Showdown looms in three (rainy) days

EAGLES, ZAGS, COLLEGE BASKETBALL UPDATED: 3:15 P.M.

Because these two schools are so intertwined this week – a typical sporting event in the Inland Northwest’s best sports month (tell us your favorite here) – we’re going to cover them on the same posts.

Today was The S-R’s EWU preview day, with Dave Trimmer covering everything about the Eags except where they have their breakfast – my guess: Zip’s.

As Dave pointed out, this is Rodney Stuckey’s team, and why shouldn’t it be? The 6-foot-5 sophomore guard (pictured; Associated Press photo) is one of the best players in the nation – and probably the best the Eagles have ever had.

But there are other Eagles to watch during a Big Sky race EWU is one of the favorites to win.

The EWU staff feels this is the best team they’ve had in Cheney – which is saying a lot – and Stuckey is the main reason why. It’s his versatility that worries Gonzaga coach Mark Few, and to combat that, the Zags will probably rotate three or four different players, with different styles of defense, on Stuckey. We’ll look at this in more depth prior to Friday’s game.

The teams meet at 5 p.m. Friday (KHQ-6; both schools radio networks) and we’ll be there to offer post-game commentary. There will also be a game story posted right after the conclusion of the contest on The Spokesman-Review’s sports website.

Don’t forget to check out Steve Bergum’s Gonzaga blog, which has news on GU’s injured players, and Dave Trimmer’s Eagle blog, which also has more on this week’s football game.

UPDATE: Though there are those at GU that hate this designation, Gonzaga was ranked No. 2 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The top team? Creighton. Loyola-Marymount is 16, Northern Arizona 18 and Montana is 19.

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The Pac-10 Conference basketball race was the subject of a Times’ story today, with Bob Condotta showing why the conference has gotten so top-heavy again. The Times also did its WSU season preview, which we will link to in the Cougar post.

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I heard this was a possibility at last year’s state basketball tournament, but Curtis High guard Isaiah Thomas, who has committed to UW, has academic troubles that might keep him from being eligible this season, and from attending UW.