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Commentary: The possibilities for Gonzaga's schedule this week

The Zags' game against Loyola Marymount is up in the air on Thursday and their game Saturday against Santa Clara has been canceled due to coronavirus.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga men's basketball is in a weird spot with it's schedule next week.

The original schedule had the top ranked Zags playing Loyola Marymount on Thursday and Santa Clara on Saturday.

LMU announced they have a positive COVID-19 case this past Saturday. The team could possibly shut down their program for a bit. The Santa Clara game has already been canceled due to coronavirus on their team.

That means Gonzaga as of Sunday has potentially no games this week.

The Bulldogs could look to their conference, but without rearrangement there aren't a lot of options.

The easiest game to move up would have been Saint Mary's from February 18 to next week. However the Gaels are also on pause due to coronavirus.

All the other teams in the West Coast Conference have games still on for Thursday and Saturday. So Gonzaga is the odd team out right now.

On top of that, the Zags have already played Pepperdine twice, including a win this past Saturday. With rearrangement, their options would be San Francisco, San Diego, Pacific and BYU. They could play Portland again too as they have only played them once this season on the road.

Once again, all those teams have scheduled games against one another right now.

The Bulldogs could look out of conference.

Sorry Gonzaga fans, but Baylor seems off the table. The second ranked Bears have two games this upcoming week in the midst of Big 12 Conference play.

That doesn't mean there aren't other good options though.

Sixth ranked Houston has an opening on Saturday.

18th ranked Tennessee could play Saturday if Kentucky goes on pause due to coronavirus. The Wildcats had to cancel a game on Saturday due to a positive COVID-19 case.

Other options include 22nd ranked St. Louis on Saturday, but that's not a very sexy choice for a game. Especially if it were to be nationally televised.

The Zags could play 23rd ranked UCLA, but only during the weekdays. The Bruins were supposed to play Oregon on Monday, but that game was canceled due to coronavirus on the Ducks.

An option outside of the Associated Press top 25, but a blue blood program, would be Michigan State. The Spartans were supposed to play fourth ranked Michigan, but the Wolverines are on pause.

Whoever fills the spots or spot if LMU can play, we'll find out sooner than later. However, only time will tell.

   

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