Braden Huff attempts to follow up a near-perfect outing when No. 7 Gonzaga faces off with Oregon on Sunday on a neutral floor in Portland.
Huff scored a career-high 37 points on 16-of-18 shooting during Wednesday’s 98-70 home rout of Campbell. He made all 12 of his first-half attempts.
Huff’s output was the most for a Bulldogs player since Julian Strawther scored 40 points in an 82-67 win over Portland on Jan. 28, 2023.
“It’s pretty cool, but obviously couldn’t have done it without these guys,” Huff said after the Bulldogs improved to 11-1. “… So it made my job pretty easy.”
Huff is averaging 25.5 points on 75.9 percent from the field (44 of 58) during Gonzaga’s four-game winning streak. He piled up those 102 points in just 114 minutes.
Overall, he shoots a sizzling 67.8 percent from the field — fifth-best in the nation — while leading the Zags in scoring at 19 points per game.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few was impressed with Huff’s effort, because Campbell was putting a lot of emphasis on trying to silence the Bulldogs in the interior.
“Their posts were kind of rugged and physical and bodied us up, bodied us out,” Few said. “Fronting — not allowing our guys touches — and for him to put 37 on that, being so efficient, is amazing.”
Graham Ike added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs. He ranks second in scoring (17.0) and leads Gonzaga in rebounding (8.1).
Gonzaga has been clicking on all cylinders since being walloped 101-61 by No. 7 Michigan in the Players Era tournament title game on Nov. 26.
The Bulldogs have won the ensuing four games by an average of 31 points, including victories of 35 points over then-No. 18 Kentucky and 51 over North Florida. They also produced an 82-72 win over then-No. 25 UCLA on Dec. 13 in Seattle before routing the Fighting Camels.
Gonzaga and Oregon are meeting just the third time since 1984.
The teams have met just once this century, a period of time in which the Zags have been in the upper echelon of the sport. Gonzaga won that game 73-72 in overtime on Nov. 28, 2019, in the Bahamas.
The Ducks (8-5) enter with consecutive victories after losing five in a row.
Oregon defeated visiting Portland 94-69 on Wednesday with a team-first effort in which five players scored in double digits and the Ducks racked up a season-high 23 assists. Oregon made 13 3-pointers, its second-best output of the campaign.
“We had some really good looks, especially when the ball moved inside-out,” Ducks coach Dana Altman said. “Some of those threes, we got really good looks inside-out. So you know, some really good things.”
Kwame Evans Jr. had 21 points and seven rebounds to pace Oregon. He ranks third on the squad with a 13.6 scoring average and leads in rebounding (7.7).
“When we swing the ball we get good shots, guys in a rhythm,” Evans said. “And we just shoot a lot, we work on it a lot.”
Nate Bittle added 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Dezdrick Lindsay made four treys while scoring 14 points.
Leading scorer Jackson Shelstad (16.2) also scored 14 points, and Sean Stewart added 12.
Bittle ranks second in scoring (13.7) and has a team-leading 17 blocked shots even though he missed two games.
The Ducks enter the showdown with a bit of momentum.
“It was a positive. It was a step in the right direction,” Altman said after the win over Portland. “I wish we had been making those steps back in November, rather than now in December. … We are still a work in progress.”
–Field Level Media
