A Grip on Sports: The rich rivalry between Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga looms tonight with the potential to harsh our mellow

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The calm before the commercials. That might be the best way to describe the Saturday of Super Bowl weekend. Though today should be anything but tranquil.

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• The main reason for the lack of calmness – you can get it back by chanting “serenity now,” if you didn’t know – is tonight marks another chapter in the long-running soap opera that is Saint Mary’s vs. Gonzaga basketball.

The main characters have changed considerably over the years, but the directors have stayed the same, Randy Bennett and Mark Few.

They aren’t the tallest guys in the world but they certainly stand tall in the college basketball community. However, Bennett stumbled down a couple steps almost a decade ago when the NCAA caught the Gaels breaking recruiting rules. The punishment was severe, as were the violations.

That setback didn’t knock Saint Mary’s off course. If anything, the Gaels have stormed back since and the past few years have been the only team to really challenge Gonzaga consistently. Well, except for last season. Even then, in the midst of the Zags’ best season yet (and Saint Mary’s worst – 14-10 in 2020-21 – in the recent part of the Bennett era), the Gaels gave GU its best WCC battle outside of Provo.

Bennett’s team has already won 20 times this season. It is ranked, though that distinction will melt away if it doesn’t find a way to win tonight in the Kennel. And the Gaels have a good chance to make the NCAA tourney once again.

But the Bulldogs are of a different breed than its West Coast Conference brethren. They have been running away from everyone in league play, with the closest contest a 16-point home win over San Francisco. The Dons were able to slow the tempo in that one some three weeks ago, something no one else in conference has been able to do before or since.

The Gaels, however, are capable of such shenanigans. If they shoot well, take care of the ball and get back in transition. It’s the Bennett formula. Saint Mary’s is in the slowest 10 percent of all NCAA Division I schools in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted tempo metric. Gonzaga? They play the second fastest this season. All the while being the second-most efficient offense.

In other words, whoever gets to write tonight’s chapter in the Big Book of Basketball Tempo will control the outcome. As it should be.

• We always love it when colleges and universities honor women who helped change the nature of college athletics. As if those same women weren’t treated with an incredible lack of respect while they were in school.

Feting such folks is great. But how about an apology? Heck, when my wife was playing college basketball some 10 years after Title IX was instituted, UC Irvine still didn’t have an assistant for the women’s basketball coach. The players had an awful locker room, the practice times were all at the whim of the men and the equipment, well, sucked.

Heck, their statistics aren’t even recognized by the university. It’s as if they don’t want anyone to know about that dark period.

It’s easy to honor the stars. It’s harder to admite, hey, this bastion of knowledge and change had little of the former concerning women and sports and wouldn’t do the latter until forced to by the courts. We’re sorry.

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Gonzaga: You know those Saint Mary’s/GU games over the years? Jim Meehan has witnessed plenty of them. He has the duty tonight again, and throws the preview and the key matchup our way this morning. … He also has a story on Jalen Sugg’s return to the Kennel on Thursday night. … Theo Lawson looks back to that game, a rout of Pacific in which Drew Timme asserted himself. … Around the WCC, can one overtime comeback win kick start BYU’s season?

WSU: The pioneers were honored last night in Pullman. And they were recognized at halftime. The honors came at the end of the game, when Krystal Leger-Walker’s putback and free throw gave the Cougars a last-second 66-65 victory over visiting UCLA. Peter Harriman has more in this story. … The men will host Arizona State tonight. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college basketball, the Oregon and Oregon State women had a great battle in Gill Coliseum last night, with the Ducks winning. … There was an upset in Tempe, where the Arizona State women upset their rivals from Tucson. … On the men’s side, Washington has a chance to prove it is for real when it hosts No. 4 Arizona tonight. At least one Wildcat loves to play. … UCLA and USC battle with the Bruins trying to snap the Trojans’ win streak in the series. … A Bruin player has a Tucson court date in late March. … For some reason Utah isn’t worried about the future. … Colorado is, and the Buffs have played a lot better. … In football news, Jon Wilner has a Mercury News mailbag with a football focus. … Arizona State has hired a new defensive coordinator.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Northern Colorado’s men have won three consecutive games. … Montana expects Portland State to do different things tonight.

Whitworth: The Pirates fumbled away their opportunity to clinch the Northwest Conference title last night, losing at Pacific Lutheran 64-48. … Earlier in the day, Jason Shoot laid out what was at stake. 

Preps: The spirit basketball games are an entirely different aspect of high school athletics. As Jordan Tolley-Turner’s story makes abundantly clear. … Dave Nichols has a roundup of Friday’s action.

Chiefs: The coaching change didn’t change the level of Spokane’s play last night at the Arena. Portland won 8-1.

Track: There was a world record set Friday night on The Podium track. John Blanchette has the story and Dan Pelle has the photographs.

Seahawks: The offensive line’s struggles have cost Mike Solari his job. It is the assistants that always go first.

Mariners: Yes, the M’s have a bunch of prospects in the minor leagues.

Kraken: Hey, Seattle won. A late goal lifted it past Anaheim 4-3.

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• It’s been a quiet morning, punctuated by the occasional high-pitched bark as the dogs play. In other words, other than Kim being home, it’s like every other day the past few months. At least she can step in when the two of them get too rowdy. When one weighs 18 pounds and the other 100, someone has to step in. We don’t want to see the big old Doberdane get hurt. Until later …