In a rivalry that has delivered some memorable games, No. 14 Gonzaga is set to face No. 22 UCLA on a brand-new stage Saturday when they become the first college teams to play at the Intuit Dome, the new $2 billion home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers in Inglewood, Calif.Saturday’s matchup is the fifth in as many seasons between the programs. Gonzaga (9-3) has won each of the last four, although last season’s 69-65 decision in the Maui Invitational was the third of the four decided by four points or fewer.Close games have been vexing for Gonzaga early this season. With back-to-back losses to Kentucky on Dec. 7 (90-89 in overtime) and UConn on Dec. 14 (77-71), the Bulldogs fell to 0-3 in contests decided by fewer than eight points.After Gonzaga’s two most recent contests — home routs of Nicholls and Bucknell — the Bulldogs’ average margin of victory sits at 28.1 points per game. Their most competitive win was an 88-80 victory over Arizona State on Nov. 10, which was also the Bulldogs’ only win decided by a single-digit-point margin.Gonzaga coach Mark Few expects Saturday’s affair to mirror the close contests his team has faced through the opening weeks of this season.”It’s going to be a really, really, really physical game,” Few said. “UCLA’s playing really hard-nosed defense, keeping the scores down. … That’s going to be a real physical challenge, much like the UConn game.”UCLA (10-2) returns to action after its own close defeat, blowing a large second-half lead to fall 76-74 against North Carolina last Saturday in New York. Tyler Bilodeau and Sebastian Mack each provided season-highs with 26 and 22 points, respectively.The Bruins led by as many as 16 points after halftime, but could not overcome a field-goal drought of more than five minutes.UCLA coach Mick Cronin said the Bruins’ late-game execution is an area of emphasis as they prepare for the second half of the regular season. While the team’s defense is at an elite level, the offense is suspect at times.”I’m still fighting to get this group … to where we were a couple years ago,” said Cronin, referring to UCLA lineups that advanced to at least the Sweet 16 in three straight NCAA Tournaments from 2021-23. “It’s hard to find guys as smart as Tyger (Campbell) and Dave Singleton.”
