Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
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2 p.m. (MST)
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Bryce Wheeler
Schedule addition puts Lopes at 3rd NBA stop
9/5/2024 11:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
GCU faces San Diego in new Intuit Dome, home to Los Angeles Clippers
By the end of the year, Grand Canyon will have a fair taste of NBA road life.
The Lopes added a third NBA arena destination to their 2024-25 schedule with the most sparking venue yet. GCU will play a Dec. 28 game against future West Coast Conference foe San Diego at the Los Angeles Clippers' new home, the $2 billion Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
GCU already had slated a Nov. 14 Hall of Fame Series game against Arizona State at the Phoenix Suns' Footprint Center and a Dec. 14 Holiday Hoopsgiving duel with Georgia at the Atlanta Hawks' State Farm Arena.
As with the GCU-ASU game being a downtown Phoenix doubleheader with a GCU-ASU women's basketball game and the GCU-Georgia game in Atlanta following Ohio State-Auburn and ASU-Florida, the Dec. 28 event at Intuit Dome will be a multi-team event. The West Coast Hoops Showcase also will feature an earlier matchup between Gonzaga and UCLA with game times to be determined.
Event tickets will go on sale Sept. 18, but fans can get presale access by registering here.
"We are really excited to play a future WCC opponent in the Clippers' new arena," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "It's a great opportunity for our program and our fans. It is special that this will be the third NBA arena that our players get to play in this season."
The Intuit Dome features the world's largest "Halo board," a 32-foot-tall, double-sided technological feat with a 4K screen and 38,000-plus square feet of LED. The venue opened three weeks ago next to SoFi Stadium, which is home to the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams.
Facing the Toreros further strengthens the Lopes' nonconference slate, which already consisted of seven opponents that won 20 or more game last season. In head coach Steve Lavin's second season, San Diego improved from 11 wins to 18 wins for its first winning season since 2019.
Last season's team, with eight freshmen, beat ASU and led the nation in double-digit comeback wins (eight).
GCU will face San Diego at least twice each season in the future as WCC brethren but have not met since a pre-Drew series in 2017-18 (a 61-58 Toreros win in San Diego) and 2018-19 (a 72-62 Toreros win in Phoenix). The Lopes are 0-3 against San Diego in the Division I era and 11-11 all-time.
Under Drew, the Lopes have won seven of their past nine games against WCC opponents. GCU will move to the conference on July 1.
Coming off a 30-5 season that reached the NCAA tournament's second round, GCU is returning five of its top six scorers while adding experienced power forward JaKobe Coles from TCU, WAC Freshman of the Year Makaih Williams from UT Arlington, sophomore Caleb Shaw after a redshirt season and three touted freshmen.
The Lopes will play an Oct. 29 exhibition game against Eastern New Mexico at Global Credit Union Arena before staying home for the Nov. 4 regular-season opener against Cal State Fullerton. The Lopes have a 30-game schedule but could add one more.
The Lopes added a third NBA arena destination to their 2024-25 schedule with the most sparking venue yet. GCU will play a Dec. 28 game against future West Coast Conference foe San Diego at the Los Angeles Clippers' new home, the $2 billion Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
GCU already had slated a Nov. 14 Hall of Fame Series game against Arizona State at the Phoenix Suns' Footprint Center and a Dec. 14 Holiday Hoopsgiving duel with Georgia at the Atlanta Hawks' State Farm Arena.
As with the GCU-ASU game being a downtown Phoenix doubleheader with a GCU-ASU women's basketball game and the GCU-Georgia game in Atlanta following Ohio State-Auburn and ASU-Florida, the Dec. 28 event at Intuit Dome will be a multi-team event. The West Coast Hoops Showcase also will feature an earlier matchup between Gonzaga and UCLA with game times to be determined.
Event tickets will go on sale Sept. 18, but fans can get presale access by registering here.
"We are really excited to play a future WCC opponent in the Clippers' new arena," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "It's a great opportunity for our program and our fans. It is special that this will be the third NBA arena that our players get to play in this season."
The Intuit Dome features the world's largest "Halo board," a 32-foot-tall, double-sided technological feat with a 4K screen and 38,000-plus square feet of LED. The venue opened three weeks ago next to SoFi Stadium, which is home to the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams.
Facing the Toreros further strengthens the Lopes' nonconference slate, which already consisted of seven opponents that won 20 or more game last season. In head coach Steve Lavin's second season, San Diego improved from 11 wins to 18 wins for its first winning season since 2019.
Last season's team, with eight freshmen, beat ASU and led the nation in double-digit comeback wins (eight).
GCU will face San Diego at least twice each season in the future as WCC brethren but have not met since a pre-Drew series in 2017-18 (a 61-58 Toreros win in San Diego) and 2018-19 (a 72-62 Toreros win in Phoenix). The Lopes are 0-3 against San Diego in the Division I era and 11-11 all-time.
Under Drew, the Lopes have won seven of their past nine games against WCC opponents. GCU will move to the conference on July 1.
Coming off a 30-5 season that reached the NCAA tournament's second round, GCU is returning five of its top six scorers while adding experienced power forward JaKobe Coles from TCU, WAC Freshman of the Year Makaih Williams from UT Arlington, sophomore Caleb Shaw after a redshirt season and three touted freshmen.
The Lopes will play an Oct. 29 exhibition game against Eastern New Mexico at Global Credit Union Arena before staying home for the Nov. 4 regular-season opener against Cal State Fullerton. The Lopes have a 30-game schedule but could add one more.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballMakaih Williams | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Dusty Stromer | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Kaleb Smith | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Non-Conference Schedule Release | Men's Basketball
Monday, August 04