Submitted by Fox First at Ten on June 28th
Gonzaga will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Battle in Seattle by welcoming Kansas State to the KeyArena this winter.
The game, set for December 15, will be just the third all-time meeting between the two schools. The teams played each other in 2010 in the semifinal of the CBE Classic in Kansas City, with the Wildcats winning 81-64. Their first meeting was in 1994 in the second round of the NIT. Kansas State won that one 66-64.
Both schools reached the round of 32 in the East Region of last season's NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs routed West Virginia before falling to 2nd seeded Ohio State, 73-66. Kansas State defeated Southern Mississippi in their opening game but then lost to #1 seed Syracuse, 75-59.
Kansas State will have a new head coach in 2012-13, but he will be no stranger to the State Farm Battle in Seattle. Bruce Weber will be the first opposing coach to return to the sidelines of annual neutral game, having coached Illinois to a 73-61 victory in the 2010 event.
"This is a great opportunity to test our team against one of the best in the country in a great venue," said Kansas State head coach Weber. "Mark (Few) has built Gonzaga into an annual NCAA Tournament contender and he will again have another strong club in 2012-13. I think these types of games are a huge benefit to your team especially to a veteran club like we have coming back in the fall."
Tickets for the State Farm Battle in Seattle will go on sale Monday, September 17th at all Ticketmaster outlets. The exclusive pre-sale will begin on Monday, September 10th through Spokane-area Ticketmaster outlets or by obtaining a special pre-sale code.
PREVIOUS STATE FARM BATTLE IN SEATTLE RESULTS:
2003 – #17 Gonzaga 87 – 80 #3 Missouri (OT)
2004 – Gonzaga 68 – 57 Massachusetts
2005 – #11 Gonzaga 64 – 62 Oklahoma State
2006 – #18 Nevada 82 – 74 Gonzaga
2007 – #11 Tennessee 82 – 72 Gonzaga
2008 – #2 Connecticut 88 – 83 # 7 Gonzaga (OT)
2009 – #21 Gonzaga 103 – 91 Davidson
2010 – #20 Illinois 73 – 61 Gonzaga
2011 – Gonzaga 71 – 60 Arizona
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