Gonzaga opened the season with a polished 78-72 win over Purdue in Las Vegas, and the frontcourt already looks dangerous. Davis Fogle led the way with 22 points, Xaivian Lee added 18, Izan Almansa gave the Bulldogs 11 points on 4-6 shooting, and Massamba Diop chipped in seven points on 2-3 shooting before foul trouble cut his night to 15 minutes.
Even with that production, the biggest storyline inside Gonzaga’s paint is still Braden Huff, who is working his way back into form after missing the second half of last season with a knee injury. The 6'10 big man had a mixed season debut, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds while shooting 4-11 from the field and 2-4 at the line in nearly 36 minutes.
Huff did plenty of the gritty work. With Diop limited, he battled defensively, pulled down five offensive rebounds and kept banging away inside. But the touch around the rim that Gonzaga fans are used to seeing wasn’t fully there yet, and that carried over from the preseason.
“Huff missed a couple, but Huff really battled tonight,” coach Few said after the Purdue game. “He was great on defense.
He was great on the defensive boards. It’s not easy shooting over a 7'4 guy, and he just missed a couple ones that kind of rolled out that they don’t usually roll out.
So he’ll be fine.”
Huff was restricted early in the offseason while recovering, then came into the exhibition schedule healthy but still shaking off rust after such a long layoff. He shot just 4-11 at Kraziness in the Kennel on Oct. 3, including 2-8 on two-point tries, and his 7-16 showing against Arkansas was solid without matching the elite efficiency Gonzaga has come to expect from him. Huff was a preseason nominee for the Naismith Trophy.
That efficiency has defined his college career. Since debuting in the 2023-24 season, Huff has been one of the most reliable low-post scorers in the country. Across 89 career games, he’s shot 65.7% on two-pointers, including 70.1% as a freshman and 69.7% last year before the injury.
So the early numbers don’t call for alarm, especially with Arkansas and Purdue both ranking among the toughest interior defenses Gonzaga will see all season. Almansa’s emergence also eases the burden on Huff, and with Diop likely to settle down and avoid foul trouble more often, Huff may not need to carry quite as heavy a load as he did against Purdue.
Gonzaga’s home opener is Saturday, Nov. 7, at 2:00 PM PT against New Mexico State.
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