Davis Fogle is already getting a taste of the kind of defender he’ll have to beat if his game keeps climbing.
When No. 14 Gonzaga meets LSU on Saturday at Numerica Veterans Arena, the Bulldogs’ leading scorer is likely to draw the Tigers’ most imposing stopper in Saliou Niang, a 6-foot-8 wing whose path to college basketball has already taken a few sharp turns.
Niang was drafted No. 58 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2025, appeared in three games for the team at Las Vegas Summer League, then passed on NBA and G League chances to sign with Virtus Bologna in Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A. A year later, he’s in Baton Rouge playing for coach Will Wade and preparing for a 12:30 p.m. matchup on USA Network.
For Gonzaga, that sets up a clean and compelling early-season battle: the Zags’ top scorer against LSU’s best individual defender.
Fogle, a 6-foot-7 junior, has opened the season with consecutive 22-point outings against Purdue and New Mexico State and earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors for it. Niang, though, looks like the kind of matchup that can make life uncomfortable fast. Wade didn’t hide how much he values him after LSU’s season-opening win over LSU New Orleans.
“It’s huge, he can guard everywhere, he can guard one through five,” Wade said of Niang after the team’s season-opening win over LSU New Orleans. “He’s just a monster defender and just a really, really good player. A really, really good all-around player, but just to have somebody with his versatility and his athleticism is really important.”
That versatility is exactly what makes this assignment so tricky. Niang has been LSU’s most disruptive defender through three comfortable wins over LSU New Orleans, Texas Southern and Louisiana Tech, and he’s also been a major part of what the Tigers want to do in transition. He’s averaging 3.3 steals, including six in the opener, and he’s also contributing 11.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
Wade pointed to Niang’s rebounding and outlet work as a real engine for LSU’s break.
“He’s a great defensive rebounder,” Wade said. “He got nine defensive rebounds (against LSU New Orleans) and he pushed the ball out two or three dribbles.
That gets your break going. Sal’s probably our second-best passer to Donny (Dent).
Sal’s really, really solid there. Him being able to grab those defensive rebounds and push the ball out is certainly helpful for us on the offensive side.”
Fogle will have to handle that pressure carefully if Niang is face-guarding him, especially with LSU’s athleticism in the backcourt. And if Gonzaga brings newly eligible wing Chauncey Wiggins into the mix, the matchup picture shifts again. That could move Fogle to the 2, give Gonzaga a size edge in spots, and create a different defensive puzzle for LSU - with 6-2 Skyy Clark potentially on Fogle and Niang sliding onto the 6-11 Wiggins.
In Other News...
Cincinnati Has A Real Chance To Make An Early Statement Saturday
Saturdays college basketball slate has a little bit of everything, from ranked matchups to regional games that could shape conference races by winter. Gonzaga is part of the top-tier action, with the Bulldogs set to meet LSU for the first time, while the day also brings a useful measuring-stick game for Cincinnati at Dayton and another intriguing trip for New Mexico to Santa Clara.
For Gonzaga, the early-season spotlight is exactly the kind that can sharpen a team before the schedule gets heavier. The Bulldogs have already handled their first two games, and this one offers a fresh opponent from a different part of the country, the sort of nonconference test that can reveal a lot without yet carrying league pressure. Even with several other notable games on the board, this is the kind of matchup that should have Gonzaga fans watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Gets Its First Real Test As One Backcourt Battle Takes Over
Gonzaga and LSU arrive in Spokane unbeaten, which gives Fridays meeting at Spokane Arena a little extra edge even before the ball goes up. It is the kind of early-season test that can tell you something real about both teams, and it comes with a national TV window on USA Network at 12:30 p.m. PT on Nov. 14.
The backcourt matchup is the part that jumps out first, with Xaivian Lee and Donovan Dent set to steer their respective offenses in a game that should have plenty of pace and pressure. Both guards are fifth-year seniors playing on court-ordered eligibility, and for Gonzaga, the challenge is not just handling LSUs first real test, but matching a veteran lead guard who has quickly settled in at his new school. [Read more 🡒]
Gonzaga Wasted Braden Huffs Big Night In A Brutal LSU Loss
Braden Huff gave Gonzaga exactly the kind of interior production it needed on a night when the offense never really found its rhythm, finishing with 18 points and 13 rebounds in a game the Bulldogs still could not close out. The effort stood out even more because Gonzaga struggled to shoot efficiently overall, leaving Huff as the steady presence in a matchup that stayed tight from start to finish.
LSU made the most of that opening, especially after halftime, when its perimeter shooting began to tilt the game in its favor. The Tigers kept hanging around long enough to turn the final minute into a one-possession finish, and Gonzaga was left to sort through a loss that felt particularly painful because of how much one strong individual performance deserved a better result. [Read more 🡒]