Preview: Gonzaga vs. Creighton men's basketball game

Originally posted on Gonzaga Bulldogs on SI
By Andy Patton | Last updated Nov 11, 2025 2:27 PM ET

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs passed their first major test of the season on Saturday, using their size and physicality to bully the Oklahoma Sooners and secure an 83-68 victory at the Spokane Arena.

There's not much time to celebrate, however, as Gonzaga has a date with the No. 23 ranked Creighton Bluejays on Tuesday in what will be one of the most highly anticipated non-conference matchups at the Kennel in multiple years.

Greg McDermott's team is 1-0 after knocking off South Dakota on Wednesday by a score of 92-76. It was far from the prettiest game for the Bluejays, who gave up a whopping 21 offensive rebounds to the Coyotes - certainly a concerning stat heading into a matchup with Gonzaga's formidable frontcourt.

Creighton will be led by Owen Freeman, a 6'10 big man who transferred from Iowa after garnering interest from Gonzaga in the transfer portal. Freeman had 19 points in his Bluejays debut, coming off the bench and only playing 19 minutes after dealing with an injury during the preseason.

He'll be a huge factor on Tuesday against Gonzaga's elite frontcourt duo of Graham Ike and Braden Huff, who combined for 32 points on Saturday against Oklahoma.

Gonzaga will also have to deal with a trio of elite scoring transfer guards for coach McDermott's team: Nik Graves, Blake Harper, and Josh Dix, who all scored 14 or more points per game last year at Charlotte, Howard, and Iowa, respectively.

The Bluejays are a top 25 offensive team in the country, per KenPom, although their adjusted defensive efficiency ranks just 88th - with the team sorely missing superstar center Ryan Kalkbrenner after he wrapped up his prolific five year career in Omaha last year, winning his fourth consecutive Big East Defensive Player of the Year award.

Gonzaga is 3-0 all-time under coach Few against Creighton, having defeated this team most recently in the 2021 NCAA Tournament on their way to a national title appearance. In order to move to 4-0, the Zags will need to once again dominate on the glass, and will hope for another strong performance from transfer Tyon Grant-Foster who is averaging 14.5 points through his first two games.

Below is a look at game time and TV information for this heavyweight battle on Tuesday: