Gonzaga vs. Duke-Bring it on!

NEW YORK-A season too late for a J.J. Redick-Adam Morrison matchup, Duke and Gonzaga will meet for the first time, and it will be at Madison Square Garden. The Blue Devils and Bulldogs, both ranked in the Top 10 all last season, will play in New York on Dec. 21. "A few years ago, it might have been 'Gonzaga gets to play Duke,' " Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth said Thursday. " Now it's Duke versus Gonzaga. Two national powers playing each other."

The game was brokered by Madison Square Garden officials, who signed agreements with both teams, Roth said. He declined to discuss how much Gonzaga will be paid for the game. Duke and Gonzaga are the only Division I teams to have won at least 80 percent of their games over the past six seasons, and they are the only teams to have avoided a 10-loss season in the past eight years. Gonzaga's Morrison and Duke's Redick engaged in a season-long showdown for the national scoring title. Morrison won with an average of 28.1 points per game, while Redick averaged 26.8. Both were unanimous All-America selections, but Redick, a senior, won most of the player of the year awards. Morrison elected to skip his senior year and declare for the NBA draft. Gonzaga is 7-1 all-time against Atlantic Coast Conference teams.

Duke, which was ranked No. 1 for all but five weeks, finished 32-4 and lost in the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga, which got as high as No. 4, finished 29-4 and also lost in the regional semis. Gonzaga played once in Madison Square Garden, losing to Saint Joseph's 73-66 on Nov. 14, 2003, in Morrison's first college game. Roth said Gonzaga was hoping to charter an airplane for Bulldogs fans wishing to attend the game.

Meanwhile, Gonzaga and North Carolina headline the field for next season's newly formatted NIT Season Tip-Off. The field for the 16-team tournament was announced Thursday, and the 22nd annual event will be played at four "common sites" before the semifinals and finals are again held at Madison Square Garden.