GCU, Arizona State will meet in men’s basketball

For the first time since joining NCAA Division I, Grand Canyon’s men’s basketball team will be playing Arizona State next season.

They will play on Dec. 13 at 4 p.m. at Grand Canyon University Arena.

This is a home-and-home series with the two teams meeting in Tempe during the 2021-22 season at a date to be determined.

They met only one other time in the schools’ history, in 1980.

The schools did play each other in an exhibition to open GCU Arena in 2011. But this game will count in the regular-season record.

“We are thrilled for the opportunity to play a series with Arizona State,” first-year Antelopes coach Bryce Drew said in a school release. “(ASU head coach) Bobby Hurley has built one of the better programs in the country, and this will be a series that the Phoenix area will be very excited for.”

This will be a chance for former Phoenix Shadow Mountain guards Jaelen House (ASU) and Jovan Blacksher Jr. (GCU) to face each other for the first time, after growing up on the same teams and leading the Matadors to four consecutive state championships.

Hurley said he is looking forward to starting a series with GCU.

“Bryce Drew and his family are well known in the college basketball world, and as we welcome him to the Valley, it made sense to have an efficient homeand-home with his program,” Hurley said.

ASU President Michael Crow has relaxed his opinion on playing GCU in athletic contests since the Antelopes transitioned from Division II to I seven years ago.

“This is a great opportunity for two local programs with history of success in collegiate basketball to finally meet on the court,” Crow said in an ASU release. “We hope it is the beginning of a new spirited rivalry between universities who have long contributed to the culture of the Valley, now in a new and entertaining way.”

GCU is known for its Havocs, a large student sections considered one of the loudest in college basketball.

“Congratulations to Coach Drew and to Coach Hurley for getting this set up,” GCU President Brian Mueller said in the release. “This is going to be a great event for the two universities, their students, alumni and fan bases. It will be a fantastic way to showcase college basketball in the Valley.”