Gonzaga's Graham Ike named WCC Player of the Week

Amid one of the hottest stretches in Gonzaga men's basketball history, Graham Ike was recognized Monday as the West Coast Conference Player of the Week.

Ike averaged 25.0 points and 8.5 rebounds on an efficient 62.5% shooting from the floor to lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back crucial road victories over San Francisco and Saint Mary's last week. He tied his season-high with 26 points in an 86-68 win over the Dons at the Chase Center Thursday, followed by a 24-point, 10-rebound outing to lead his team to a 70-57 win over a Gaels squad that was riding a 16-game winning streak into Saturday's matchup. Ike also recorded a pair of blocks in both games.

Last week capped off an unprecedented stretch to close the regular season for Ike, who became the first Gonzaga player to score 20 or more points in seven straight games since Adam Morrison pulled off the feat in the 2005-06 campaign. After leading the Bulldogs in scoring in all seven of those games, Ike finished the regular season as the WCC's leading scorer with 18.4 points per game in conference play and 64.0% shooting from the field.

Ike's dominant run has spearheaded an efficient stretch on offense from the Bulldogs. Since Feb. 4, they're No. 3 in the country in offensive efficiency, No. 3 in 2-point field goal percentage and No. 1 in effective field goal percentage per Bart Torvik. The latest surge has Gonzaga in position to earn an at-large bid into the 2024 NCAA Tournament, just a few weeks after its resume appeared spotty without any signature wins. Though three Quad 1 wins on the road over Kentucky, San Francisco and Saint Mary's in a three-week span with Ike at the forefront has changed the program's postseason outlook for the better in the eyes of notable bracketology experts.

Adam Morrison thinks Gonzaga's Graham Ike should 'for sure' be 2024 WCC Player of the Year

Ike is just one of three players to finish the regular season with multiple WCC Player of the Week awards, as he joined his teammate Ryan Nembhard (twice) and San Francisco's Jonathan Mogbo (thrice). Gonzaga had the most WCC Player of the Week awards overall with five (Ike and Nembhard twice, Anton Watson one on Nov. 27) while the Dons and Gaels each had three.

Gonzaga redshirt freshman Braden Huff and San Diego's Kevin Patton Jr. finished in a tie for the most Freshman of the Week honors with four apiece. Portland's Tyler Harris led all first-year players in scoring at 12.1 points per game, though he missed nine games throughout the season due to injury.