Will Wade Picks Up Signature LSU Tigers Win Over Gonzaga On Clutch Donovan Dent Three

Down by 13 points with just over eight minutes left, it looked like the LSU Tigers would just be fighting for a moral victory against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Instead, the defense clutched up, and a few Tigers hit some massive shots, and LSU ended up leaving a sold-out Spokane Numerica Veterans Arena.

This is the first major win for Will Wade in his return to the Tigers. This will push LSU to 4-0 to begin the year. The Bulldogs were the No. 14 team in the country coming into this game. This win proves that the Tigers are to be taken seriously this season, as Wade has seemingly resurrected the program in one offseason.

The biggest shot of the day came from the best player of the day, point guard Donovan Dent, who hit the three with one second left on the clock to give LSU the lead that won them the game.

Dent had 23 points with two rebounds and 10 assists. He added a steal on defense. Both threes he hit were major. He wasn't the only shooter who showed out for the Tigers, either, as the team was a combined 12-of-26.

Abdi Bashir Jr., who was signed because of his three-point acumen, was 5-for-8 from range on the day. He was 4-for-4 in the second half, as his shooting is one of the only reasons that LSU was even in this game down the stretch.

Skyy Clark also deserves a shout, as he started to turn around his ice-cold start from the field. His defense has been as advertised all year, but he began the season 1-of-16 from three. He shot 42.7% last year, so it wasn't anything to worry about just yet. Clark had a bit of a bounce back as he posted 14 points and was 3-of-8 from three.

As good as all of that shooting will be for the Tigers, the most exciting aspect of this game was what the defense was able to accomplish for stretches at a time. Gonzaga didn't have a field goal in the final three minutes of the game. They were able to get stops when they needed them.

LSU's athletes were able to stand up to a higher level of competition. They battled on the boards and had eight blocks as a team. The center duo of Brice Dessert and Michael Ruzic combined for 19 rebounds and five blocks. 

Mo Dioubate and Saliou Niang didn't have great offensive days, but this is the design of the team. Those two locked down on defense, did the dirty work, and allowed their teammates to handle the scoring load.

This was a proof of concept game for the Tigers. They thought they could compete with the best teams in the country, and now they know they can. The rest of the NCAA has been put on notice, but now Wade has to get his players ready for the expectations that are to follow from this type of win.

Before the game this week, Wade said LSU was the only one "dumb enough" to take the invitation to head to Washington to take on Mark Few's squad. Now that the clock has hit zero, it proved to be as smart a decision as possible.