PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona State and Grand Canyon will meet in men's basketball for the first time in 40 years next season as part of a home-and-home series.
The Antelopes will host the Sun Devils on Dec. 13 to open the series and will play at Arizona State during the 2021-22 season.
The schools are separated by less than 20 miles but have not played in the regular season since 1980, when Grand Canyon was an NAIA school. The Sun Devils and Antelopes met in an exhibition game in 2011 to mark the opening of GCU Arena.
Arizona State was in decent shape to make the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year before the postseason was wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic. Bobby Hurley, entering his sixth season as coach, signed one of the top recruiting classes in school history, headlined by five-star guard Joshua Christopher.
Grand Canyon, entering its eighth Division I season, hired Bryce Drew as its coach after former Phoenix Suns star Dan Majerle was fired earlier this year.
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