Not a big fan of setting the alarm clock for 4-something a.m., but I've made it to Kansas City. Stopped in Denver where it was 50 degrees when we landed and 31 degrees with the fog rolling in when we took over about an hour later. K.C. weather? Roughly 65 degrees.

Enough about that. Putting together a short GU-Kansas State preview and I've learned Zags forward Elias Harris is expected to play on Monday. He left last Tuesday's game with an Achilles' injury. Not sure if Harris will start.

I'll post a short preview in about an hour.

UPDATE: Preview posted below, along with a couple notes that I couldn't fit into the article.

UPDATE II: K-State's Curtis Kelly is expected to play against Gonzaga, Wildcats coach Frank Martin tells Foxsports.com's Jeff Goodman.  

A couple of quick hitters:

--Demetri Goodson's brother, Mike, rushed for 120 yards on 22 carries in Carolina's loss to Baltimore. Mike Goodson also had 100 yards rushing last week against Tampa Bay.

--Gonzaga has one loss, while the other three teams at the CBE are undefeated.

--I mention Kansas State is plus 4 per game rebounding. Duke is plus 8.1 and Marquette is plus 14.5.

--I mention below Curtis Kelly hasn't played in three regular season games. His totals for 30 minutes of PT in two exhibition games: 14 points, 17 boards.

--Robert Sacre's 13 points and 11 rebounds vs. San Diego State was the first double-double of his career.

And now the short preview...

By Jim Meehan

jimm@spokesman.com, (208) 765-7131

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Gonzaga left the basketball court last Tuesday beaten on the boards and unsure of sophomore forward Elias Harris’ health.

The Bulldogs return to action tonight to face another strong rebounding team but buoyed by the return of Harris, who is expected to play against No. 3 Kansas State at 6:30 PDT in the CBE Classic at the Sprint Center. It wasn’t known if Harris would start, but his Achilles tendon has healed sufficiently to play six days after limping off the court late in a 79-76 loss to San Diego State.

No. 1 Duke (3-0) and Marquette (4-0) meet at 4:30 in the other semifinal.

“The thing that jumps out at you is just how hard they play, which is a talent and a skill in itself,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said of the Wildcats (3-0), who are outrebounding opponents by four per game. “It’s kind of a crusade to score against them (allowing 61.7 ppg) and they’re another terrific rebounding team. Obviously with (preseason A.P. All-American guard Jacob) Pullen and their inside guys, they have a nice inside-outside game.”

San Diego State had 24 second-chance points while outrebounding Gonzaga by 39-29.

“The first thing we have to do is shore up our rebounding,” Few said. “That’s something we take pride in and we got it handed to us pretty good (by San Diego State).”

The Wildcats defeated No. 22 Virginia Tech by 16 with foul-plagued Pullen limited to 14 minutes and without forward Curtis Kelly, who averaged 11.5 points and 6.2 rebounds last season. Kelly played in two exhibition games but hasn’t appeared in three regular-season games, including Thursday night’s win over Presbyterian.

“He’s doing a lot better,” head coach Frank Martin said during a Thursday morning conference call. “As long as he’s consistent with his approach and meets the expectations we create for everyone on our team, he’ll be back out there.”