Video: Mark Few, Braden Huff recap blowout loss to Michigan

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Mark Few and Braden Huff were on the podium after Michigan trounced Gonzaga in the 2025 Players Era Championship.

Q. Mark, I’m sure a lot of things you guys will address after this game, but what was the biggest takeaway?

MARK FEW: Hey, I don’t think we competed once we got kind of punched in the mouth to start the game. And nothing was going great for us on either end. I think it got us really rattled and back and we just didn’t channel it properly. Then the floodgates opened up.

Michigan did a great job. They were hitting 3s, doing what they do great, which we knew they’d crash the glass and get out in transition and we just didn’t shore any of that up. And we were just horrendous on offense. And a lot of that had to do with their pressure and physicality.

Q. Braden, the challenge at both ends, operating against that size in the lane and then dealing with what they do at the offensive end?

BRADEN HUFF: Yeah, I mean, they were just the better team tonight — more physical, more together, just all over just a more connected group tonight. A lot of things we can address. Go back, watch this, just learn from it.

Q. Mark, you mentioned the physicality that they play with, but just kind of the size and the way that they can kind of overwhelm people at the rim. Watching on film and seeing it in person, can you speak to how much that changes games?

MARK FEW: I mean, look, we’re a team that really scores well inside. We were very efficient from 2. And we literally couldn’t generate any scoring there at all all night.

I thought Braden did a nice job of finding some creases in there and some pockets and was able to hit that little mid-range floater that he’s so effective. That’s essentially it. It’s crazy as good as we’ve been this year. But that was literally all we had offensively.

Q. You mentioned getting punched in the face earlier. You called timeout a couple minutes into the game —

MARK FEW: Couple of them.

Q. What were you trying to convey to your team in those moments? What was going on there?

MARK FEW: Again, just to respond and stick to — let’s get back. We weren’t even doing what we’ve done so well all year. We weren’t hitting our coverages on the defensive end; they were nowhere to be found, and some of our rotations.

And then, again, just no pressure on the rim in transition. I mean, come on, literally every aspect of the game I could talk about was lacking. So maybe write that.

Q. Braden, from a player perspective, I’m curious what it’s like to face a team with the size of Michigan. You’ve played some other really good teams. Could you explain for us what this night was like to go against a team with that much power over the course of 40 minutes?

BRADEN HUFF: They’re a good team, obviously. But this is as much on us as it was Michigan. I mean, we know we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to be more physical. We’ve got to compete better. It’s on us. But credit to Michigan, they played well tonight.

Q. Mark, are lessons learned from a lopsided game like this, or do you just have to move forward and put this behind you?

MARK FEW: I think both. I think both. You can’t run away from it. But you also can’t forget. We’ve had an incredible November. We played some really, really good teams and we’ve came out on top. And we’ve played some fantastic defense. We’ve played some really, really efficient offense.

And tonight that wasn’t happening. So maybe that’s where you’ve got to just really, really learn how to dig in and stick to what we do and not deviate from that and keep your belief in it and keep it closer than it was. You probably weren’t going to win tonight, the way we were playing, but we certainly could have kept it a lot closer than that.

Q. Mark, this was Gonzaga’s first 40-point loss since 1990 against that famous Loyola Marymount team. Does it feel like as on the wrong end of a game as you’ve had as a coach at Gonzaga? I don’t want to take you down a negative road, but I want your immediate perspective on what you just faced?

MARK FEW: Then why did you?

Q. Because honestly you haven’t lost by 40 in 35 years.

MARK FEW: It’s about as negative as I can get. Listen, guys, we got just absolutely throttled. I’ve never been involved with anything like that. So this is going to be a great challenge and learning experience for me.

But that being said, we’ve had an incredible November up to this point prior to two hours ago. We can really draw on that. And we can certainly be humbled when they watch film with me.

And we’ll move forward. We’ve got no time to pout. We’ve got an incredible December coming up, just bang, bang, bang, with some really big-time, competitive, high-level games. We’ve got to get back to what we were two hours ago and not ever show this again or else it’s not going to be very fun this year.

Q. Mark, specifically, kind of on the way that they protect the rim, is that a length thing? Is that a physicality thing?

MARK FEW: It’s a length, it’s a size, it’s a strength thing. And then, you know, that helps, schematically that helps. You’re not doubling. They played our post one-on-one. And when most people do that, we score 50 points in the paint. Tonight, I mean, we probably got three, you know?

Again, obviously Braden’s floaters were very, very effective. But, hey, that’s something that just doesn’t ordinarily happen to us.

Q. You mentioned the floaters, but I guess game planning, what else do you hope to get offensively against a team that plays defense like Michigan does?

MARK FEW: You have to make some perimeter shots, and we couldn’t have — nobody stepped up and shot consistently, including our bigs. Our bigs are gifted enough to, if they’re going to stand in the lane, they’re gifted enough to make those 3s. They worked hard on them all year. They’ve made them all year, but we weren’t making them tonight.

Literally, kind of every little thing we’ve been able to go to and lean into wasn’t happening.