Key matchup: LeJuan Watts shouldering huge load for Washington State entering Gonzaga matchup

LeJuan Watts projected as a high-use player for Washington State after capturing Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors in 2023-24 while averaging 22.6 minutes per game for David Riley at Eastern Washington.

Watts was valuable before a rash of early season injuries shortened Riley’s bench at WSU, but the sturdy forward has become indispensable for the Cougars since Cedric Coward, Isaiah Watts and two other rotation players were shelved with long-term or season-ending setbacks.

The Fresno, California, native was hovering around 31 minutes per game after the team’s West Coast Conference opener against Portland, but Watts had a career-high 36 minutes in WSU’s next contest against LMU. He eclipsed that in the two games that followed, hardly coming off the floor while playing 39 minutes in a 91-82 win over San Francisco last week before playing 37 during a 95-94 overtime loss to Pacific on Thursday.

Watts, tied for second in the WCC at 36 minutes per game (conference games only), has less than 48 hours to recharge before another challenging assignment on Saturday at No. 18 Gonzaga that should test the sophomore’s stamina at both ends of the floor.

Watts will likely need to match or exceed his season scoring average (13.8 ppg) to help the Cougars keep up with Gonzaga, which is averaging 89.8 points in WCC play. Watts can expect to get his steps in on the defensive end, where he will likely spend much of the night sprinting around screens and scurrying around the perimeter chasing Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle and Dusty Stromer to prevent GU’s top 3-point shooters from getting open looks.

The forward said Thursday that WSU will need to make defensive adjustments, particularly in ball-screen situations, before traveling to Spokane.

“We can’t have those Gonzaga players getting hot,” Watts said. “Because if they get hot, it’s a little different.”

Although he’s only leading WSU in one statistical category, rebounds (8.3 rpg), Watts is usually a candidate to lead the Cougars in the three major columns any given night. Watts has done that on two occasions, pacing WSU in points, rebounds and assists in wins over Boise State (20/11/six) and USF (24/12/five).

WSU’s bigger lineup, featuring four players 6-6 or taller, could pose a few interesting matchup quandaries for the Zags, who’ll deploy frontcourt starters Graham Ike (6-9) and Ben Gregg (6-10) on EWU transfers Dane Erikstrup (6-11) and Ethan Price (6-10). That would leave Battle (6-5) and Hickman (6-2) as GU’s only options against Watts (6-6) and freshman Tomas Thrastarson (6-6). If necessary, Gonzaga could combat WSU’s size by pairing Michael Ajayi (6-6) with Gregg and Ike.