Grip on Sports: Zags are resolute during their march through WCC’s less fortunate

A GRIP ON SPORTS • If resolutions are made to be broken, then there were some accomplishments coming out of yesterday. Otherwise, not so much. Read on.

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• Some of that is personal. We resolved to be kinder, gentler this year but, judging by the email reaction to my TV Take on the Gonzaga game last night, some folks think that resolution has fallen by the wayside.

That’s OK. No one really expected such a resolution to last.

Nor did anyone who has followed Bulldog basketball the past couple years expect point guard Josh Perkins to be more resolute with the ball. He certainly wasn’t last night in an 89-59 rout at Pepperdine, a win built inside-out.

Perkins seemed to have unleashed his inner Jeff Spicoli in Malibu, playing fast and loose with the ball – and with shot selection. His four turnovers led GU in that department, as did his seven missed shots – more than Johnathan Williams, Killian Tillie and Jacob Larsen had combined.

Perkins also led in plays that seemed to make Mark Few either shake his head or show his palms to the heavens in the universal I-don’t-get-it gesture.

Despite that, Gonzaga wasn’t tested after the first few minutes.

Which is either a tribute to the Zags (part of it) or an indictment of Pepperdine (a bigger part). The Waves are young, again. They are injured, again. And they are part of a group of five West Coast Conference teams that seem only capable of beating themselves – in more ways than one.

Pepperdine, Santa Clara, Pacific, Portland and Saturday’s GU opponent, Loyola-Marymount, are the WCC’s have-nots this season. Together, they had 22 nonconference wins, only one more than BYU and Gonzaga combined. Many of those wins came against lower-division schools.

The not-so-powerful five have three conference wins, all against each other. And if any defeat the fives conference haves, it will be an upset, no matter where it is. Firestone Fieldhouse was half-empty last night – a visit by Gonzaga used to fill every WCC gym – and many of those who arrived fashionably late left relatively early. It’s hard to blame them.

• The West Coast Conference didn’t do the Zags any favors with the schedule, again. After a nonconference slate with enough decent teams to sharpen their sword, the Bulldogs open conference with five consecutive games against the lower-end schools.

If last night’s performance was any indication, it’s dulled them a bit. On the flip side, six of the final eight are against the other contenders, including both matchups with BYU.

• Just a quick question for Washington State’s always introspective football fans: If you could go back a few weeks to ensure Tennessee hires Mike Leach as its head coach and then WSU replaces him with Alex Grinch, would you do it? Would you find that alternative history better or worse than what’s played out, with Grinch leaving Pullman for Ohio State?

Just wondering.

It seems as if Grinch’s decision was personal more than financial. After all, he would have been making about as much money in Pullman as Ohio State’s current defensive coordinator, Greg Schiano, made this last season. So financially, it seems a wash.

But Grinch has family in the area and home called. Yet, if there had been a chance to be a head coach, the decision to leave may have been harder to make.

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WSU: Grinch’s decision is the subject of this Theo Lawson story. It is also covered by Stefanie Loh in the Times and by the Columbus newspaper. … Ernie Kent is looking forward to this weekend’s matchup with Mike Hopkins and Washington. … A former WSU football assistant coach has a new job.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, the gap between the best team in the conference, Arizona, and the next best, Arizona State and UCLA, widen last night. The Wildcats went into Salt Lake City and handled Utah, despite a fierce Utes rally. … Arizona State couldn’t get the same result in Boulder, losing to a reeling Colorado team in overtime. … Meanwhile, UCLA also lost, though it took double overtime and came to possibly the conference’s poorest team, Stanford. … USC didn’t have that trouble in its Bay Area visit, locking down California. … Oregon and Oregon State will renew their in-state rivalry again this weekend. … The poor state of the conference’s football fortunes seems to be a never-ending source for words right now. … Will there be a Eugene reunion in Westwood?

Gonzaga: Jim Meehan is spending the weekend in Southern California and has his analysis of GU’s win as well as the three keys to it. … The guys in the office put together this feature ever game. … Williams had been nominated for an award reserved for seniors. Jim has that story. … And yes, I had my TV Take. Let me say this. Roxy Bernstein is really good, even if he did attend Cal. … The Gonzaga women also dominated Pepperdine inside and won handily. Whitney Ogden has the game story and Colin Mulvany the photographs. … Around the WCC, San Diego has been one of the haves, but they nearly become the conference’s first upset victim. The Toreros survived in overtime at home, however, against Portland. … Saint Mary’s pushed aside Pacific. … BYU went into San Francisco and won despite being shook up earlier.

EWU: The Eagles’ tough nonconference schedule may have paid dividends last night, as they handed Portland State another Big Sky loss. Jim Allen has more in this game story. … Maybe the biggest story coming out of Cheney yesterday also came from Jim, who passed along the news athletic director Bill Chaves is a finalist for the North Dakota position. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, the Montana road trip is back to being a slog for visiting teams. Montana and Montana State both picked up wins last night. … Idaho State is still undefeated in conference. … Weber State got back on the winning track.

Idaho: It was a big day for the Vandals, as the school announced a $10-million donation toward its new basketball facility and then the basketball team hosted Sacramento State in the old one. Peter Harriman has both stories. … The Vandal women lost on the road.

Whitworth: The Pirates are ready to get back to work on the court. Jim Allen has a preview of their home Northwest Conference games this weekend.

Seahawks: As the offseason begins earlier than it has in years, there are a lot of questions to be answered. One concerns Jimmy Graham, who never hit his potential in Seattle. … The Hawks want to be more physical again on both sides of the ball. That might mean a change in the staff. … Ten numbers defined Seattle’s season. … Doug Baldwin is back in the Pro Bowl.

Sounders: The full MLS schedule is out.

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• The roads are icy, it’s supposed to get wet later and I’ve got a lot to get done in the house. Guess who’s not leaving today? Except, maybe, to get a sandwich. There goes another resolution. … Finally, another reminder we won’t be here tomorrow morning. Until later …