A Grip on Sports: A win (tonight) for Gonzaga, a loss (Friday night) for Whitworth and a near-perfect day make up a throwback Saturday column

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The sun will be coming across the horizon any moment now, so I have to go quickly if I want my fingers to greet the day with a definitive statement. Here it is. On the most important regular season Saturday in nearly 15 years, Mark Few’s team will rise to the occasion and win tonight.

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• There are a bunch of analytical formulas behind my declaration. Historical evidence as well. But the main reason? Call it a hunch.

Gonzaga has played so much better than its 22-8 record. Every deep-stats guy will tell you that. The Zags have been unlucky in many regards. Sooner or later the ball has to bounce their way. Why not tonight? In a place in which they’ve experienced success before, against a school that, despite having been coached by some of the most-brilliant minds the WCC has seen in the past decade, hasn’t experienced any success against Few’s program.

Neither Kyle Smith, who led Washington State to the NCAA tourney, nor Todd Golden, who has Florida on the verge of an NCAA No. 1 seed, nor current Dons coach Chris Gerlufsen have ever found a way to leave a Gonzaga game smiling.

And that streak, which dates back to the last time – 2012 – Few’s team seemed as precarious an NCAA pick as this season, isn’t ending tonight.

As long as three things happen.

Ya, you knew there would be caveats, didn’t you? It’s hoops, there has to be.

The Zags also have to play the type of defense they have played, for the most part, since their mid-January lull. They have to avoid the hero-ball trap – when each individual feels they can win the game themselves – and trust their stuff and their teammates. And they have to keep their energy at a Steph Curry-level all game. In other words, play with joy and confidence.

The last one shouldn’t be difficult, considering they are competing tonight in the building Curry built, the Chase Center. And they know it.

The other two? That’s up to them. It’s also the only way they can compete with their bête noire in the WCC, the Saint Mary’s Gaels.

That’s what this game is all about, at least until the NCAA Tournament selection committee sits down and makes its choices. The Bulldogs are positioning themselves for the best opportunity to defeat the Gaels and move into the NCAAs on a roll.

Those two goals will be much easier to reach with the extra day of prep (and rest) in Las Vegas a win tonight ensures.

My gut tells me this team is talented enough to win. Consistently from here to the second week on the NCAAs. All it has to do is coalesce. Come together. Lean on each other. Trust. Chase away the demons of the season’s close losses and lost opportunities.

What better place to do it?

• Let’s take an offramp here. Away from college hoops for a minute. And ask a simple question. How did you say goodbye to February? I’ll start. I bid adieu to the worst month of the year – my lifelong opinion – by barbecuing hamburgers on the back deck.

Why not? It may only have been in the low 50s while I was burning the ground beef, but it felt like the temp was in the 70s. Winter does that to us, doesn’t it?

After an hour long walk with the dog in the early afternoon, one I finished in a T-shirt, it was obvious this glimpse of spring had to be celebrated with comfort food. And for me, the most comfortable of foods is a hamburger patty and a salad. At least in the stretches in which I am limiting my carbs. As now.

It may have not been In-N-Out (what is?) but it was darn good. Made even better by the company. The family.

Breakfast with an old friend. A sunny day. Unseasonable warm temps. A long walk. A couple of needed repairs in the yard. A good, albeit short, nap in the sun. Dinner, conversation and laughter with the most-important people in the world. A couple of Rockford Files on Amazon Prime.

It may not have been a Top 10 Lifetime Day, but it certainly didn’t suck.

• You know what does, though? At least for the Whitworth men? They lost in the first round of the Northwest Conference tournament last night. At home, 71-64 to Lewis & Clark. For the first time since 2001, the Pirates won’t be playing for the NWC’s automatic NCAA berth.

And that makes me worry. Why? Because of past history. Sure, Whitworth is 22-4. And it did not lose a game outside of its conference this season. But the NCAA Division III at-large berths are limited. And they often go to teams from the Midwest or Northeast, where a great majority of the classification’s schools – and most champions – are located.

The Pirates have been denied before. With just as good or better resumes. Could it happen again?

A quick perusal of the West Coast makes us think it won’t.

There will be a four-team, opening-round pod on the coast. That should be a given. After what happened last night in Redlands, Calif., though, the whole region is in something of disarray.

The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s semifinals featured an upset that nearly rivals what happened to the Pirates. No. 2 seed Redlands, coached by former Whitman mentor Eric Bridgeland, lost to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 89-87. The Bulldogs fell to 22-4 – hey, that’s Whitworth’s record – and lost any chance of winning the SCIAC’s auto bid.

Now, if Cal Lutheran, also 22-4 and the tournament’s No. 1 seed, can hold up its end of the bargain Sunday, when it hosts CMS, the Pirates should end up with an at-large berth and, possibly, another trip to Thousand Oaks.

Yes, the word “another” was deliberate. Whitworth traveled south in November and topped the Kingsmen 81-76. That win, part of a 13-0 nonconference slate, should help the Pirates when the NCAA announces its selections at 9 a.m. Monday.

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WSU: Yes, it is the last weekend of the Cougs’ college hoop regular season. But, hey, Washington State is a football school, right? Could be. Anyhow, spring practice begins this morning – yes, it’s early for Pullman – and it comes with a bunch of questions for new coach Jimmy Rogers. Greg Woods poises five and tries to answer them. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has his usual Friday mailbag and it runs in the S-R. … John Canzano empties his notebook and dumps out some thoughts on the mediation possibilities between the conference and the Mountain West. … Wilner returns with another look at football recruiting that ran in the Mercury News. … Washington’s men aren’t giving up on making the Big Ten tournament. … Nate Bittle could return for Oregon next season. The Ducks host USC today. … Utah is still dealing with the surprise firing of its coach. … UCLA seemed to be getting Purdue at the right time. The 20th-ranked Boilermakers emerged from their funk in time, though, to top the Bruins. … Arizona has a tough Big 12 assignment today at Iowa State. … Colorado State has a chance to move into second in the Mountain West standings. The Rams host Utah State today. … The news from Fresno State, vis-à-vis the gambling scandal, just get worse. One player admitted betting on himself. … Recruiting never stops, does it? Even with players already on the roster. … The top women’s game of the weekend, the rematch between No. 2 UCLA and No. 4 USC, could be emotional. … In football news, Christian Caple takes a look at the quarterbacks Washington will face in the fall. … Is Oregon State locked in on the quarterback starter or will there be a competition? … What are former Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s chances to make an NFL roster? … Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders took the podium at the NFL’s combine and did a great job of selling himself to the league. … Boise State’s season opener was moved up a little bit. … San Diego State athletic director JD Wicker spoke recently about the future. … So did the Mountain West commissioner.

Gonzaga: What will the Bulldogs be facing tonight? Jim Meehan, who has been around for every one of the GU wins in their streak vs. USF, tells us in this preview. And he also picks a key matchup, focusing on the Dons’ Marcus Williams, who basically carried them to a win Wednesday night in Corvallis. … Jalen Suggs’ injury woes aren’t abating. In fact, they may be getting worse. … Elsewhere in the WCC, there is a preview in the Chronicle of tonight’s Chase Center game.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, every team is made up of individuals just trying to find their way. … The Idaho State women’s win over Idaho on Thursday was a big deal for the Bengals. … A Weber State men’s player is injured and won’t play on Senior Day.

Whitworth: We mentioned the Pirates’ loss above. And delved into the ramifications. Ethan Myers was in the Fieldhouse and has this game coverage.

Preps: The State hoops tourneys began last night from Spokane to the West Side. Dave Nichols couldn’t be everywhere, but he mentions every game with a local entrant in these two roundups. The girls’ comes with his coverage of Ridgeline’s home 3A loss to Bellevue and Central Valley’s win over Meadowdale. The boys’ leads with Freeman’s rout of Adna in the 2B ranks.

Chiefs: Dave also found a way to cover Spokane’s 5-1 win over Wenatchee at a sold-out Arena last night. Is cloning a thing?

Mariners: Bryan Woo started, and won, the first night game of the spring. … What has happened thus far? … The injured bullpen arms seem to be healing.

Sounders: Seattle’s depth, which has revealed itself early on this season, will be leaned on for the next few weeks.

Kraken: The franchise seems to be attempting to see where it stands in goal as the offseason looms.

Seahawks: Smoke? Fire? There seems to be a lot of talk of a DK Metcalf trade. Seems like a really good offensive lineman – or a bunch of draft picks – better be the return if it happens. … The recent players’ survey gave Mike Macdonald high marks and ownership low ones. 

Reign: There seems to be a lot of stories recently about NWSL players suffering a preseason injury that will cost them a year or so. There is another one to pass along today. Seattle’s Veronica Latsko tore her Achilles’ tendon and will, yep, miss the season.

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• I thought about writing about Norman Dale, Gene Hackman and the portrayal of coaches in modern entertainment. Then I read this column from Jerry Brewer in the Washington Post and decided it was better than anything I might write. Until later …