Mark Few provides concerning injury update on Gonzaga's Jalen Warley

It's never easy to beat Saint Mary's in Moraga, but Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs were dealt a huge blow pregame on Saturday with the news that forward Jalen Warley would not play.

Warley - who also sat out Gonzaga's 41-point win over Portland last Wednesday - was held out on Saturday with what is now being labeled a quad contusion, the same injury that has bothered the 6'7 senior for nearly a month now.

And unfortunately, coach Few's postgame comments didn't inspire a ton of confidence that a return is imminent for the super versatile wing.

"He's hurting," Few said. "It doesn't seem to be getting better. He's kind of non-functional when he's out there. Hopefully, by stacking these days, we'll get some results, but we're just not getting there. He's not moving very well at all."

Warley's presence certainly would have helped Gonzaga avoid a double-digit loss to Saint Mary's, especially with how impactful he was the first time these two teams played in Spokane - scoring 10 points with seven rebounds on 5-7 shooting in 33 minutes. Most of his damage in that game was defensively on SMC's star forward, Paulius Murauskas, who scored 15 points on 5-14 shooting.

Murauskas struggled again on Saturday with Tyon Grant-Foster drawing the defensive assignment, but Gonzaga's perimeter defense suffered without TGF on the wing - leading to the Gaels shooting a blistering 16-33 (48%) from beyond the arc.

"I would love to have had him out there," senior guard Adam Miller said after the loss. "He does a lot of things. Obviously, you can see how his presence is missed. I think if we had him out there tonight, it definitely would have been a little bit tougher for [them], because he does so many things."

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Jalen Warley (8). | Photo by Myk Crawford

Warley has been dealing with this injury since Gonzaga's loss to Portland back on Feb. 4. Although he's played in five of Gonzaga's seven games since then, his minutes and production have plummeted - and the Zags have struggled without his explosive athleticism and defensive versatility on the floor.

Gonzaga does not play again until next Monday, March 9, in the semifinals of the WCC Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. That will be 16 days after Warley last suited up - Feb. 21 against Pacific - and the lengthy rest is what the staff hopes will allow him to get back onto the floor.

With Braden Huff still on the shelf with a left knee injury, Gonzaga will have a far tougher time winning the conference tournament and staying in the No. 3/4 seed conversation ahead of Selection Sunday. While they are in no danger of missing the big dance, the ceiling for this team is considerably lower without both players at, or near, 100%.

"Obviously, it really impacts us because he does so much and he definitely keeps us organized," Few continued. "He makes all those hustle plays and all those important plays."

Gonzaga's next game will be against the winner of a quarterfinal game between No. 4 Oregon State and either No. 5 San Francisco, No. 8 Washington State, No. 9 Portland, or No. 12 Pepperdine. It will take place on Monday, March 9, at 6:00 PM PT on ESPN.