Gonzaga heads into Saturday’s matchup with LSU carrying momentum, but the Tigers arrive in Spokane with a statement of their own. LSU is 3-0 and has flattened every opponent so far, winning each of its first three games by at least 40 points - the first time in program history the Tigers have pulled off three straight victories by that margin.
That run has been powered by offense that keeps humming and a defense that has been ruthless. LSU blasted Louisiana Tech 90-50 on Nov. 9 in Baton Rouge, shooting 56.4 percent from the field and making it three straight games above 50 percent shooting. The Tigers forced 23 turnovers, turned those mistakes into 38 points and piled up 16 steals while holding Louisiana Tech to 31.6 percent shooting overall and 2-of-16 from three.
Junior forward Michael Ružić led the way with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and five rebounds. Abdi Bashir Jr. added 16 points with four made three-pointers, Mo Dioubate finished with 15 points and a game-high six rebounds, and Donovan Dent chipped in 12 points along with five assists, five steals and two blocks.
Ružić has been LSU’s top scorer at 15.7 points per game, while Saliou Niang leads the team with 10.3 rebounds per game. Dent is setting the table with 8.3 assists per game and shares the team lead in steals at 3.3 per game with Niang.
Bashir has knocked down a team-high 11 threes and is shooting 37.9 percent from deep. Ružić is also leading the Tigers in shooting efficiency at 77.8 percent, followed by Niang at 71.4 percent and Dioubate at 65.2 percent.
The Tigers are under Head Coach Will Wade in his second stint at LSU after he returned to Baton Rouge on March 26, 2026. Wade previously coached the program from 2017-22, then went 20-14 at NC State in 2025-26 and reached the NCAA Tournament.
LSU’s roster also includes several experienced transfers, among them Dent, fifth-year guard Skyy Clark, senior forward Mo Dioubate and fifth-year center Brice Dessert, a 7-foot center. Dioubate came over from Kentucky after averaging 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 2025-26.
Saturday’s game is the first meeting ever between Gonzaga and LSU. The Bulldogs have had plenty of success against current SEC teams under Mark Few, with 20 wins over those programs and seven victories in their last nine games against SEC opponents. That stretch includes wins over Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Auburn, along with last season’s 94-59 win over Kentucky and 95-85 victory over Alabama.
Numerica Veterans Arena has also been a comfortable stage for Gonzaga. The Zags beat Oklahoma there 83-68 last season in the Bad Boy Mowers Series, opened the 2024-25 season with a 101-63 win over No.
7 Baylor, and have won seven straight games inside the building. Earlier in the 2022-23 season, Gonzaga topped Kentucky 88-72 there in a Top-5 showdown that drew 12,333 fans, the largest crowd ever for any event at the arena.
Overall, the Bulldogs are 15-6 all-time in games played at Numerica Veterans Arena since it opened in 1995.
Gonzaga is coming off a 109-68 win over New Mexico State in its home opener, its 33rd straight home-opening victory. Davis Fogle and Isiah Harwell each scored 22 points, Braden Huff added 20, Javon Bennett had 13 and Xaivian Lee handed out 10 assists. The Bulldogs also held NMSU without a field goal for the final 11:23 of regulation.
Fogle was rewarded for that start earlier this week, earning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors. He scored 22 points against Purdue in Las Vegas and followed with another 22 against New Mexico State, both career highs. Over the two games, he added eight assists, nine rebounds and four steals while shooting 45 percent from the field and 12-of-14 from the free throw line.
Gonzaga’s next game after LSU is set for Nov. 17 against Montana State at 8 p.m. The Bulldogs lead that all-time series 36-35, have won 25 of 32 meetings in Spokane, and haven’t faced the Bobcats since a 91-76 Gonzaga win there on Dec.
11, 1996. Montana State enters the 2026-27 season as the preseason favorite in the Big Sky Conference and brings back three All-Big Sky honorees, including fifth-year guard Jed Miller, who earned unanimous First-Team All-Big Sky honors after leading the Bobcats in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals last season.
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 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 🡒]