Gonzaga is set to begin its 2026 March Madness journey against Kennesaw State the same way it ended the college basketball regular season — without star forward Braden Huff. Although the junior remains hopeful he can return at some point during the tournament, he admitted the nature of his knee injury is concerning.
Huff spoke to reporters for the first time since the injury on Wednesday and broke down what happened. Huff said he hurt his knee on a “normal play” in practice, when it just “gave out” on him.
“It was a pretty normal play,” Huff said, via Theo Lawson of The Spokesman-Review. “Just playing defense, then all of a sudden it gave out. Pretty typical play.”
The “typical play” led to Huff missing nearly half of his junior season in Spokane. The knee injury halted a career year for Huff, who averaged 17.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in his first 18 games before going down.
Huff has not played since Jan. 8, missing Gonzaga's final 15 games. The Bulldogs have suffered two of their three losses this season since his injury. They average just 77.5 points without Huff, down from their season average of 85.1 points per game.
Gonzaga is still expected to beat Kennesaw State without Huff, but the injury could hurt it in the second round and beyond. While the Bulldogs go where Graham Ike takes them, Huff was the most versatile scorer on the roster.
If Huff does return, it would likely not be until the Sweet Sixteen round at the earliest. That timeline challenges Gonzaga to beat either BYU or Texas in the Round of 32 without him, should it get past the Owls in round one.
