SI

Gonzaga Star Braden Huff to Miss Significant Time With Knee Injury

The Bulldogs are ranked No. 9 and dreaming of a deep March run.
Braden Huff has enjoyed a breakthrough season for Gonzaga.
Braden Huff has enjoyed a breakthrough season for Gonzaga. | James Snook-Imagn Images

In this story:


Gonzaga has designs on playing games deep into March in coach Mark Few’s 27th season, but it may have do so without one of its stars.

Bulldogs forward Braden Huff—the team’s co-leading scorer—will miss four to eight weeks due to a knee injury, the program told ESPN’s Jeff Borzello Thursday evening. The news came mere hours before No. 9 Gonzaga’s road game against regional foe Washington State.

Huff, 22, has been one of college basketball’s breakout stars this year. He is averaging 17.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game for a 17-1 Bulldogs squad. Beyond his counting stats, Huff has been hyper-efficient; his .283 win shares per 40 minutes rank eighth in Division I.

Gonzaga is tied in the loss column with perennial foil Saint Mary’s for first in the West Coast Conference, a league it has won 22 times in tournament form and 26 times in regular-season form. The Bulldogs are set to depart the WCC for the Pac-12 in 2027.

After taking on the Cougars, Gonzaga will visit Seattle, which took the Bulldogs to overtime on Jan. 2.


More College Basketball on Sports Illustrated


Published
Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .