Blog matters

A sampling from the past week of blog entries in The Spokesman-Review sports department blog, Sportslink. See daily offerings at spokesman

.com/sportslink.

An historic day (Monday) for Gonzaga, which earned the No. 1 ranking for the first time in school history.

Assistant coach Tommy Lloyd filled in for coach Mark Few, who went fishing. Lloyd fielded questions wearing a Run DMC T-shirt, which someone confused for Run SMC (Saint Mary’s College). The coach quickly pointed out the “D”  in DMC.

• Gonzaga pretty much has this Senior Day celebration down pat.

Coach Mark Few addresses the crowd postgame (he implored fans to savor moments such as Senior Day during this special season). Then the microphone goes to the seniors, who never fail to provide a blend of insight (Mike Hart pointing to the Kennel Club section he sat in as a spectator five years ago watching the team); and emotion (Hart with a lump in his throat as he started to talk about his family); and humor (Guy Landry Edi opening his remarks with a long, “Wwwoooooooo”); and appreciation (Elias Harris: “It’s been a tremendous ride, I love all you guys.”)

Throw in a few bad dances by the players at center court and the customary snipping of the net and another Senior Day goes in the books.

If you’re digging for silver linings amid WSU’s 2-14 Pac-12 record, here’s one: The Cougars can now say they were tied in the final 10 seconds against the No. 1 team in the country. Yes, Gonzaga earned that distinction for the first time in its history on Monday, a feat that was featured prominently on today’s front page.

February was a miserable month for the Idaho Vandals. They squeaked out a win at home over San Jose State on Feb. 2 … then lost five straight WAC games. But even with the late-season swoon, the Vandals likely have done enough to avoid the opening round of the WAC tournament that will feature the bottom four teams.

Don Verlin has been candid about UI’s struggles this season. But he sounded much more upbeat after (the March 2) win. “I think there’s a lot of good basketball left in this team,” he said.