Saturday afternoon in Spokane brings a point guard matchup that feels bigger than a November nonconference game usually does. Gonzaga and LSU are both unbeaten, both loaded with fifth-year seniors who got extra eligibility through court order, and both are bringing in backcourts that should tell us a lot about where these teams are headed.
The Bulldogs, 2-0, and the Tigers, 3-0, have both rolled early, with four of their five combined victories coming by 40 points or more. The lone outlier was Gonzaga’s six-point win over Purdue. Now Mark Few’s team gets a real early-season measuring stick against Will Wade’s group at the Spokane Arena.
The most compelling part of the whole thing is right at the top of the lineup card: Xaivian Lee for Gonzaga against Donovan Dent for LSU.
Gonzaga spent much of the offseason expecting Mario Saint-Supery to be the guy at point guard after his strong freshman season in Spokane. But when the Spaniard instead signed a multi-year deal to go back home and play for Valencia, the Zags had to shift gears.
The immediate assumption was that Gonzaga would go after Dent, the former New Mexico and UCLA point guard. Dent had already said he planned to pursue legal action for a fifth year of eligibility soon after Saint-Supery’s departure, and Gonzaga had recruited him before he committed to UCLA, so the fit seemed obvious.
Instead, Dent ended up at LSU, while Gonzaga landed Lee, the former Princeton and Florida guard who has fit neatly into the Zags’ transition game and pick-and-roll-heavy offense.
So far, that move looks pretty good for Few’s team. Lee put up 18 points against Purdue, then followed that with 10 assists and just one turnover in last Saturday’s win over New Mexico State.
Through two games, he has 13 assists and only two turnovers. His ability to push in transition, knock down outside shots and hold up defensively has made him a strong addition next to Davis Fogle and Isiah Harwell in the Gonzaga backcourt.
Behind him, Gonzaga also has Javon Bennett and Nathan de Sousa, giving Few a flexible and experienced group of guards to rotate through the game. Saturday should give all of them a real workout.
Dent has been even more eye-catching to start his LSU run. He has piled up 25 assists against just three turnovers in three games, while averaging 13.7 points, 3.3 steals and 2.3 blocks. That said, LSU hasn’t faced anyone of note yet, which makes this game the first true test for the Tigers and for Dent’s place in Wade’s offense.
LSU’s backcourt also includes Dent’s former UCLA teammate Skyy Clark, Kansas State transfer wing Abdi Bashir and former Michigan State guard Divine Ugochukwu, giving the Tigers plenty of talent around him.
But the headline is still Lee versus Dent. It’s the kind of matchup that will have Zag fans locked in from the opening tip, and likely talking long after it ends, no matter which point guard has the better afternoon.
For the players and coaches, though, the only thing that matters is the result: one team leaves with a win, and one takes its first loss.
Gonzaga and LSU tip at 12:30 PM PT on Saturday, Nov. 14 at the Spokane Arena. The game will air on USA Network.
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Gonzaga Let This One Slip As Two Zags Changed The Conversation
Gonzaga had a chance to leave with a statement win, but LSU kept turning the game into a guard-driven track meet and the Bulldogs could never quite finish the job. Donovan Dent, Skyy Clark and Abdi Bashir Jr. all had a hand in LSUs push, and the game swung back and forth with lead changes and tense possessions down the stretch before the final minute turned into a scramble for control.
Even in the loss, there were a couple of developments Gonzaga can build on. Javon Bennett gave the Bulldogs a real lift off the bench with his scoring, playmaking and pressure defense, while Chauncey Wiggins finally got into the mix after becoming eligible to play and added another piece to the rotation. For a team still sorting out its late-game identity, those are the kinds of details that matter almost as much as the result. [Read more 🡒]