A Grip on Sports: What else are we supposed to do the first weekend of March other than celebrate finishes and beginnings in basketball?

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Around these parts, it was a Saturday of endings. Seasons. Careers. False hope.

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• Let’s start with that last one first. And mention the University of San Francisco men’s basketball team.

The Dons entered Saturday night’s West Coast Conference season finale against Gonzaga hoping to finish second in the standings. And hand Mark Few his first third-place finish.

As I’ve written often in this space, hope is not a strategy. It’s the absence of one. Doing, that’s the ticket.

Those who bought tickets to the showdown in the Chase Center, about 40% Zag fans according to the S-R’s coverage staff, watched as one team did what it needed to do. That was, of course, Gonzaga. Its 95-75 beatdown of the host Dons means many things, not the least of which is Few’s career-long streak of earning a first- or second-place WCC finish continues.

The end result is his Bulldogs won’t play in the conference’s tournament until the semifinals, when they may have to defeat USF once more to earn another chance to top champion Saint Mary’s. Maybe the Dons will have a better strategy than daring Ben Gregg to beat them. That one didn’t work. At all.

USF decided to help off Gregg (and to an even higher degree his backup, Micheal Ajayi). Give the 6-foot-10 senior a clean look at the hoop, hoping to clog the basket and give Graham Ike, Braden Huff and any penetrating wings a wall at the rim.

Gregg showed the fallacy of that plan early, late and often, scoring 23 points on a variety of 3-pointers, floaters and an occasional putback. His offensive explosion wasn’t the only reason the Zags won by 20, but it played a big role.

The defense, which accomplished Few’s goal of frustrating WCC leading-score Malik Thomas while the game was relatively close, also had a huge hand, especially during a stretch in the first half when Gregg was still finding the range. When he did, Gonzaga (23-8) took off. And landed where it always does in the regular season.

With two games in the Bay Area ended that schedule, the rest of the WCC was probably hoping for the Zags to slip at least once. And face a tougher road in Las Vegas. Instead, they played what Few feels is their “best ball of the year.”

At just the right time.

• Something that didn’t end? The GU women and their penchant for No. 1 seeds in the tournament. Though this year wasn’t nearly as easy as some others. Like, you know, last season.

Now Lisa Fortier’s squad faces the challenge of a semifinal, probably against Oregon State, and then finding a way to defeat Portland for a third time. It’s the Zags’ only path to another NCAA berth.

The Pilots, who have upset GU in the tourney finals two consecutive seasons, probably will have a bit tougher semifinal opponent – a young but improving Washington State squad.

• Turns out Washington State’s men just needed a week in which they could play the WCC’s bottom rung. San Diego at home and Pepperdine on the road. A perfect elixir. And the ticket to the WCC’s sixth seed.

The two wandering Pac-12 schools, WSU and Oregon State, spent their first year in the conference learning the territory. They won some, lost some and, ultimately, finished where they probably belonged, the Beavers fifth and Cougs sixth.

• I missed much of Saturday’s college basketball fun – though I guess the nation did as well, at least concerning the Auburn/Kentucky game. My excuse? On a picture perfect March day, Kim and I sat through two-and-a-half high school State playoff games.

And once again I was reminded of the reality of loser-out contests. For half the players, it is the end. For most, the end of the season. For a few, the end of their basketball career.

Late in Overlake’s matchup with Riverside in 1A boys’ action, an Owl senior fouled out. He had just played some 25 minutes as hard as he could, left everything on the court and came to the bench inconsolable. After a short talk with his coach, and hand touches down the line, he plopped into the next-to-last chair and grabbed a towel. He put it over his head, hoping to hide what was coming.

But his shoulders betrayed him. It was obvious he was crying. His team was fighting for a trip to Yakima and he wasn’t on the court helping.

The towel didn’t last long. As the clock wound down, I looked for him. He was back in a seat next to the coaches. And his teammates made sure his career would last at least one more game, closing out a 62-51 win and ending Riverside’s season.

• Why the half, you may ask? Two reasons. After a day in the West Valley gym, it was time to get home and make dinner. That was No. 1. But a close second was our heads hurt. 

Throughout the first half of top-seeded Gonzaga Prep’s 56-54 4A win over No. 8 Puyallup, we had endured the screeches and shrieks of a Viking fan seated about two rows behind us.

Did you know the WIAA conspired against her team to ensure G-Prep would win? Everyone in at least 20 rows sure did. And the agents of the conspiracy were wearing striped shirts.

My favorite comment: A Puyallup guard drove baseline. The Prep defender cut him off, his arms above his shoulders and his feet moving quickly enough to deny the Viking a path using his squared-up chest as a wall. The fan’s view? “He’s holding him! Call that! They’ve been doing it all game you cheaters! Make them play basketball!”

It was loud enough I’m pretty sure some wheat farmer north of Colfax stopped what they were doing and listened.

We went home.

And yes, I am well aware it is karma for some of my past transgressions.

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WSU: Let’s start with Greg Woods’ basketball coverage. He has a story from Pullman on the Cougars’ 90-83 road win. I linked it above and do it here as well. … Now to something I didn’t link. Spring practice began yesterday. The first Pullman practice of the Jimmy Rogers Era. Greg was there and has this story. The highlights? The tempo seemed faster to returning quarterback starter Levi Eckhaus. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, local junior college coaches Jeremy Groth and Corey Symons should print out John Canzano’s column and send it to anyone they are interested in having play at their schools. …  Washington’s first year in the Big Ten, and Danny Sprinkle’s first year in charge of the men, will end with the Huskies not making the postseason tournament. And possibly a last-place finish. … Oregon had little trouble with USC, which is failing as the season rolls on having lost five consecutive games. … Oregon State battled with No. 23 Saint Mary’s for much of the game but faded late in a 74-64 defeat. … Is this the end for Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley. His team lost at Utah, which already has made a coaching change. … Iowa State got its revenge against Arizona. … Colorado State made an emphatic point to be included in the NCAA tourney by routing visiting Utah State. The top five Mountain West teams – four will be headed to the Pac-12 – deserve bids. … Boise State nearly kicked its away at awful Fresno State. … San Diego State edged Wyoming on the road, then couldn’t get out of Laramie. Plane trouble. … The best game of the day? It may have been No. 4 USC’s win at Pauley Pavilion against the second-ranked UCLA women. It certainly was the top game for Trojan fans. … Maybe it was Utah’s buzzer-beating win over BYU. … Oregon State topped Pepperdine in Malibu. … Tara VanDeveer is still teaching. … In football news, can Andrew Luck save Stanford’s struggling program?

Gonzaga: The win at the Warriors’ Chase Center was covered in the S-R’s usual way. Jim Meehan has the game story and helped the folks in the office on the recap with highlights. … Theo Lawson has a story on the USF strategy vis-à-vis Gregg as well as the buzzer-beater notebook. … Tyler Tjomsland has a photo gallery. … Greg Lee watched the women’s game from Spokane, talked with Fortier and has this game story. … The Las Vegas brackets for the men and the women are ready. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Jon Wilner has commissioner Stu Jackson’s thoughts about NCAA tourney expansion in this Mercury News column. 

EWU: Dylan Darling’s homecoming was a successful one, as his Idaho State Bengals topped the Eagles 78-54, handing the Eastern men their fourth consecutive defeat. Dan Thompson was in Cheney for Senior Day and has this story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana and Northern Colorado are tied atop the men’s standings after Montana lost at Portland State. The Griz host Eastern on Monday, the Bears head to Weber State. … Montana State topped Sacramento State. … Montana State’s women finally lost, falling at home to Sacramento State, but have clinched the tournament’s top seed. Northern Arizona must top red-hot Idaho State and have the Bobcats lose at Idaho to claim a share of the title. … Montana picked up a win.

Idaho: Kolton Mitchell wasn’t the Vandals leading scorer in their home win over Weber State but his four quick points in overtime gave the men an edge they wouldn’t surrender. They won 81-79. Peter Harriman has the coverage. … The women defeated Weber State on the road.

Whitworth: Lewis & Clark (15-12) followed up its Friday night upset of Whitworth with another win, this one 70-57 over Whitman, to earn the Northwest Conference’s tournament title and the automatic NCAA Division III playoff berth. It’s the Pioneers’ first NWC title since 2002.

Preps: Dave Nichols was at West Valley yesterday and has this roundup of the boys action there and elsewhere. He also headed over to Central Valley for Mead’s win and a roundup of the girls’ games.

Chiefs: Before his day was done, Dave put together this coverage of Spokane’s tough 6-3 loss to the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds.

Mariners: It is spring, so there has to be a story about a pitcher hoping a new pitch will elevate his career. There is one today. … Here are three things to watch this spring. … The M’s fell 18-9 Saturday to the White Sox.

Sounders: An own goal by none other than Nouhou put Seattle in an early hole against Real Salt Lake. And the Sounders were never able to dig out of it, falling 2-0 on the road.

Seahawks: Could the Hawks draft a running back?

Kraken: Seattle scored four unanswered goals to top visiting Vancouver 6-3 in a game the Canucks needed more than the Kraken.

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• Finally completely finished.  It took a while. Read what you will and then go enjoy your Sunday. Until later …