Tonight the Washington State women bring their 7-2 record into the McCarthey Center for a matchup with the 5-2 Gonzaga women. Tomorrow the Zags will host the WSU men in the Spokane Arena. I wonder if it was planned this way? All I know is the back-to-back games is putting a strain on our time this week. They are can't-miss contests if you are college basketball fans in this area. Why? There is little doubt the basketball relationship between these two Inland Northwest schools is beginning to get a bit strained. The last time the Cougar women traveled to McCarthey, they upset the Zags 57-51 and there was an on-court mini-confrontation afterward between WSU coach June Daugherty and then-Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves. Daugherty said something inappropriate about the Cougars owning the area and Graves responded. Silly. But it did make last year's matchup in Pullman, won by Gonzaga, something of a grudge match/Vince Grippi, A Grip on Sports/SR SportsLink. More here.