This is a game which we were cautiously optimistic would make the
schedule, given a strong desire from both schools as well as ESPN, and we now
know that Stanford and Gonzaga will play this winter the first half of a
home-and-home series. The two games will take place in the 2005-06 and
2006-07 seasons, with this coming year's edition at Gonzaga on February 11.
The two teams will then play at Stanford the following year.
The series is a big win for not just the two schools, but also the Pac-10 and
WCC conferences. This year's game in Spokane (Wash.) will not only be
broadcast nationally on ESPN, but also the "College Gameday" show will be
televised from the site of the game that Saturday, focusing a full day of the national sports network on the
pair of West Coast programs. It is possible that ESPN and the College Gameday crew
could also come to Maples Pavilion for the 2006-07 game, but Pac-10 television
contract considerations related to Fox Sports Net remain cloudy at this time.
There is a ripple effect of the finalized Stanford-Gonzaga game, as felt on
two other dates on the Cardinal's 2005-06 schedule. You may remember that
Stanford and Cal were originally slated to meet on February 11. The Bay Area rivals will
now play on Thursday February 9, though the game has been moved to Haas Pavilion
on Berkeley's campus. The first Stanford-Cal game of the season, to be
played January 14, was originally slotted for Berkeley and will now be played in
Maples Pavilion at Stanford.
Why the switch? If you witnessed the Stanford-Cal game at Haas Pavilion
this past January, you may have an inkling. That game at Cal was played in
front of a tepid crowd, with a decidedly absent home court advantage for
the Bears. Stanford handled Cal, 74-58, in one of their easiest victories
in years at the Bears' lair. That game was held on Saturday January 15,
2005, three days before the spring semester started at Berkeley. With that
weekend also the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, Cal students were not
only on winter break but also occupied with ski trips and other competing
activities. Classes at Berkeley start for the spring 2006 semester on
January 17, again after the MLK holiday weekend. Cal would have been
saddled with another neutral court atmosphere on his home court for the planned
January 14 game against Stanford. But with the 2006 home destinations now
switched, Cal plays Stanford on their court in February, with a full complement of
students on campus.
Stanford and Gonzaga have played twice in the last three years, with the
Cardinal and Bulldogs meeting in back-to-back years of the Pete Newell Challenge
in Oakland (Calif.) in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons. Stanford won both
meetings, by respective scores of 81-71 and 87-80. Gonzaga won the two
previous meetings, with the all-time series knotted at 2-2.
The Cardinal have one more game to still schedule for the coming year.
Their slate looked full in the spring, but the holdup on the Gonzaga game was
actually the less difficult of the two major hurdles they have unexpectedly
faced since. Stanford was set to play Alabama in the "Colorado Classic" in
Denver (Colo.) on November 26, but the Tide pulled back. Despite continued
efforts, that event has not been able to be repaired, and Stanford is left
looking for a last-minute opponent to fill out the last slot of their 2005-06
non-conference schedule. Talks are ongoing with several possible
opponents, but Cardinalmaniacs™ should not hold their breath for a power
program to fill that slot. It is beyond Stanford's control, given the
dissolution of the Alabama game, but most programs have finalized their
schedules by this late date. Others don't want to face Stanford in a
home-and-home...
All dates are subject to change
(Changes since last schedule
update)
| Nov. 5 |
Sonoma State |
Stanford, Calif. |
Exhibition |
| Nov. 12 |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Stanford, Calif. |
Exhibition |
| Nov. 19 |
UC-Irvine |
Stanford, Calif. |
Est. noon tip-off |
| Nov. 23 |
USF |
Stanford, Calif. |
Possible double-header w/ Stanford women |
| Nov. 28 |
Cal Poly S.L.O. |
Stanford, Calif. |
|
| Dec. 2 |
@ Montana |
Missoula, Mont. |
|
| Dec. 4 |
@ UC-Davis |
Davis, Calif. |
Last game before dead week/finals break |
| Dec. 18 |
Denver |
Stanford, Calif. |
|
| Dec. 21 |
Princeton |
Oakland, Calif. |
9th annual Pete Newell Challenge |
| Dec. 29 |
@ UCLA |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
Pac-10 opener, UCLA on winter break |
| Dec. 31 |
@ USC |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
|
| Jan. 5 |
Oregon State |
Stanford, Calif. |
Pac-10 home opener, students on campus |
| Jan. 7 |
Oregon |
Stanford, Calif. |
|
| Jan. 14 |
Cal |
Stanford, Calif. |
Now played at Maples Pavilion |
| Jan. 19 |
@ Arizona |
Tucson, Ariz. |
|
| Jan. 21 |
@ Arizona State |
Tempe, Ariz. |
|
| Jan. 26 |
Washington State |
Stanford, Calif. |
|
| Jan. 28 |
Washington |
Stanford, Calif. |
|
| Feb. 2 |
@ Oregon |
Eugene, Ore. |
|
| Feb. 4 |
@ Oregon State |
Corvallis, Ore. |
|
| Feb. 9 |
@ Cal |
Berkeley, Calif. |
Game at Haas Pavilion = Cal students |
| Feb. 11 |
@ Gonzaga |
Spokane, Wash. |
ESPN telecast plus College Gameday |
| Feb. 16 |
Arizona State |
Stanford, Calif. |
|
| Feb. 18 |
Arizona |
Stanford, Calif. |
|
| Feb. 23 |
@ Washington |
Seattle, Wash. |
|
| Feb. 25 |
@ Washington State |
Pullman, Wash. |
|
| Mar. 2 |
USC |
Stanford, Calif. |
|
| Mar. 4 |
UCLA |
Stanford, Calif. |
Senior Day at Maples Pavilion |
| Mar. 9 |
Pac-10 Tournament |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
|
| Mar. 16 |
NCAA Tournament |
TBD |
Card shoot for 12th straight Big Dance |
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