Sophomore wing Davis Fogle couldn’t have had a stronger start to his Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year campaign after taking down the Purdue Boilermakers in a neutral Sin City environment and the New Mexico State Aggies back home in Spokane, Washington.
In the 78-72 season-opening victory for the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the 6-7 three-level scorer ended up with a tied-for game-high 22 points on 6-for-18 field goals and 1-for-5 three-pointers. While not efficient,
he continuously enforced his will at the rim and got to the free-throw line, finishing 9-for-10. The Anacortes, Washington native added five rebounds, two assists/one turnover, and two steals in 34 minutes of action with coach Matt Painter’s Boilermakers.
Fogle followed up with another 22-point outing in the Kennel after a 109-68 beatdown five days later. A much better overall shooting display with a clip of 8-for-13 from the field, 3-for-6 from beyond the arc, and 3-for-4 at the charity stripe.
The continuous shiftiness off the dribble is mesmerizing, beating his defenders for either a drive through the lane, a pull-up uncontested, or an eventual skip pass leading to an open shooter. Fogle, a 20-year-old first-round NBA prospect, dished out six assists/one turnover, to go along with four rebounds and two steals in a tied-for-team-high 33 minutes of play against the Aggies.
From what was supposed to be a two-headed monster in the frontcourt with redshirt senior power forward Braden Huff and sophomore center Massamba Diop heading into the season, coach Mark Few’s most important weapons seem to now come from his guard play. The trio of fifth-year point guard Xaivian Lee, sophomore shooting guard Isiah Harwell, plus Fogle look confident as ever when on the floor all together.
After starting 2-0 in the first full week of college basketball, the Zags moved up one spot in the AP Poll to No. 14. Next on the schedule is an extremely intriguing matchup with coach Will Wade and the LSU Tigers at the Spokane Arena on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Grab the TV guide to figure out where the USA Network is located at 12:30 p.m. PT.
Gonzaga Gamer of the Week:
As a walk-on, redshirt freshman Alonzo Metz showed why he loves the game in the hyped McCarthey Athletic Center, the first of the 2026-27 campaign.
Metz, a 6-0 combo guard originally from Portland, Oregon, needs a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) partnership with a local dentist’s office in the Inland Northwest. He took an elbow from a New Mexico State player, didn’t hear a whistle, and tossed the chipped tooth out of bounds. Tough as a man can get.
Get Metz that money to fill up the front tooth gap. He needs the money maker looking its best.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
