Mark Few doesn’t need much convincing about the size of the task in front of Gonzaga this weekend. LSU may be unranked, but the Tigers are bringing enough talent, length and physicality to Spokane to make Saturday’s matchup a real early-season test.
The game at Spokane Arena on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 12:30 PM PT will be the first meeting ever between Gonzaga and LSU. It also marks a familiar reunion of sorts for Few and LSU coach Will Wade, who has already seen what Gonzaga can do up close.
Wade was coaching McNeese State in 2024 when the Bulldogs knocked off the Cowboys 86-65 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and he hasn’t forgotten the experience. After LSU’s 90-50 win over LA Tech on Tuesday, he said, “They’re a sight to behold when you play them,” Wade said on Tuesday after his team’s 90-50 win over LA Tech.
“The tape doesn’t do justice to their transition offense and just how physical their bigs are. It’ll be a monumental challenge for us.”
He added that taking Gonzaga on in Spokane was not exactly a popular choice. “I think I was the only one dumb enough to go up there and play them,” Wade said with a smile.
“They tried to get everybody else and we were the only ones dumb enough to sign up for it. It’s going to be one of the biggest challenges of our entire season when you look at our schedule.
They’re a great team, great program, Hall of Fame coach, and they’ve got great personnel.”
LSU has opened 3-0, winning its first three games by 43, 41 and 40 points. The problem is that those opponents all sit outside the top 250 at KenPom, so Gonzaga is the first real measuring stick for Wade’s team.
And this is not a normal LSU roster. The Tigers went through one of the strangest offseasons in college basketball, with the team at one point down to just four players listed after classes had already started. But Wade ended up with a group that now looks loaded on paper, starting with former UCLA guards Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark, both eligible now.
The additions don’t stop there. LSU also brought in international standouts Saliou Niang, Brice Dessert and Michael Ruzic, along with helpful role pieces in Divine Ugochukwu, Abdi Bashir and Mo Dioubate.
Few didn’t hold back when asked about the Tigers. “I’m telling you he’s got a heck of a roster now,” Few said on Saturday.
“They might not be as talented as Duke, but it’s probably the second most talented roster in college basketball with who they have. I don’t think everybody knows [about] the level of play the kids they got from the international ranks; they’re something.
And obviously they got Dent and some other guys; it’s going to be a heck of a challenge.”
The biggest issue for Gonzaga may be LSU’s size. Freshman Michael Ruzic is 7-foot-0 and 240 pounds, Brice Dessert is 7-foot-0 and 265 pounds, and Mo Dioubate brings a 6-foot-8, 235-pound frame to the front line. That group will put pressure on Gonzaga’s bigs - Massamba Diop, Braden Huff and Izan Almansa - in a way few teams can.
LSU also has 7-foot-3, 275-pound freshman Gilad Levy, though he has played only nine minutes so far this season.
Almansa is shaping up as a major swing factor for the Bulldogs after sitting out Saturday’s game with a calf injury. His rebounding and international experience could matter a lot against Dessert, Niang and Ruzic. Diop is just as important, especially with his rim protection and the need for him to stay out of foul trouble and on the floor for 25-plus minutes.
The game will be shown on USA Network.
In Other News...
Gonzaga Is About To See How Real LSUs Early Surge Is
LSU enters its meeting with Gonzaga looking a lot more settled than it did a few months ago, when offseason roster uncertainty made it hard to know what this group would even look like by November. Now the Tigers have a mostly defined rotation, and early on they have leaned on a defense that has smothered weaker opponents while coach Will Wade has continued to handle the public side of the job with his usual bluntness. The offense, though, has not been nearly as polished, especially from beyond the arc.
That split is what makes this matchup so interesting for Gonzaga. LSU has shown enough intensity and structure to suggest it is more than a placeholder opponent, but the real question is whether those early wins say something meaningful about the Tigers or just reflect the level of competition they have faced so far. With eligibility issues still part of the backdrop and the shooting numbers not yet matching the defensive edge, this is the kind of game that can tell a lot about how far LSU has actually come. [Read more 🡒]
Gonzaga Gets An Early Test Against An LSU Team On A Tear
LSUs visit to Spokane arrives with plenty of buzz and a little bit of mystery attached to it. The Tigers have looked every bit like an early-season problem, leaning on players such as Michael Rui and Donovan Dent while rolling through the opening stretch of the 2026-27 schedule in convincing fashion. For Gonzaga, it is the kind of nonconference matchup that can say plenty about where the Bulldogs stand before the season really settles in, especially with a home crowd at Numerica Veterans Arena waiting to see how they handle a team that has been overwhelming opponents so far.
The timing also makes it a useful measuring stick for Gonzagas broader track record against Southeastern Conference competition, a group the Bulldogs have faced plenty of times with varying results. Home court has usually been a strength in Spokane, and this one adds another layer because it comes in a first-time matchup that gives both programs something new to sort out. The Bulldogs do not need a marquee label to understand the value of this game, but they will get one anyway when LSU comes in on November 14. [Read more 🡒]
Gonzaga Already Looks Dangerous Thanks To One Early Difference
Early non-conference play has already offered a useful snapshot of the Pac-12s newest basketball landscape, and Gonzaga has looked every bit like a team built to make an immediate statement under Mark Few. The Bulldogs have mixed veteran structure with the kind of early-season poise that usually travels, while around them Utah State has leaned on experience, San Diego State has flashed the upside of a young roster, and Colorado State is trying to piece together production after major turnover.
For Gonzaga, the encouraging part is not just the results but the way the offense has come together so quickly, with one sophomore guard emerging as a clear early difference-maker. That kind of development matters in November because it gives Few another reliable option before the schedule tightens and the challenges get more demanding, and it also hints that this group may already have a higher ceiling than most teams expected this early. [Read more 🡒]