Dave Boling: Gonzaga has the depth, but it will still be tough to replace Braden Huff

Yeah, No. 9-ranked Gonzaga pulled away from a gritty first-half effort by Washington State on Thursday to move to 18-1. But that was nowhere near the headline from the night.

News of a knee injury to leading scorer Braden Huff, which might cost him a month or two of the season, came as a pregame shock, and could gravely affect GU’s immediate future.

At the very least, this will strenuously test the Zags’ depth, determination and resilience.

Not much information was immediately available regarding Huff’s injury, other than it occurred during practice this week. It raised many serious questions.

Without Huff, can the Zags sustain that top-10 national ranking and roll into the NCAA Tournament with a high seed and months of momentum?

Even with the Zags’ deep roster, how do they compensate for the loss of Huff’s 18 points and nearly 70% shooting? Nobody in the country has made more field goals than Huff.

Even if he heals up, will he be in any condition to get back on the floor when he’s most needed in March?

There will be opponents in the next month or two that will stress the Zags more than WSU did Thursday at Beasley Coliseum – an 86-65 GU win – but several developments hinted that Gonzaga has the manpower to stay highly competitive.

The scoring load increasingly falls on the shoulders of post Graham Ike. He responded with 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Although, near the end of the game, he appeared to be walking gingerly, himself.

Without Huff as a fellow lane threat, and a high-low post action partner, Ike will likely draw even more intense defensive pressure from opponents.

With the Cougars (8-11) torching GU from distance (making 8 of 15 3s) in the first half, the Zags got a huge boost from wing Jalen Warley. A transfer from Florida State by way of Virginia, Warley patiently redshirted last season, awaiting his chance.

Warley has had big games, scoring 22 points with 14 rebounds at San Diego, but his first half impact came in so many facets with 11 points, three steals, two blocks and three offensive rebounds.

More productive minutes like that from Warley will be a key. The other frontcourt threat that will need to contribute more will be Tyon Grant-Foster, who had seven points Thursday, but his four offensive rebounds was the kind of effort that will add to his value as the season wears on.

Even for those who aren’t Gonzaga fans, the potential loss of Huff over the long term seems like the game itself suffers from his absence.

He plays with a surprising grace in the lane, his shots landing so softly on the iron and settling delicately into the net. His partnership with Ike has turned into one of the most entertaining and effective pairing the Zags have had.

So much remains to be determined.

The Cougars opened the game still rolling from the impressive performance in the 88-82 loss to West Coast Conference powerhouse Saint Mary’s last Saturday. To push the Gaels so hard and score 82 against such a traditionally tenacious defense indicated the Cougars were ripening into challengers. But limited by injuries and foul trouble Thursday, the Cougars saw the score slide away after half.

Regardless of the outcome and score Thursday, a future of Gonzaga and Washington State playing each other twice a year in this final season in the WCC, and into the future as fellow Pacific-12 Conference foes, seems a good development for both schools.

For the Cougars, it’s likely a certain Quad 1 opponent twice a season, and probably a selling point to prospective recruits.

At a time when Washington travels to New Jersey to take on Big Ten rival Rutgers, and Stanford has an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Miami, it’s astonishingly logical and comfortingly retro to have two schools 78 miles apart meeting twice a season and buttressing the rivalry.

Last season’s attendance in Pullman was over 10,000, more than double the average attendance for the other 13 Cougar home games. More keisters in the seats and eyeballs on the game has to be a boon for the budget.

For those Zag fans who can’t get a seat in the 6,000-capacity McCarthey Athletic Center, it’s a 78-mile drive and plenty of seats available in the 12,000-capacity Beasley Coliseum.

They will meet again in Spokane on Feb. 10.

It just looks unlikely that Braden Huff will be back in uniform by then.