Arizona basketball schedules Grand Canyon for 2016
Jan 6, 2016, 7:05 PM | Updated: 7:46 pm
The state of Arizona’s college basketball culture became more complex when Grand Canyon University joined the WAC after hiring former Phoenix Suns star Dan Majerle as coach in 2013. Next year, his ‘Lopes are set to compete against the Arizona Wildcats, the GCU head coach confirmed Wednesday on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM’s Doug and Wolf show.
GCU won’t be postseason eligible until the 2017-18 season, but Majerle is getting his team prepared ahead of time.
Next season’s schedule isn’t an easy one.
“We got Louisville and San Diego (State) at home, we got UofA at UofA, we got Duke at Duke, we’re playing Illinois, we’re playing Rhode Island, we’re playing Cincinnati,” Majerle said. “That’s kind of our schedule next year to throw us in the fire and see what we’re going to do. I’m excited about our progress about where we’re going.”
Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne confirmed Wednesday that his Wildcats have scheduled a Dec. 14 matchup at McKale Center with the Antelopes.
Wanted to confirm, since the Pac-12 moratorium was lifted, @APlayersProgram will host @GCU_Hoops next season on 12/14/16 here at McKale.
— Greg Byrne (@Greg_Byrne) January 6, 2016
GCU has not yet faced either Arizona or Arizona State, but it has already faced off twice against Northern Arizona, losing to the Lumberjacks both times under Majerle’s tenure.
In 2015-16, the ‘Lopes got off to a strong 6-0 start and find themselves 13-2 having put together another six-game winning streak. Two of those victories — wins at San Diego State and against Houston — have been markers of vast improvement.
Taking on what’s likely to be a strong Arizona team next season doesn’t stray far from aggressive scheduling for Grand Canyon since it began playing as a Division I program. The Antelopes opened against No. 1 Kentucky last season and played against No. 24 Louisville this year.
