Another WCC road test awaits Zags

BULLDOGS UPDATED 12:45 P.M.

Gonzaga has a West Coast Conference road test tonight (9; ESPN2; 1510-AM).

That’s, of course, you trust coach Mark Few and his players. And we do, right?

Loyola Marymount may be at the bottom of the WCC standings, but the Lions offer a challenge according to the Zags’ quoted in Steve Bergum’s story this morning.

That challenge starts with the inside play of Matthew Knight (pictured guarding Sean Mallon that night; Spokesman-Review photo by Dan Pelle), a 6-foot-8 scorer who had an average game in Spokane last month, scoring a team-high 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

But he was overshadowed in the WCC opener, won by Gonzaga 97-62, by GU’s Mallon, who grabbed nine rebounds and scored 23 points, hitting 9 of 10 shots.

We’ll be on-line before the game with an advance of what you can expect, then post throughout the contest. We’ll finish up with a link to the web’s first game story. See you then. As always, if you have questions or comments, just add them here or on Steve’s blog.

• The San Francisco Chronicle posted its advance of tonight’s USF vs. Santa Clara game, focusing on USC coach Dick Davey’s pending retirement.

If the Broncos stay hot, his announcement will serve as extra motivation. If they start to lose a game here or there, then it could be a detriment.

UPDATE: • The Oregonian has a WCC notebook covering the same subject.

• And this bracket website has WSU as a four seed and Gonzaga as a nine.