Key matchup: Well-traveled Oklahoma guard Nijel Pack could put Gonzaga’s improved perimeter D to the test

Before arriving at Oklahoma, Nijel Pack played 122 career games over five college basketball seasons in the Big 12 and ACC, so it was a safe bet the veteran guard probably had at least one encounter with someone on Gonzaga’s roster during his time at Kansas State and Miami.

Try four encounters.

Tyon Grant-Foster, who had a brief stint at Kansas in 2020-21, got to see Pack on two occasions in Big 12 play when the guard was still getting his feet wet at Kansas State. Grant-Foster, a KU reserve, played just seven combined minutes in both matchups and his floor time didn’t overlap with Pack’s in a pair of double-digit wins for Kansas.

Jalen Warley faced a more seasoned version of the 5-foot-10 guard two years later when Florida State hosted Pack and Miami in the ACC. Two months before the Hurricanes made a run to the Final Four, Pack scored 18 points to lead Miami past Florida State 86-63, but Warley and the Seminoles returned the favor a year later, winning 84-75 in Coral Gables.

It was a long shot that any of those three would still be playing college basketball in 2025-26, so it may be a shock to the system to see all three on the floor at the same time when Grant-Foster, Warley and the No. 21 Zags (1-0) tip off against Pack and the Sooners (1-0) at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) Saturday at the Arena.

“I’ve watched him play, I just feel like he’s a good guard,” Grant-Foster said. “He can shoot it really good. It’s going to be a challenge for us. We’re going to really come out and see where we’re at … I feel like this team is ready for that.”

Warley wasn’t in GU’s starting lineup against Texas Southern in Monday’s season opener and Grant-Foster wasn’t supposed to be – the Grand Canyon transfer was mistakenly added to the lineup card by an assistant – but both could eventually factor into the defensive plan to limit Pack, who’s been one of the nation’s most accurate 3-point shooters since arriving at Kansas State and could leave Oklahoma as one of the most accomplished in college basketball history.

Pack has made 317 career 3-pointers, which puts him just outside the top 200 in Division I history. With a full season ahead at Oklahoma, the guard could conceivably join 29 other players who’ve made at least 400 in their career. He’s never sacrificed volume for accuracy either, shooting at 40.4% over his career.

“Veteran guy who’s played in a lot of big games and a lot of big venues,” Gonzaga’s Mark Few said of Pack. “He’s made a lot of big shots, he can really score, he can really shoot it deep and also can play off the bounce, do his pull-ups.”

Three-pointers account for 54% of Pack’s scoring production over the last six seasons and early signs suggest the small guard isn’t looking to change his offensive approach at Oklahoma. Pack made 4 of 9 from behind the arc and scored 16 points in his Sooners debut against Saint Francis.

Pack is the type of player that may have given GU problems last year, but the Zags are much more capable on the perimeter in 2025-26.

Braeden Smith and Mario Saint-Supery already look like defensive upgrades at point guard and could get the first crack at defending OU’s senior sharpshooter. If Pack starts to heat up, the Zags could call on Grant-Foster, Warley or Emmanuel Innocenti midway through the game.