The No. 9 Gonzaga Bulldogs rolled into Pullman on Wednesday night and handled business against Washington State, pulling out an 86-65 win after an uneven opening stretch from the Goznaga defense and an early
barrage of Cougar threes. WSU opened strong and knocked down a ton of shots from deep. They kept the game tight early inside Beasley Coliseum, but in the second half, the Zags settled in, locked down the perimeter, and turned the night into a 21-point road win in an in-state (sort of) rivalry game.
But the day’s biggest news arrived even before tipoff: Mario Saint-Supery’s hair somehow looks even worse than it did a week ago…
Kidding.
Unfortunately, the real bad news was far more serious. Gonzaga’s Braden Huff, the most efficient scoring big man in college basketball and the engine of one of the nation’s most lethal offenses, suffered a left knee injury at practice earlier this week and will be sidelined for four to eight weeks. There will be plenty of time to theorize about what Huff’s absence means for Gonzaga’s rotation, its frontcourt depth, and its season trajectory. But for now, it is simply a brutal thing to process. An extraordinary talent and team leader could miss the remainder of the regular season, and that horrible reality hangs over everything that follows for Gonzaga’s 2025-2026 season.
We now know, however, that this team has the depth and versatility to lose a vital pillar like Braden Huff and still walk into a hostile gym and put on a clinic. Gonzaga held WSU to 40 percent shooting, won the rebounding battle 43-29, forced 17 turnovers on 14 stolen balls, and erased one of the most dangerous big men in the conference, ND Okafor, from the box score entirely.
There remains plenty to clean up and figure out, but once Gonzaga settled in, this turned into an inspired performance against a very solid Washington State team that took Saint Mary’s down to the wire less than a week ago. The Zags responded to early pressure and imposed their will on both ends of the floor. Ultimately, the Bulldogs left Pullman with a statement win that travels well.
Lots to unpack, here, so let’s start with the good…
Jalen Warley does it (everything…) again
With Braden Huff sidelined, Jalen Warley stepped into the starting lineup at the four and immediately became the engine of Gonzaga’s first half. He finished the night with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 27 minutes on the floor, but the numbers only skim the surface of how much he tilted the game. It was Warley’s energy, hustle, and defensive focus that set the pace for everything Gonzaga did in the first half. He turned stops into momentum, momentum into runs, and runs into separation. He set the tone with his physicality and his willingness to do every job on the floor without hesitation.
Warley is every basketball coach’s dream, and he brings a level of energy that lifts the five-man unit around him. You never worry about what side of the ball he is helping on, because he is always helping on both. Gonzaga will be leaning on him heavily over the next four to eight weeks, and if he brings this level of presence every night, the Zags are built to survive the stretch. Huff’s absence takes away a lot of interior scoring. In his place, Warley gives back stability, edge, hustle, and winning basketball plays, possession after possession.
Graham Ike Keeps the Frontcourt Elite
In his postgame comments, Ike said this one was for Braden, and he played like it. He went for 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting and pulled down 11 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season. He scored every way a big man can score, carving space with his footwork, finishing through contact, and leaning on that soft touch that has become automatic around the rim. When Gonzaga needed a basket, the answer was simple: give it to Ike and get out of the way.
How often does a team’s center finish the game leading in points, rebounds, and assists? Ike is that guy.
What stood out just as much as his offense, though, was his defense. He fouled out ND Okafor almost by himself, absorbed contact without giving ground, stepped into passing lanes with active hands, and held his own when WSU tried to drag him into space on the perimeter. He has started to look like the organizer of Gonzaga’s interior defense, reading actions early and keeping the floor balanced when the zone starts to lose its shape. It definitely hurts knowing he will spend the next stretch of the season without his best friend and frontcourt partner on the floor with him, but whatever the coming months ask of him, Graham Ike looks capable of delivering.
Strength in Numbers
It sucks to be without Braden Huff. There is no way around that. But his absence also opens the door for expanded roles across a roster that has looked tantalizingly deep and versatile all season, and that shift was on full display against WSU. Tyon Grant-Foster, Steele Venters, and, most intriguingly, Davis Fogle — the only other player on this roster who has flashed the same bucket-getting instincts that define Huff’s game — all spent some time at the power forward spot against the Cougs. Warley stepped in and immediately set the tone, Grant-Foster gave real juice in 16 minutes with seven points and five rebounds, and Fogle logged 13 minutes, scored five, grabbed three boards, and generated seven clean looks despite some early nerves. The pieces are there. If these guys settle into their roles and Few finds the right rotation across the three and four, Gonzaga has the depth to weather Huff’s absence and keep rolling through conference play.
Now for some less good things…
Steele Venters looked a half step behind the action again against the Cougs. He finished 1-of-3 from the field with all three attempts coming from deep, added one rebound, picked up three fouls, and had a rough night on the defensive end. He spent a lot of time scrambling into defensive recovery mode as opposed to staying attached to his man for the whole shot clock.
Since the Alabama game on November 24, Venters has taken 63 shots from the field, and 56 of them have come from beyond the arc, meaning nearly 90 percent of his attempts have been threes, underscoring just how narrow his offensive role has become. The problem is that if the shot is not falling, he does not rebound enough (averaging 1.3 per game in that same 15-game stretch) or defend well enough (either on the ball or off it) to justify heavy minutes. And right now, the shot is not falling. A career 41-percent three-point shooter coming into this season, Venters is sitting just over 31 percent over the last five weeks, a slump that turns a spacing weapon into a question mark.
All of Zagville is pulling for Steele to find his rhythm again. I believe he will. There is too much length and lethality, too much shot-making potential, and too much leadership in his game for this rough stretch to linger. With Huff out, Gonzaga will need his spacing and scoring even more. Venters will shoot his way back into an essential role with this squad. When he does, he will swing games for the Zags.
The margin shrinks…
The news of Huff’s injury was bad enough, but watching Graham Ike limp to the bench with 1:30 left in the second half only drove home how precarious Gonzaga’s frontcourt situation has become. Ike has a long injury history predating his arrival in Spokane, and it appeared to be the same ankle he tweaked in Las Vegas that tightened up late. To make matters even more fragile, Few also noted postgame that backup center Ismaila Diagne banged his knee in practice earlier this week and entered the night with some uncertainty about his availability. Diagne gave Gonzaga important minutes against the Cougs, but he is far from a one-for-one replacement for either Ike or Huff.
Just as this group was finally getting healthy and pushing past the annual flu stretch, it lost Braden Huff, one of the worst setbacks this roster could suffer at this point in the season. Now the Zags head into a physical rematch with Seattle U, followed by a matchup with the 12–8 San Francisco Dons, and then the season’s first rivalry showdown with Saint Mary’s, with almost no margin for error left in the frontcourt.
From here on out, every time Ike or Warley hit the deck, it’s going to be a full-body freeze and a collective gasp from every Zag fan watching.
Final thoughts.
Gonzaga walked into Pullman, absorbed an early surge, and turned the night into an 86-65 road win built on depth, defense, and control. Jalen Warley set the tone, Graham Ike carried the offense, and the rotation delivered vital minutes in the first game of the season without Braden Huff. It was not flawless, but it was composed, physical, and decisive, the kind of performance that builds confidence in a team reeling from the loss of its most efficient scorer.
Up next, Gonzaga heads to Seattle on January 17 for a matchup with Seattle U at Climate Pledge Arena. The last time these two teams met, the Redhawks caught the Zags flat-footed in the Kennel and kept things way closer than anyone anticipated and for way longer than any Zag fan would have liked. Without Huff, Gonzaga no longer has the luxury of easing into games or playing with its food early. Tipoff is set for 7:00 PM PST on ESPN+, and the Bulldogs will need to make sure they set the tone early and finish strong. Do it for B-Huff.
