tipoff time for the game and ticket information will be announced at a later date.

The Zags and Blue Devils are among the teams many expect could be in the mix for a trip to the Final Four, which will take place in Detroit less than two months after the teams play at Little Caesars Arena. Ford Field, home to the NFL's Detroit Lions, will be hosting Final Four games on April 3 and April 5.

The addition of Duke to another strong nonconference schedule all but guarantees Gonzaga will play at least eight high-major programs next season.

The Zags are opening the season on Nov. 2 against Purdue at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will play road games at Kentucky and Creighton, along with a neutral-site game on Dec. 19 against Michigan State at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California. Gonzaga is also making another trip to the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, where Few's team should line up against three more high-major programs.

Gonzaga will either finish its two-game, neutral-site series against Oregon next season at Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena or during the 2027-28 season. The Zags are also slated to start another two-year, neutral-site series with UCLA, although details still haven't been finalized.

There have been five previous meetings between Gonzaga and Duke, but this will be the first time the schools face off since Jon Scheyer took over as head coach of the Blue Devils in 2022.

The most recent meeting between the schools came in 2021, when a Gonzaga team led by Chet Holmgren lost 84-81 to Duke and fellow top three pick Paolo Banchero in Las Vegas.

The pairing of Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke won the previous matchup, 89-87, to capture the championship at the Maui Invitational and hold off a top-ranked Duke team led by Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish.

The Blue Devils stopped the Zags one game shy of a Final Four appearance in 2015, beating Few's team 66-52 at NRG Stadium in Houston. Duke won the only other two matchups, both of which took place at New York City's Madison Square Garden in 2007 and 2010.

February's matchup will mark the second time in the last four seasons the Zags will play a one-off game against a blue blood program in the heart of their conference schedule.

In 2023-24, Gonzaga traveled to Lexington on Feb. 10 for a game against Kentucky at Rupp Arena, beating the Wildcats 89-85.

Duke has played similar games each of the last two seasons, taking a break from its ACC schedule to play Illinois on Feb. 23 at Madison Square Garden during the 2024-25 season. This past season, the Blue Devils edged eventual national champion Michigan 68-63 on Feb. 21 at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.

Both teams could enter the season with top-10 rankings next to their names. Duke is currently ranked No. 3 in Jon Rothstein's rankings while Gonzaga moved up to No. 8 after receiving a commitment from Arizona State transfer Massamba Diop.

The Blue Devils are replacing the national player of the year for the second straight season after losing forward Cam Boozer to the NBA draft, but bring back guards Caleb Foster, Cayden Boozer and Dame Sarr, along with center Patrick Ngongba. Duke is bringing in forward Cameron Williams, a top-five prospect in the country, and recently made a splash in the transfer portal with the addition of Wisconsin guard John Blackwell.

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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 7:16 PM.