College basketball rankings: Gonzaga tops Washington State, but Zags need star Braden Huff to return soon
Huff is out for four-to-eight weeks with a knee injury, but four weeks would be much better for Gonzaga
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
Only one ranked team played Thursday. It was Gonzaga. And, as you possibly already know, the Zags played without Braden Huff, their second-leading scorer, because, earlier in the day, the school announced he'll be sidelined for four-to-eight weeks with a left knee injury suffered in a recent practice.
Big blow, obviously.
"We didn't have much time to feel sorry for ourselves," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said following his team's 86-65 win at Washington State. "That's something that I'm very, very proud of this group. It was a really, really, really great win for us; go on the road, play a team that was playing some of the best basketball they played this year. And to do it without not only one of our best players, one of the best players in the league, one of the best players out West, I think one of the better players in the country, so that's a lot to have to absorb in 24 hours. The guys were great, absolutely great."
The Zags are at least 25 spots better at KenPom.com than everybody else in the West Coast Conference, at least 43 spots better than everybody other than Saint Mary's, and at least 95 spots better than everybody other than Saint Mary's and San Francisco. In other words, Huff's injury likely won't impact Gonzaga's record much, if at all. But, again, the stated timeline from school officials is four-to-eight weeks, and eight weeks from Wednesday is March 12.
The WCC title game is March 10. Selection Sunday is March 15.
No coach with a team good enough to win a national championship, as Gonzaga clearly is, wants to have to reacclimate a big piece -- Huff is averaging 17.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 25.4 minutes per contest -- to the rotation heading into a single-elimination tournament. It's not impossible, but it can be challenging. So here's hoping Huff's return is closer to four weeks than eight, that way he'll have a string of games to get comfortable again before the Zags participate in what will be a 27th straight NCAA Tournament.
Gonzaga is No. 8 in Friday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Arizona remains No. 1 for the fifth consecutive day. Next up for the Zags is Saturday's game at Seattle.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Koa Peat finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 89-82 qin over Arizona State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at UCF. | -- | 17-0 |
| 2 |  | Pryce Sandfort finished with 28 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 90-55 win over Oregon. The Cornhuskers' next game is Saturday at Northwestern. | -- | 17-0 |
| 3 |  | Tarris Reed Jr. finished with 21 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's 69-64 win at Seton Hall. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Georgetown. | -- | 17-1 |
| 4 |  | AJ Dybantsa finished with 25 points and six rebounds in Wednesday's 76-70 win over TCU. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Texas Tech. | -- | 16-1 |
| 5 |  | Tamin Lipsey missed 11 of the 15 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 84-63 loss at Kansas. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at Cincinnati. | -- | 16-1 |
| 6 |  | Braden Smith finished with 16 points and eight assists in Wednesday's 79-72 win over Iowa. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday at USC. | -- | 16-1 |
| 7 |  | Aday Mara finished with 20 points and two rebounds in Wednesday's 82-72 win at Washington. The Wolverines' next game is Saturday at Oregon. | -- | 15-1 |
| 8 |  | Graham Ike finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday's 86-65 win at Washington State. The Zags' next game is Saturday at Seattle. | -- | 18-1 |
| 9 |  | Cameron Boozer finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 71-56 win at Cal. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday at Stanford. | -- | 16-1 |
| 10 |  | Tyler Tanner missed 10 of the 15 shots he attempted in Wednesday's 80-64 loss at Texas. The Commodores' next game is Saturday against Florida. | -- | 16-1 |
| 11 |  | Jeremy Fears Jr. finished with 23 points and 10 assists in Tuesday's 81-60 win over Indiana. The Spartans' next game is Saturday at Washington. | -- | 15-2 |
| 12 |  | Milos Uzan finished with 17 points and two assists in Tuesday's 77-48 win over West Virginia. The Cougars' next game is Sunday against Arizona State. | -- | 16-1 |
| 13 |  | Keaton Wagler finished with 22 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 79-68 win at Northwestern. The Illini's next game is Saturday against Minnesota. | -- | 14-3 |
| 14 |  | JT Toppin finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 88-74 win over Utah. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday against BYU. | -- | 13-4 |
| 15 |  | Thomas Haugh finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 96-79 win at Oklahoma. The Gators' next game is Saturday at Vanderbilt. | -- | 12-5 |
| 16 |  | Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 18 points and 13 assists in Wednesday's 108-74 win over South Carolina. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday at Georgia. | -- | 13-4 |
| 17 |  | Kyan Evans missed four of the five shots he attempted in Wednesday's 95-90 loss at Stanford. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday at Cal. | -- | 14-3 |
| 18 |  | Tre White finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 84-63 win over Iowa State. The Jayhawks' next game is Friday against Baylor. | -- | 12-5 |
| 19 |  | Malik Thomas finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 79-70 win at Louisville. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday at SMU. | -- | 15-2 |
| 20 |  | Labaron Philon finished with 32 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 97-82 win at Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday at Oklahoma. | -- | 12-5 |
| 21 |  | Nick Davidson finished with 25 points and three rebounds in Tuesday' 74-50 win over Boston College. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Miami. | -- | 15-3 |
| 22 |  | Ryan Conwell missed 16 of the 21 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 79-70 loss to Virginia. The Cardinals' next game is Saturday at Pitt. | -- | 12-5 |
| 23 |  | Nate Ament finished with 23 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 87-82 double-overtime win over Texas A&M. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | -- | 12-5 |
| 24 |  | Boopie Miller finished with 24 points and six assists The Mustangs' next game is Saturday against Virginia. | -- | 13-4 |
| 25 |  | Kellen Thames finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 78-56 win over Fordham. The Billikens' next game is Saturday against Richmond. | -- | 16-1 |
| 26 |  | Mason Falslev finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 71-62 win over Nevada. The Aggies' next game is Saturday at Grand Canyon. | -- | 15-1 |
