For the fourth time this season, Gonzaga Bulldogs redshirt freshman Braden Huff took home the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week award.
Huff, who broke a tie with Portland’s Tyler Harris for most Freshman of the Week honors in the league, stepped up off the bench in Gonzaga’s wins over Portland and Kentucky. The 6-foot-10 post dropped 25 points in a season-high 24 minutes in the 96-64 blowout over the Pilots , including seven rebounds and three assists. He followed that up with 12 points, three rebounds and a steal in the 89-85 upset over then-No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday.
Huff took on a majority of the offensive load down the stretch against the Wildcats while Graham Ike dealt with foul trouble. He had eight consecutive points from the 8:30 to 4:53 mark in the second half, his last shot putting Gonzaga up 75-72 before Ike checked back in to close things out.
Back-to-back double-digit games from Huff brought his scoring average up to 10.9 points, the fifth-most on the team and the most of any WCC player that hasn’t started a game this season.