A Grip on Sports: A wave of mediocre play can hit any college basketball program, including, this season, Gonzaga
A GRIP ON SPORTS • We wandered down to the beach this week, wanting to see the 25-foot swells that are battering the California coast. Impressive. And dangerous. But we learned long ago waves are not limited to the ocean.
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• There has never been a sports franchise at any level that’s avoided the crashing of the surf. The tide is high some days, low others. No one is immune, not even rock-solid college basketball programs such as Gonzaga’s men, though Mark Few’s teams have seemed to be in the recent past.
Last night’s 84-74 home loss to San Diego State showed the leaks in this season’s foundation once again. Lack of depth at the guard spots. Stretches of lackluster defense. The inability to string together runs, due in large part to spotty outside shooting. No one star who can take the team on his back and carry them over rough spots.
In other words, the earmarks of a vulnerable team when matched up against other talented squads.
The waves of 30-win seasons, the automatic WCC titles, the NCAA second-weekend appearances, might just be crashing to a stop on the rocky shores of change this year.
Welcome to the new Zag reality, which is akin to the old Zag reality of, say, 2011-12.
Since that season, the last time Gonzaga finished second in the West Coast Conference, the Bulldogs have won at least 30 games eight times, including the season cut short by the pandemic. They have reached the national title game twice, the Elite Eight three more times and the Sweet Sixteen every other year. They have been an NCAA No. 1 seed five times, a 2, 3 and a 4. In other words, a paragon of consistency in a world of ups-and-downs.
This season? Not so much.
They have had opportunities to show they belong. Four times they’ve played Quadrant 1 games, under the NCAA NET ranking system. They have lost all four. There is only one certain Quad 1 game left, at Kentucky on Feb. 10. It’s possible the road games at Saint Mary’s and USF might be too, but it depends on the Gaels and Dons stringing together WCC wins.
Why is the important? No matter what the Zags’ record ends up (they are 9-4 after Friday’s loss), making the NCAA tourney as an at-large without a Quad 1 win is a near-impossibility.
Could the unthinkable happen come March? Probably not. There is enough talent on the GU roster to still rack up WCC wins. To patch the ship. To go into Moraga or San Francisco or wherever needed and win a game. Sure, Steele Venters’ knee injury seems to have left the Zags one player short, but every other WCC team has even more holes.
Are the Bulldogs more vulnerable than they were a couple years ago? Certainly. But the shifting swells of the season could still break their way.
• At halftime last night in Salt Lake City, Washington State was in a good spot. Though the Cougars were dealing with some foul trouble, they were still within a bucket of Utah in the matchup of 9-2 teams.
Then the Utes heated up. And the Cougars did not. The result? An 80-58 defeat in both teams’ Pac-12 opening game.
And it doesn’t get any easier for WSU. After a day off, they are in Boulder. Colorado, despite missing key pieces last night, still handled Washington, proving the Buffs are the second-best group in the conference right now, behind only Arizona.
But that’s the way it goes in college sports. The Cougars are riding a wild wave this weekend. It gets easier. And harder.
• When Cameron Ward announced he was leaving Washington State and either entering the NFL draft or transferring, rumors began immediately the quarterback was headed to Ohio State. But those whispers haven’t proven true. Yet.
Maybe Ward was weighing – appropriately – his earning potential. Balancing his NFL chances against what the Buckeyes were willing to offer in NIL. If so, Ward’s patience may have paid off in a big way.
Ohio State is desperate in its need of a top-end quarterback. It certainly seemed that way during their 14-3 Cotton Bowl loss last night to Missouri.
Kyle McCord, who started every regular season game, left for Syracuse. Devin Brown, the apparent leader, suffered an early high ankle sprain and didn’t return, though his performance beforehand wasn’t up to usual Buckeye standards. And freshman Lincoln Kienholz was overmatched.
It would seem Ward, who has also been linked to Miami (he visited) and Florida State (ditto), could profit from the opportunity, as much as anyone in this new era of player profitability.
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WSU: Of course, Greg Woods has this story of the Utah loss. That’s what he does. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, football is still center stage. One thing the bowl games have shown us is how screwed up college athletics’ management is. As if we needed another reminder. … Washington has reached a high point already in the Kalen DeBoer reign. Can the Huskies continue to rise or is this the nadir? … Michael Penix Jr. always seems to deliver. (OK, sorry for the pun.) … There was one bowl game Friday with a conference rep involved, though Oregon State really didn’t show up. The Beavers were crushed by Notre Dame 40-8 in the Sun Bowl. And, yes, Cougar fans, the weather in El Paso was great. … Oregon is still prepping for its Fiesta Bowl game Monday against Liberty, though the Ducks are missing a few pieces at practice. … Arizona is still basking in the glow of the Alamo Bowl win. … Finally, we’ve shared this before but Chuck Culpepper writes about the place we first learned how to hold a golf club correctly, Brookside Golf Club. It will, once again, serve as the Rose Bowl Game’s parking lot New Year’s Day. … In basketball news, as we mentioned above, Washington fell at Colorado despite the Buffs’ injury issues. … Arizona State staged a furious rally and won at Stanford. … A rested Arizona squad made short work of host Cal. … UCLA and USC trade Oregon opponents today. … Stanford walloped California 78-51 to open the weekend’s play for the women. … No. 6 USC, led by freshman JuJu Watkins, and No. 2 UCLA matchup at Pauley Pavilion in a highly anticipated game tonight. … Today’s game between No. 8 Colorado and No. 12 Utah is in the same vein.
Gonzaga: We watched bits and pieces of Gonzaga’s loss last night. The inability to focus due to outside issues is why we were unable to write the usual TV Take. It also mirrors some of GU’s issues, which Jim Meehan describes in his game story and the recap with highlights. … Theo Lawson has a notebook and the difference makers. … Tyler Tjomsland has 42 photos but we were unable to find a link to a photo gallery this morning.
EWU: The Eagles host Sacramento State this afternoon. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana is in the FCS title game against South Dakota State, a team it defeated in a crazy comeback years ago. … In basketball news, Montana’s women opened conference play with a win over visiting Weber State. … Montana State edged Idaho State 58-56 in Bozeman. … Northern Arizona opens conference play for both teams today.
Idaho: The Vandals, coming off a last-second victory, face an angry Portland State squad in Moscow today.
Preps: Basketball tournament week continued Friday and we can pass along this roundup.
Seahawks: This time of year, every team has key players banged up, either playing hurt or watching. The Hawks are no different. That gives opportunities to others. … Russell Wilson talked about his benching and did say the Broncos told him to change his contract or he would sit. OK then. Remember, it was, according to Sean Payton, a football decision.
Kraken: Seattle is on a hot streak. A franchise-record tying hot streak. The Kraken have earned points in eight consecutive games after their 2-1 home overtime win against Philadelphia. … Next up is Monday’s Winter Classic at T-Mobile. The plan is for the roof to be open.
2023: A different label here, isn’t it? But Dan Thompson has our staff votes for the key stories of the year about to end. The top one mirrors our thoughts. The rest, however, diverge a bit.
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• We enjoy rain as much as the next guy. If the next guy is Tom Sherry. Or Kris Crocker. But the waves of precipitation we’ve experienced this morning on the coast is making us want to build an ark. Calm for a while, then a downpour that bounces off the roof with such force as to make it hard to hear. Then calm again until the next deluge hits. It’s impressive. Until later …