Jim Meehan

After opening with four West Coast Conference wins as heavy favorites, Gonzaga is in the midst of the resume-enriching or resume-ravaging portion of its conference schedule. At present, the Zags are projected in the 4-6 seed range with a 2-4 Quad 1 record – home vs. 1-30 NET ranking, neutral vs. 1-50, away vs. 1-75 – with wins over San Diego State and Baylor and losses to West Virginia, Kentucky, UConn and UCLA.

Nolan Hickman picked an ideal time to snap out of a post-Christmas slump. He provided leadership, scoring, defense and ball-handling with point guard Ryan Nembhard parked on the bench with two fouls for roughly half of the first 20 minutes.

Here are three instant observations from Gonzaga’s 88-75 West Coast Conference win over Washington State on Saturday at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Graham Ike and Braden Huff playing simultaneously doesn’t happen too often. Ike making one field goal, 13 free throws and snatching a career-best 19 rebounds never happened until Wednesday. Ben Gregg logging 35 minutes, including several spent guarding former Gonzaga teammate Colby Brooks in a game, doesn’t happen often.

Gonzaga picked up its fourth consecutive West Coast Conference win, delivering a comfortable outcome after being tested deep into the second half by San Diego. The 18th-ranked Zags finally gained some separation in the final 7 minutes for a 93-80 victory – the Toreros scored the last nine points – Wednesday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

The Toreros have only one player in double figures, Kjay Bradley Jr., and two more that are close. GU has four averaging in double digits and two more knocking on the door. Bradley, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior averaging 15.4 points, obviously has been USD’s main scoring threat and Gonzaga’s primary concern defensively.

It happens more often during the arduous segments on Gonzaga’s nonconference schedules, but the latest edition of the game before The Game arrives Wednesday for the Bulldogs.

Gonzaga moved up in the latest AP college basketball poll, ending five straight weeks of slipping in the rankings. The Zags (12-4) climbed one spot to No. 18 after opening West Coast Conference play with wins over Pepperdine (89-82), Portland (81-50) and Loyola Marymount (96-68).