The award is given to the best power forward in the country and the Zag is one of the ten candidates.
Graham Ike is considered one of the Top Ten power forwards in the nation for the second season in a row. He has the third best player efficiency rating among all players in college basketball at 33.4.
Your #MaloneAward Top 10 has been announced pic.twitter.com/kix4PSWfFN
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 6, 2025
Ike is leading the team in scoring with 17.6 points per game (fourth in the West Coast Conference) on a 59.7 field goal percentage (tied for 19th in the country). He has scored 20+ points 11 times for the Zags this season.
His 7.2 rebounds per game are the ninth most in the West Coast Conference. The contributions Ike makes under coach Mark Few are a massive reason why the Zags are second in the country in scoring (88.2 per game) and 37th in the country in rebounding (39.3 per game) currently.
One of the most impressive performances from Ike this season came in the 90-89 overtime loss to Kentucky in the Battle in Seattle. He finished with a season-high 28 points on 9-16 shooting, 11 rebounds, and four assists.
The award’s Top Ten list will be narrowed to just five finalists in March. Gonzaga’s Drew Timme won this award as a sophomore in 2020-21. Auburn’s Johni Broome is the clear favorite this season but it’s still an honor for Ike to be considered.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho