Gonzaga a borderline top 10 team in latest college basketball rankings

The Zags will have two of the most efficient scoring big men in the country in Graham Ike and Braden Huff

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike. | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

There is less than one week until the Gonzaga Bulldogs take the court in front of fans at Kraziness in the Kennel, marking the start of the college hoops season in Spokane.

Mark Few's team has a lot of questions to answer heading into 2025-26, the final year for the program in the West Coast Conference before joining the Pac-12 next year.

Will Gonzaga's new look backcourt, led by a trio of transfers in Braeden Smith, Adam Miller, and Jalen Warley, as well as Spanish freshman Mario Saint-Supery, be able to replace the significant departures of Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, and Khalif Battle? Is there enough depth in the frontcourt behind star big men Graham Ike and Braden Huff? And will the NCAA ever provide an update on the eligibility of Grand Canyon transfer Tyon Grant-Foster?

All these questions and more loom large for Gonzaga, although preseason prognosticators remain optimistic about this program under the leadership of coach Few, entering his 27th season at the helm.

The latest rankings come from EvanMiya.com, a popular analytics site that has emerged over the past five years. Evan's preseason rankings have the Zags at No. 12 overall — just outside the top ten and quite a bit higher than where other prominent publications are picking the Bulldogs.

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few. | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Evan's site initially had the Zags at No. 16 overall, but an adjustment to the data set gave Gonzaga a sizable bump. However, the data is factoring in Grant-Foster as a significant contributor, and with still no word from the NCAA, the odds of the 6'7 wing and former WAC Player of the Year suiting up in Spokane this year are shrinking by the day.

Gonzaga will have two of the most efficient scoring big men in the country in Ike and Huff, who are projected to start alongside each other after doing so in the team's final three games last season. Smith spent all of last season redshirting and learning from Nembhard, and is prepared to take over the coveted mantle of point guard in coach Few's high-octane system.

Steele Venters, who has missed each of the past two seasons — first with a torn ACL, followed by an Achilles injury suffered while rehabbing — is healthy and will provide much-needed floor spacing and off-ball movement on the wing, while returners Emmanuel Innocenti and Ismaila Diagne are ready to take a leap after a year in the system.

Gonzaga will be tested plenty this season, with non-conference matchups against four teams ranked in the top 25 at EvanMiya: Kentucky (10), UCLA (11), Alabama (16), and Oregon (23).