Oumar Ballo to Miss Three to Four Weeks With Thumb Injury

The Gonzaga Bulldogs will be without backup center Oumar Ballo’s services for the next few weeks, Mark Few revealed after tonight’s win over Pepperdine.

Not much has been said about what the injury is or how it occurred. Ballo has now missed the past two games with the injury.

The redshirt freshman is averaging just 3.5 points in 8.3 minutes per game, but those minutes are rather important for the Gonzaga rotation. With Drew Timme taking a lion’s share of those minutes at center, Ballo is the only legitimate (in terms of size) center the Zags have on their roster at the moment.

In his absence, we will most likely see Mark Few employ a four guard lineup, slotting in Corey Kispert at the four and Anton Watson at the five when Timme needs a break. Although the Zags also have Pavel Zakharov on the squad, his lack of playing time this year suggests the coaching staff does not feel his is nearly ready for meaningful minutes.

Luckily, Timme is a smart player on both ends of the floor. He is only averaging 2.2 fouls per game this season, and it is a rare occurrence for him to be in foul trouble.