| Wide: | yes |
| Gonzaga–Washington State men's basketball rivalry | |
| Team1: | Gonzaga Bulldogs |
| Team1logo: | Gonzaga Bulldogs wordmark.svg |
| Team2: | Washington State Cougars |
| Team2logo: | Washington State Cougars wordmark.svg |
| Sport: | Basketball |
| Firstmeeting: | December 16, 1907 Washington State 21, Gonzaga 18 |
| Mostrecent: | December 2, 2015 Gonzaga 69, Washington State 60 |
| Nextmeeting: | January 11, 2025 |
| Total: | 150 |
| Series: | Washington State leads, 98–52 |
| Largestvictory: | Washington State, 58–19 (1938) |
| Longeststreak: | Washington State, 15 (1936–1942) |
| Currentstreak: | Gonzaga, 5 (2011–present) |
The Gonzaga–Washington State men's basketball rivalry is an intrastate college basketball rivalry between the Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington and the Washington State Cougars men's basketball team of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. The two universities are both located in Eastern Washington and are separated by just 79 miles.
Gonzaga and Washington State have met a total of 150 times dating back to 1907. The two teams last met in 2015, but will renew their rivalry in 2025 and beyond as conference rivals. The Cougars dominated the series up until the end of the 20th century, but the Zags have won 14 of the last 17 meetings, dating back to 1998. This trend in the series reflects Gonzaga's ascension from a mid-major program to a perennially ranked powerhouse making trips to the NCAA Tournament every year in the 2000s and 2010s.[1] The Cougars hold a 49–20 lead as the home team, a 46–30 lead on the road, and a 3–2 lead in neutral site matchups.[2] The teams have met once in postseason play, with Washington State defeating Gonzaga 92–73 in the first round of the 1996 National Invitation Tournament.[3] In 2007, the matchup featured two ranked teams for the first and only time, with No. 8 Washington State prevailing 51–47 over No. 17 Gonzaga in Spokane, handing the Bulldogs their first-ever home loss while ranked.[4]
Washington State and Gonzaga met every season from 1921–22 to 1962–63 and every season from 1964–65 to 1986–87. The teams met again in each season from 2001-02 to 2015-16, before the series was suspended indefinitely.[5]
With the collapse of the Pac-12 after the 2023–24 season, Washington State joined the WCC as an associate member, renewing the dormant rivalry.[6] The Cougars and Bulldogs will play twice in the 2024–25 season and twice in the 2025–26 season as WCC rivals.[7] WSU and Gonzaga basketball will begin play in a rebuilt Pac-12 in the 2026–27 season, where they will continue to meet each season.[8] Gonzaga has appeared in two national championship games since the Cougars and Bulldogs last faced off, falling to North Carolina in 2017 and Baylor in 2021.[9] [10]
Below is a complete list of series results, according to WSUCougars.com and GoZags.com.[2] [11] Rankings are from the AP Poll at the time of the game.