It’s time to take a basketball break
A GRIP ON SPORTS • We interrupt the non-stop Super Bowl coverage this morning to bring you this important bulletin: College basketball season is still going on. And there is a big game tonight. Read on.
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• And yes, I do have some thoughts on the continuing controversy with New England's footballs, but we are going to wait on that. Until there's a day without a crucial college basketball game. There is one of those tonight in the Kennel and it begins at, wait for it, 8. Yep, another big-time showdown with St. Mary's that the youngest Zag fans won't be able to see in its entirety. Thanks ESPN. But I digress. I should focus on the basketball itself. If, before the season had begun, I had asked you who Gonzaga's biggest threat in the WCC would be, I believe at least three-quarters of you would have quickly named BYU. And why not? The Cougars had one of the nation's best scorers (Tyler Haws) returning and had been the Zags toughest out the past couple years. St. Mary's? The Gaels hadn't been on the radar much during that same time period, mainly because they've lost the last six times they've played GU. Instead of being a rival, St. Mary's had turned into a speed bump. But that's changed. At least it looks as if it has. The Gaels are 7-0 in the WCC, tied with Gonzaga atop the standings. They haven't lost since a 53-47 decision at St. John's more than a month ago, a game in which St. Mary's controlled until the last few minutes. That's nine consecutive wins, the second longest in the WCC right now. Yep, Gonzaga has won 11 in a row since the loss at Arizona, and is 18-1 overall, ranked third nationally. Add in the Gaels propensity to cough up winning streaks here in Spokane – the school's longest and third-longest both ended in the Kennel – and you would probably figure tonight will be another GU breeze. Except St. Mary's is experienced – the Gaels start five seniors – and feature the best non-Gonzaga big man in the conference, Brad Waldow. The 6-foot-10 Waldow leads the WCC in rebounding, is second in scoring and third in field goal percentage. More importantly, for tonight anyway, is the play of first-year Stanford transfer Aaron Bright and Australian freshman Emmett Naar. The duo has filled a void the Gaels had last year, a point guard who controls the offense and gives defenses fits. For a school that produced Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova, last year's point-guard play was pitiful. Not so this season. Bright, from Bellevue, starts, averages 4 assists a game and has a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. That's good. But not as good as Naar. He comes off the bench, averages 5.1 assists and has a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio. That's not Kevin Pangos' great – GU's senior's ratio is a remarkable 4.0 – but it's very good. And it's a big reason why the Gaels have improved so much this season – offensively. They are still a work in progress on the defensive end – they give up 63.3 points per game, which is in the top third of the NCAA but a couple points worse than GU, which is known as an offensive team – but in their winning streak, only Nebraska (in overtime) and BYU have been able to score more than Sr. Mary's season average. If the Gaels can slow down GU's break and handle the Zag bigs – both very hard-to-achieve "ifs" – then they can put a scare into the home team. Of course, you might have to read about it in the morning. If you are anything like me, 10 p.m. is awful late.
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• WSU: If the Cougars can avoid teams coached by former Montana head coaches, maybe they can win a few more games. After winning two of three to start the Pac-12, WSU has lost consecutively to Wayne Tinkle's Oregon State team and, last night, Larry Krystkowiak's Utah squad. The 12th-ranked Utes rolled the Cougars in Salt Lake City, 86-64. And they did it without their starting center. Jacob Thorpe was there and has this game story and blog posts featuring video from Ernie Kent and players. Jacob also has a morning post with links as well as a short preview of the weekend from our college basketball page. ... There are plenty of stories from a Utah perspective available and we link the ones we found this morning. ... Former WSU athletic director Ray Nagel died last week. ... Who are the Pac-12 North frontrunners for next season? ... The Pac-12 is playing another tough slate of non-conference football games this fall.
• Gonzaga: With the Gaels coming to town, Jim Meehan took the time to look at how Gonzaga is using analytics more in preparing for games and improving players. ... He also has the weekend preview. ... There is this advance in the San Francisco Chronicle as well.
• EWU: The Eagles face Northern Colorado tonight and both teams have the same Big Sky Conference record. Jim Allen has an advance focusing upon Eastern's bench, which has been coming through in a big way. He also has the weekend preview and a blog post on Vernon Adams and the Oregon rumors.
• Idaho: Sean Kramer has the weekend preview.
• Chiefs: Former Chief Ray Whitney has finally retired from the NHL. He is 42 years old. ... Everett continued to roll while Tri-City had its troubles.
• Preps: It's Thursday, so we have Prep Page items to pass along, including a Greg Lee feature on CV's Michael Hannan (pictured), who took big steps over the summer and this season. Greg also has a story on the GSL's second half of the basketball season. ... Mike Vlahovich has the wrestling coverage and we also can pass along a roundup of other action from last night. ... We can also pass along Bill Pierce's history lesson for the week. ... Former Lewis and Clark High and WSU star Bud Roffler died Tuesday. Jim Allen has his obituary.
• Boxing: Not only does John Blanchette have a feature from the USA National Championships but there was also an upset pulled off by a Spokane fighter yesterday.
• Seahawks: It's funny that Richard Sherman and Russell Wilson speak to the media on the same day and usually back-to-back. It happened yesterday. Wilson spoke about last year's Super Bowl, the comeback, preparation and the like. Quietly. Then Sherman spoke about trash talk, his elbow, Tom Brady and more. Nothing quiet about it. The contrast must be jarring. ... Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell also spoke as did Doug Baldwin, who regretted how he acted after the NFC title game. ... Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is still expected to be the Falcons' coach next year. ... A bunch of big-name players missed practice yesterday for a variety of reasons. ... So what's the big deal if balls aren't inflated properly? Besides the fact it's against the rules, you mean?
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• I am on the radio this afternoon, on 700 ESPN beginning at 3 p.m. and continuing into the 5 o'clock hour. You can listen here if you like. I'm joining Dennis Patchin and Rick Lukens, so there is a lot of "experience," to use a nice term, on the air today. Until then ...
