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SMU and Gonzaga close to agreement for home-and-home beginning this season

Larry Brown, Yanick Moreira

AP

AP

A marquee non-conference matchup is close to being set in 2014, as SMU and Gonzaga are negotiating the terms of a home-and-home series beginning in the 2014-2015 season.

This came according to SMU Athletics Director Rick Hart, who tweeted the status of the proposed matchups on Tuesday afternoon.

In the College Basketball Talk Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25, SMU is ranked No. 10 while Gonzaga is listed at No. 16. The potential clash between the Mustangs and Bulldogs will feature two of the better back courts in the nation in SMU’s Nic Moore and incoming freshman Emmanuel Mudiay going up against the experienced guard tandem of Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr.

Gonzaga finished in the Round of 32 after receiving a No. 8 seed. The Zags struggled to win a quality non-conference game last season, dropping contests to Memphis, Kansas State and Dayton. The loss to the Flyers in the opening round of the Maui Invitational put the Bulldogs in the wrong side of the bracket, leaving them to go head-to-head with Division II Chaminade and Cal instead of games against Baylor and possibly Syracuse.

A quality non-conference opponent would help bolster SMU’s resume. On Selection Sunday, the Mustangs saw their bubble burst as the selection committee punished the Ponies for a weak schedule.

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