A Grip on Sports: Rarely does looking back ever lead to anything other than walking into a brick wall but it is our fate today to do just that

A GRIP ON SPORTS • This time of year we really try to look forward. To the weekend, where the temps are supposed to be in the, gasp, high 60s. To next month, with all that April offers, from showers to flowers to Masters. To the summer, with the lake and sun tans and long walks. But today we are forced to look back about 24 hours before we can cast our gaze ahead. Darn it.

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• We threw a label on Tuesday in our Gonzaga men’s TV Take. We called it Disappointment Tuesday. No, not catchy at all. Kind of pedestrian, actually. Which makes it perfect.

Both Zag teams were disappointed as the leave Las Vegas – a feeling shared by the folks who fill up McCarthey on a nightly basis in the dead of winter. And pedestrian is the right term as well, as the men played at Saint Mary’s walking-dead pace all game and the women, with the memory of a 50-point runaway against Portland fresh in their minds, sleepwalked through what may be the most-expensive two-point defeat in some time. Neither leaves Sin City with a WCC title trophy, the first time that’s happened since before the pandemic.

Of the two, the women’s disappointment is greater. After all, they entered with 30 wins, a runaway romp to the WCC regular season title and the promise of hosting the NCAA’s opening weekend. The left with questions. Lots of questions.

Did the extra-long layoff prior to the tournament – the Zags had the final WCC bye, a circumstance that, after their first league game, Lisa Fortier warned could dull their edge – destroy their momentum? Did the concussion-caused absence of energizer Calli Stokes cost them a game-deciding boost off the bench? Is this senior-dominated group fated for another early NCAA exit, now that the chances they’ll be on the road are at least 50/50? All good, and unanswerable, questions.

The men’s fate seems clearer. That their seed line will fall seems non-debatable. Mark Few’s team, seeking to extend their record Sweet Sixteen streak, will have to do it from a middled middle, maybe even the dreaded 8 or 9 spot. That Sean Farnham’s statement last night at the end of the 69-60 loss – he posited Saint Mary’s has caught up with Few’s program, having won both WCC titles, regular and tournament – is also hardly debatable. At least this season. The question that looms is even darker. Does it portend a long-term change as Few and the Bulldogs face the new reality of college sports?

Woah Nellie, as Keith Jackson liked to say. That existential query is for the future. The let’s-revisit-it-after-March-Madness future. There are too many questions looming to worry about such things right now.

• Up first? Can Eastern Washington’s women join Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament? Unlike the Zags, who only won in Cheney on a late bucket early in the season, the Eagles have no margin for error. Win today’s Big Sky title against Northern Arizona and celebrate. Lose and head home without a trophy or a dance ticket.

Though new to such pressure, Joddie Gleason’s team has enough experience throughout the lineup, and enough motivation, we expect them to get it done.

However, that’s just the appetizer to a stuffed week. The Washington State Cougars are the centerpiece. After all, how often do we enter the last few days before Selection Sunday knowing WSU will hear its name called. Well, last year with the women, sure. But on the men’s side, not since 2008. And even more significantly, if the Cougars can regain their sliding mojo, a Pac-12 tournament trophy is there for the second-seeded group to grab. No question.

• We wondered yesterday what strategy the Gaels would employ to limit Graham Ike’s production inside. We didn’t realize they would hardly have to do much of anything. The whistles took care of that. The biggest of the big Zags, saddled with well-earned foul trouble just minutes in, played less than half the game, scored next-to-nothing (10 points) and, in hindsight what turned out to be the most important part of his absence, grabbed only five boards as Saint Mary’s dominated the glass 39-22.

Funny how such things happen at the worst times. Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration. The worst time is the next one. Always. We have that to look forward to, don’t we?

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WSU: The Pac-12 men’s tournament begins today in Las Vegas. The Cougars get to sit and wait for Cal and Stanford to duke it out. They’ll play the winner Thursday. Will they be at full strength? Greg Woods lets us know Andrej Jakimovski’s shoulder is feeling better, a key development as he’s their most prolific long-range threat. … The Cougs also were able to bask in the glow of the conference awards, a rare development. Greg also lets us know Kyle Smith was named Coach of the Year and Myles Rice won the freshman trophy. Rice and teammates Isaac Jones and Jaylen Wells also earned all-conference honors. … When WSU’s magical season ends, we’ll be where we were in 2008, wondering who will steal the coach away. It didn’t happen then, though Indiana offered Tony Bennett the moon and more. This year? To keep Smith, the Cougars better offer whatever they can. It may still not be enough. … Jon Wilner has his thoughts on all the conference coaches. His column was written before California announced an extension for coach Mark Madsen. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, John Canzano has an overview of the men’s tournament. … Washington has at least one more game under lame duck Mike Hopkins. Then what? … Arizona State seems to be in the same boat, though a change has yet to be made. … Will Utah be at full strength today? … USC is looking forward, not back. … Mick Cronin knows his Bruins will have to win the tournament to keep their NCAA streak alive. … This is the last Pac-12 tourney, something Klay Thompson is not happy with. Arizona, with its memory full of positive and negative moments, wants to win one final time. … Oregon has to win. … All-conference honors? We have stories from Oregon, Colorado, UCLA and Arizona. … Stanford star Cameron Brink is headed for the WNBA at the end of the season. … After some rest, Colorado is back preparing for what’s next. … In football news, Washington’s spring game will be at night. … We have more position previews from Oregon to pass along. … The Ducks held their pro day Tuesday. So did Oregon State. … Cam Rising was under center at Utah again.

Gonzaga: The women played first Tuesday. Let’s start with them. Greg Lee has his game story, Tyler Tjomsland has a photo gallery (which includes the outstanding photo shown here) and Dave Boling locked in on the local player, Maisie Burnham, who once again helped throttle the school she grew up watching. … We contributed with a TV Take. … OK, the men. Theo Lawson has the game story, Jim Meehan has a story on the Gaels’ domination up front and the difference makers, Tyler returns with another photo gallery and Dave has his second column of the day. … The folks in the office put together this recap with highlights and we watched from home for our TV Take. … Why did we say whether the women will still host is 50/50? Mainly because, of the two bracket folks we follow, one has them doing just that and one doesn’t. Only one group’s thoughts matter though. As for yesterday’s game, we can link Nick Daschel’s coverage in the Oregonian and an Athletic story. … There are a few stories nationally and regionally concerning Saint Mary’s upset win in Las Vegas.

EWU: Experience comes in many forms. For Eastern, Jamie Loera and Jacinta Buckley have lots of it playing together, though their paths to Cheney including many stops. John Blanchette delves into that some in his game story about the easy 56-39 win over cold-shooting Montana State. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, the two Montana schools will meet in the men’s final tonight in Boise. … The Griz ended Idaho State’s magical run 72-58. … The Bobcats did the same to Sacramento State 74-71. … Northern Arizona is back in the women’s title game after topping Montana 74-67.

Idaho: Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes was once an assistant at UI. His wife Johnetta taught school. They were on that coaching journey that takes families here and there around the country. Late last summer, Johnetta suffered a stroke. It’s been a struggle for the Forbes as the season has rolled on, stopping for nothing, right? Except the two have to stop occasionally as Johnetta’s rehab rolls on. Don’t miss this story.

Preps: Cheney High junior Alma Smith won another State diving title last month by a wide margin. Charlotte McKinley has the story. … Former East Valley basketball standout Brie Holecek had an outstanding first year at Eastern Oregon, earning all-conference honors. That news leads off the S-R’s latest local briefs column.

Velocity: And so it begins. The first year of the franchise begins at home Saturday, with the Velocity hosting Richmond in ONE Spokane Stadium starting at 2 p.m. Thomas Clouse has a preview.  

Seahawks: So long Drew Lock. You will be missed. … The Hawks’ free-agent strategy hasn’t changed despite the coaching change.

Mariners: The overpowering back-end of the bullpen? That is on hold, what with Gregory Santos shutting it down again and Matt Brash still working his way back. It will be a while for Santos. … Bryce Miller pitched well but the M’s lost.

Kraken: Is the playoff quest over? Done in with less than 20 seconds remaining last night? That’s when Las Vegas scored to knot the game, a game the Knights won in overtime and sealed an extra point on Seattle. That Vegas is the team holding the playoff spot the Kraken seek means the answer to that question is closer to yes than no this morning.

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• Let’s see. The Gonzaga men projected to be in Charlotte as a 7 seed, with a matchup looming against North Carolina in the second round? We’ve seen that video before. Washington State as a six-seed in Omaha? Man, that will be an expensive weekend for TV stations and newspapers in these parts. Until later …