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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Grip on Sports: Gonzaga plays as advertised in rout of host Santa Clara

Gonzaga guard Zach Norvell Jr.  celebrates a 98-39 victory over Santa Clara Thursday  in Santa Clara, Calif. (Tony Avelar / AP)

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s hard to imagine Gonzaga playing better than it did last night at Santa Clara. If the Zags do, then the rest of the West Coast Conference probably should take out a “Game Off” ad in The Spokesman-Review. Read on.

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• Remember the “Game On” advertisement the Broncos put in the local paper last year? It trumpeted all the things Santa Clara was going to do for its basketball program. And it came in response to Mark Few talking with a Las Vegas newspaper about how little some WCC programs invest in basketball.

Since that ad appeared – and as someone who receives payment from the local paper, the Broncos investment in Spokane is appreciated – the Zags have outscored Santa Clara by 102 points – in two games.

“Game On” my … but to be fair, it takes a while to rebuild a basketball program. And a lot of money. The Broncos have the latter, thanks to a couple alums. The former isn’t something Gonzaga is going to give right now.

The Zags have bigger goals, as explained by Rui Hachimura in Jim Meehan’s game analysis this morning. They want to be the No. 1 team in the nation. Not right now, but at the end of the season.

In other words, they are thinking about winning a national title.

Each game they play is a step in that direction. It can be a baby step, as was the contest in Portland last week. Or it can be a giant one. That describes last night.

As we said at the top, it’s hard to imagine Gonzaga playing any better than it did.

The offense was typically efficient. But the defense, oh my.

The Broncos ran off back screens. They tried to pin down. They used ball screens. And every time the Zags were there, on the catch, on the drive, at the rim.

The Bulldogs were focused. As was their coach.

Few didn’t sit on the bench. He didn’t stand on the sidelines. He was down on a knee much of the first half as his team defended in front of him. He was as engaged as he’s been in a while, a laser focus pointed on the defensive effort.

Whatever it was, it worked.

The Bulldogs had their defensive game on, that’s for sure.

• As for the rest of the Division I college basketball teams in the area, the less said, the better.

Washington State gave up 90 points in a 13-point loss at Oregon State. Eastern Washington visited Portland State to face a Viking team that had loss three consecutive games. The Eagles also lost by 13 points.

And Idaho can only wish it lost by 13, falling to Sacramento State on the road by 21.

• If you are an NFL fan in this area, you surely know about the local connection to the “Ice Bowl.” And about Mark Rypien’s Super Bowl win. Both will be covered Monday evening when the S-R hosts a get together at the Bing Crosby Theater featuring Rypien and Jerry Kramer. Dave Boling will be involved as well and he spoke with Larry Weir for the latest Press Box pod.

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Gonzaga: The Zags don’t play again this week so they made the most of their one challenge. Jim Meehan was there to witness the blowout and he has the game analysis and the three keys to victory (no, “arriving safely” was not one of the keys). … The guys in the office put together the highlights and a recap. … We had our TV Take. It was done within minutes of the end of the game. After all, the game was done within minutes of the opening tip. … The Zags top two signees in their recruiting class, Gonzaga Prep’s Anton Watson and Texas forward Drew Timme, were passed over as McDonald’s All-Americans. Jim has more in this story. … There is another Rui Hachimura story if you are interested. … The women were without Laura Stockton, nursing a shoulder injury, but they had little trouble with USF in McCarthey. Kendra Andrews filled in for Jim Allen and has the game story. … Around the WCC, BYU showed how important its home court advantage is, defeating Saint Mary’s 71-66. The Cougars had lost at Saint Mary’s by 22 points recently. (By the way, Bill Vinovich, who was the referee in the NFC title game, officiated this one.) … San Diego handled Loyola-Marymount at home. … USF hammered Portland.

WSU: The basketball team was never really in the game in Corvallis and fell, 90-77. There is quite a bit of coverage of the game from the Oregon State perspective. … Theo Lawson is on the road, but not with basketball. He and photographer Tyler Tjomsland are in Mobile, Ala., for the Senior Bowl run-up. Theo has a story on left tackle Andre Dillard actually playing a different position. It’s right tackle. … Theo also has three stories about Gardner Minshew’s day, including one in which coach Kyle Shanahan expresses his surprise on how well prepared Minshew is. There is a reason for that. … Tyler has a photo report. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12, it’s not a conference basketball night without a controversial whistle deciding something. This time it happened in Eugene as Washington broke a 56-all tie on a last-second foul call. After watching the video multiple times, I’m still not sure there was contact on the desperation 3-pointer, but I’m equally as sure the official who called it wasn’t in position to tell either. The Huskies are atop the conference standings. … The biggest surprise of the night? That would have to be USC not just beating Arizona at home, but rolling over the Wildcats. … Maybe the Utah win at Stanford is more surprising. After all, the Utes hadn’t won there since joining the conference. … Least surprising? California losing again at home, even if Colorado was the opponent. The Buffs lost a player for the season, however. … Arizona State started poorly but rallied to defeat UCLA in Pauley. The boost from firing Steve Alford seems to have worn off. … In football news, USC’s top recruit, who had entered school early, is now leaving. He must not have liked the dorm food. … Washington hopes a connection serves to attract another top recruit. … And, finally, more fun with conference office as reported by John Canzano.

EWU: As we mentioned earlier, the Eagles lost at Portland State, 78-65. … Around the Big Sky, Northern Colorado and Montana each won home games to stay near the top of the conference standings. But Weber State, a game ahead in the loss column, scored an even bigger win, taking a road contest at Montana State.

Idaho: The Vandals had their shooting woes in the 69-48 loss at Sacramento State. UI is 1-9 in its last 10 games. … The Idaho women routed the Hornets, winning by 39 in Moscow.

Preps: It was decision night in GSL wrestling, with Mt. Spokane getting a late pin from Blake Haney to not only defeat district rival Mead, but also win the league title. Ryan Collingwood was at the match and has this story. … We also can pass along the scores of the other wrestling matches in the area. … This isn’t from a local state, but what is happening to girls soccer in Arizona is interesting anyhow.

Mariners: Seattle held its pre-spring training press conference yesterday and it covered a whole bunch of subjects, from Ichiro’s status to Lorena Martin’s allegations. … The big news, though, is the M’s signing former Giant reliever Hunter Strickland to be their closer. I guess this means the Mariners won’t be signing Bryce Harper.

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• No rest for the wicked today. Or me neither. We will be on the radio between 3 and 6 p.m., joining Rick Lukens on 700 ESPN. You can listen here if you like. Until then …