Mark Few provides update on Gonzaga forward Braden Huff ahead of Selection Sunday

Huff has been out since early January with a left knee injury

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Braden Huff. | Photo by Erik Smith

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs wrapped up their final season in the West Coast Conference with a win over Santa Clara in the tournament championship on Tuesday, finishing the season with an outstanding 30-3 overall record.

Now the team awaits news on where they will be seeded in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, with the Selection Sunday show set for March 15 at 3:00 PM PT.

Gonzaga ripped through the WCC despite the loss of star forward Braden Huff, who suffered a left knee injury ahead of the team's road game at Washington State on Jan. 15. The team initially gave a 4-8 week timeline for Huff's return, with the tail end of that window coming right at the start of the NCAA Tournament.

Few updated fans in mid-February, confirming Huff's timeline was closer to the eight-week window, which cast doubt on whether the team's second leading scorer would return at all this year.

On Tuesday, following Gonzaga's win over Santa Clara, Few gave a brief - but potentially promising - update on the status of the redshirt junior.

"Huff is up walking around, jogging around and shooting some now," Few said. "So that's encouraging, and we'll see what we can get there."

However, a recent report from Jon Rothstein indicated Huff is 'doubtful' to play in Gonzaga's first two round games, which will take place sometime between Thursday and Sunday, March 19-22.

Huff started the first 18 games of the season for Gonzaga and posted averages of 17.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting a ridiculous 69.7% on two-pointers and 33.3% from three. He was among the most efficient scorers in the country before going down, and the two-man tandem of Huff and Graham Ike was nearly impossible for opponents to stop.

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Braden Huff. | Photo by Erik Smith

In Huff's absence, Gonzaga has turned to Jalen Warley as the starting power forward, and the 6'7 senior responded admirably over the next five games - averaging 11.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.0 steals in just over 30 minutes per game.

Adversity struck Gonzaga again, however, with Warley suffering a quad contusion on Feb. 4 against Portland, which dampened his explosiveness over the next three weeks before he ultimately sat out the team's final two regular-season games against Portland and Saint Mary's.

Warley did return for the WCC Tournament, playing 39 minutes in the two games combined, and he'll be a big part of what this team does in the NCAA Tournament.

Still, Gonzaga's ceiling is significantly higher with Huff in the mix, as he provides elite scoring and offensive rebounding, and takes so much of the pressure off Ike as the team's go-to scoring option. While Ike has been nothing short of incredible in Huff's absence, he (probably) can't will this team to a Final Four all on his own.

The return of Huff - even if he's still getting his wind under him - would do wonders for this team as they search for another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.