Analysis: Graham Ike carries shorthanded Gonzaga frontcourt with 23 points, 11 rebounds in Washington State win
PULLMAN – For all the mixing, matching and shuffling Gonzaga’s done this season, Braden Huff had been the one constant on Mark Few’s roster, as the only player to appear in all 18 starting lineups.
Huff’s name won’t appear in a starting lineup for at least the next four weeks, and possibly up to eight, after the junior forward and NCAA field goals leader injured his left knee during a practice in Spokane at some point in the last few days.
The ninth-ranked Zags had about 24 hours to process the news before bussing down to Pullman for Thursday’s Inland Northwest rivalry matchup with Washington State.
A long-term injury to someone who’d been playing at an All-American level could have lasting effects on Gonzaga’s ceiling, but the Zags didn’t have too much trouble in their first game without Huff, cruising past Washington State for an 86-65 win at Beasley Coliseum.
“It’s been about the last 24 hours, we didn’t have much time to feel sorry for ourselves,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “That’s something I’m very, very proud of this group. That was a really, really great win for us tonight. To go on the road and play a team that was playing some of their best basketball they played this year.
“To do it without not only one of our best players, but one of the best players in the league, one of the best players out West and I think one of the better players in the country. That’s a lot to have to absorb in 24 hours. The guys were great, they were absolutely great.”
With Huff sitting at the end of the visitor’s bench in a black team-issued sweatsuit and crutches resting next to him, Gonzaga predictably turned to the other player averaging 17.8 points per game this season.
Coming off a career-high 34-point outing and his third West Coast Conference Player of the Week honor, Graham Ike scored 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for his league-leading 11th double-double.
Ike was effective down low battling with WSU’s ND Okafor and especially capitalized when the 6-10 forward went to the bench with his fifth foul midway through the second half. Ike finished 11 of 15 from the field and also delivered five assists.
The senior said Gonzaga’s goal on Thursday was to “play forceful.” Mission accomplished.
The Zags outrebounded the Cougars 43-29, including a 17-10 advantage on the offensive glass. Even without Huff, GU still dictated what happened down low, outscoring WSU 51-12 in paint points. The Zags also had a 17-8 edge in the turnover column, turning WSU’s mistakes into 27 points.
“I think we did that from the tip,” Ike said. “We had a couple mishaps early on but we got it together real quick and responded to adversity really well, so I’m proud of the guys for that tonight.”
Senior wing Jalen Warley replaced Huff as Gonzaga rolled out its ninth different starting lineup of the season. Warley had all 11 of his points by halftime, registered each of his three steals inside the first five minutes and also had five blocks.
Making his second straight start, senior guard Adam Miller scored 13 points, connecting on 3 of 6 shots from the 3-point line. Five other players scored between five and nine points for Gonzaga, which led by as many as 24 points late in the second half.
WSU scored the game’s first five points, but Gonzaga’s response came in the form of an 15-0 run. Simon Hildebrandt sparked another run for the Cougars, knocking down three straight 3-pointers to eclipse his previous season-high of eight points in a span of just 55 seconds.
Hildebrandt scored a career-high 16 points for the Cougars, who also got 16 each from Ace Glass and Jerone Morton. Six other players combined to score just 17 points for WSU, which finished 13 of 28 from the 3-point line but just 8 of 24 on 2-pointers.
More than half of WSU’s first-half possessions either resulted in turnovers or made 3s. The Cougars knocked down 8 of their first 11 shots from distance, but were undone by 10 turnovers, with five of those coming inside the first seven minutes of the first half.
A two-game road swing in the state of Washington continues for Gonzaga (18-1, 6-0) with Saturday’s 7 p.m. (KHQ/ESPN+) game against Seattle U (13-6, 2-4) at Climate Pledge Arena. The Zags erased a double-digit deficit in the second half to prevail in overtime, 80-72, when the teams met earlier this month.