USC basketball to play Gonzaga in Las Vegas

The game is a rematch of the 2021 Elite Eight, in which the Zags denied #USC its first Men’s Final Four berth since 1954.

The Bronny James effect is real. Yes, USC is a top-15-level team heading into November primarily because of No. 1 recruit Isaiah Collier. The combination of Collier, Boogie Ellis, Vince Iwuchukwu, and Bronny James as a quartet, with lots of great role players providing depth and balance, is why USC has a chance to be special. Bronny isn’t the number one reason the Trojans can contend for the Pac-12 title and the Final Four.

However: Bronny James is the main reason these big nonconference games are being scheduled. He is the reason USC — which has generally not scheduled a lot of aspirational nonconference games in the Andy Enfield era — is loading up its nonconference schedule for the 2023-2024 season.

USC had already scheduled Kansas State for its season opener on November 6. Now comes the news that the Trojans will play a nonconference game against Gonzaga. Holy smokes!

This is what it feels like to enter the top tier of major college basketball, at least in terms of television coverage and media visibility. The Trojans now have to enter the top tier in terms of achievements — they haven’t gotten there yet — but this date with Gonzaga underscores the point that TV networks will want to put USC on the air as much as possible with Bronny in the fold. USC will almost certainly add more high-end nonconference games before it’s all said and done.

There are other details about this Gonzaga matchup you need to know about. We’ll provide those details below: