A Grip on Sports: The only constant in college hoops these days is change – and unexpected tight games

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The early part of any college basketball season over the years is usually pretty similar to riding Silverwood’s Timber Terror on a hot July afternoon. Long lines, ups, downs, averting of eyes. And a lot of sweating. Why should the NIL-and-transfer-portal-fueled modern game be any different?

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• We harken back to the halcyon days of summer for one reason. It’s cold, it’s damp and the Zag men put a scare into us Sunday that most of us probably never thought would happen.

Mark Few and Bobby Hurley may not have followed similar paths to their current roles as GU and Arizona State coaches, but they certainly have the same outlook on the latest way to build a successful roster. It’s obvious they both have embraced the changing times.

Hurley’s dove into the portal like a cannonball, bringing seven transfers into the Kennel yesterday. As a result, his unranked Sun Devils led the sixth-ranked Zags deep into the second half. But it didn’t last, partly because Few’s team also dipped into the transfer pool in the offseason. And dipped is the right word, as the Bulldogs added a couple key pieces to already established roster.

Khalif Battle, who came from Arkansas, started. But it was his second half performance – all of his 19 points, including a one-hand transition dunk, came after halftime – that woke up the Gonzaga faithful. And the Zags’ rally.

Meanwhile, Michael Ajayi, who came off the bench, took it upon himself, it seemed, to grab every rebound available, helping GU stifle the Devils’ final hopes. He finished with 12 rebounds as Gonzaga controlled the glass in the 88-80 victory.

It wasn’t just the newcomers, of course, who shined. The Bulldogs have always developed players within the program and that hasn’t changed.

Braden Huff, who redshirted his first year and began to emerge in his second, is a full-blown butterfly in his third. For the second consecutive game, the Illinois native relieved last year’s transfer star, Graham Ike, and jumpstarted the Zags’ offense. His 21 points inside were crucial.

Few’s Bulldogs have opened the season hosting two Big 12 schools in Spokane. They routed the legacy – Baylor, who in turn handled Arkansas over the weekend – at the Arena and toughed out a home win against one of four new members in the nation’s deepest basketball conference.

Not a bad way to start a season.

• Speaking of seasons, the holiday season is upon us. It starts today as our nation celebrates those who gave up part of their life to defend it.

Honoring their service, however, doesn’t mean the day is loaded with the usual holiday fare – at least when it comes to sporting events.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, heck, even Black Friday, which seems to have joined the holiday schedule, features enough sporting events for even the casual fan to gorge. Veteran’s Day? There’s a Monday Night Football game – as there is every Monday night. But, despite ESPN’s recent commercials, a matchup between the Rams and Dolphins, doesn’t move the needle much.

At least there are a couple of local basketball games to experience. Sort of.

If you enjoy consuming a game the same way your great-granddad did, you are in luck. You can fiddle with the wireless dial and listen to Eastern Washington’s second basketball game of the Dan Monson era mid-afternoon. The Eagles are in the Midwest to take on Missouri. That game, on 700 ESPN starts at 3:30. Not too long after, the one-millionth – a rough estimate – Battle of the Palouse comes your way on KXLY 920 at 6.

If you want to watch either on your TV, however, your only option is the streaming route. It’s another unexpected consequence of conference realignment. At least in the case of the Idaho men visiting Washington State.

For more than a decade those of us with an interest in the matchup could turn on the Pac-12 Network’s Washington feed and watch. That statement presupposes, of course, we had access to the network. The lack of distribution made that an iffy proposition.

These days ESPN+ has the game, as well as Eastern’s visit to SEC country. The SEC Network still exists, sure, but it will broadcast second-ranked Alabama’s game with McNeese State instead.

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WSU: Before I get to basketball, I have to call your attention to a couple Greg Woods’ stories on football. The Cougars moved up a spot in the Associated Press poll (and await the CFP’s new rankings). How? Greg tells us with this look back at the Utah State win. … The WSU women’s basketball team kicked off the Palouse-centric week with a 71-60 win over the visiting Vandals. … Back to football for a second. Ethan Myers has his weekly look at NFL locals, leading off with another stellar performance from former WSU linebacker Daiyan Henley. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, everyone knew this was coming. The Big 12 leveled a hefty fine at Utah athletic director Mark Harlan after his postgame comments Saturday criticized the officiating in the Utes loss. And the conference. Funny thing though. Harlan issued a statement Sunday that acknowledged his mistake in airing the grievances publicly. But he did not apologize. … Jon Wilner has his weekly Best of the West rankings. WSU stays fifth. … Will the CFP committee have changes to its rankings this week? National writers certainly were willing to adjust after the weekend’s upsets, and near upsets. … Recruiting never stops. Even after “a commitment.” Ask Washington. And Oregon. … The Ducks, a unanimous No. 1 again, enter the week a two-touchdown favorite at Wisconsin. … Oregon State is favored to get back on track this week. The Beavers are a touchdown favorite at Air Force. … Not only is Colorado in-line to make the Big 12 title game, the Buffs are moving up the polls. … Carol Folt is leaving as USC’s president but not before she influenced the athletic department’s future (and the Pac-12’s) to a great degree. … This Arizona player is doing a great thing. … In the Mountain West, ripping into the officiating was an expensive proposition this week, as San Jose State coach Ken Niumatalolo found out. … Colorado State and Wyoming meet Friday night, which may disrupt the CSU campus. … At least the tight win over Nevada did not cost Boise State in the rankings.  … In basketball news, the rankings come out today but that doesn’t mean we don’t have some to pass along. … The Oregon women and coach Kelly Graves needed a signature early season win. They got it, topping No. 12 Baylor 76-74 in Eugene. … Washington is 3-0 after a blowout win Sunday.

Gonzaga: The Zags’ comeback victory is covered this morning by Theo Lawson, who has his game analysis. … Dave Boling has his opinions about the contest in this column. … Jim Meehan took care of chronicling Ajayi’s contributions, which went beyond his rebounding. … Jim also has three impressions from the win. … Colin Mulvany was on the McCarthy baselines and has this photo gallery. … Finally, Jim has some recruiting news. … There is this coverage from Phoenix. … The women also played Sunday, though things did not go well at Stanford. Greg Lee has the game story from the Zags’ worst loss in Lisa Fortier’s head-coaching career. … We watched from home and was disappointed in the treatment the game received from ESPN. Most of my thoughts are contained in this complete version of my TV Take. But late last night I thought back to when Duke honored Mike Krzyzewski, the winningest men’s college coach, by putting his name on the Cameron court in 2000. And the huge deal ESPN made of it. Stanford adds Tara VanDerveer’s name to its court and the network missed the ceremonies and pushed a quarter of the game to streaming. Pretty sad. … There are stories about the game, and VanDerveer’s big day, from the Bay Area.

Idaho: If you need a preview of tonight’s Battle of the Palouse, Peter Harriman has this one. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, the loss to UC Davis snapped Montana’s winning streak. … Northern Colorado was disappointed it did not make EWU work harder on offense. … Portland State tried, and failed, to come back against Idaho.

Preps: The State playoffs pick up steam this week. Dave Nichols covers the schedule.

Chiefs: Spokane edged Kamloops 6-5 in overtime Sunday to end its brief road trip. Dave has that story as well.

Seahawks: Hey, we have midseason awards to pass along.

Mariners: Colt Emerson showed in the Arizona Fall League he is destined to become the newest M’s wunderkind.

NASCAR: Joey Logano fended off Ryan Blaney in Sunday’s season-ending race at Phoenix Raceway to win his third NASCAR Cup Series championship.

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• Veteran’s Day always makes me think of my father and how he lied about his age so he could get into the Navy and fight in World War II. I always wondered if I would have displayed the same courage. When I asked him over the years what he thought, his answer was simple. Yes. But he was awfully happy I never had to find out. Until later …