NCAA basketball

Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona are the clear-cut No. 1 and No. 2 women’s teams in the Big Sky Tournament bracket, and they have the advantage of playing on the second, fourth and fifth days of the event if all goes to seed.

PULLMAN — Whenever No. 18 Washington State finds a way to flush this latest loss, a 74-68 home setback to rival Washington in Thursday’s regular-season finale, the first place the Cougars might go to practice is the free throw line.

Gonzaga spent the past five months adding various items to its bulletin board, but the Bulldogs needed to clear some additional space on Tuesday morning.

There may be no more than a week left in the Oregon State men’s basketball season, depending on the Beavers’ progress at Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas. Wayne Tinkle knows people talk about what’s next. The Beavers are 12-17, and unless there’s an unforeseeable run ahead, they’ll finish below .500 for a third consecutive year.

In our last edition of “Four Out,” we explored Gonzaga’s chances of getting back to the NCAA Tournament and whether an at-large bid was still realistic for a Bulldogs team that had just suffered its fifth loss of the season at Santa Clara.

Four Eastern Washington men’s basketball players and head coach David Riley received All-Big Sky recognition Thursday when the conference announced awards for the 2023-24 season.

From staff reports

A season flush with victories just became one flush with individual awards for the Eastern Washington women’s basketball team.

PULLMAN – Lost in Washington State’s win over rival Washington last month, a double-overtime affair packed to the gills with clutch shot-making, was the absence of one of the most important men on the Cougars’ bench.

Eleonora Villa led Washington State women's basketball with 17 points, but the Cougars lost 65-44 to California in Wednesday's opening round at the Pac-12 Tournament.

Gonzaga climbs to No. 4, just behind Washington State at 3.

FRISCO, Texas – Admon Gilder experienced a career first as a professional basketball player last week – playing in his hometown.

Gonzaga’s experience as a No. 2 seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament ranges from the first tourney in 1987 – that didn’t go well – to last year’s event in Las Vegas – that did go well. The Zags don’t seem to mind the underdog label or wearing their navy or black uniforms at the conference tournament, but it hasn’t happened all that often.

The end of Jake Groves' wild college basketball journey is fast approaching. In a five-season stretch that has included stops at three different NCAA Division I schools in three different leagues, Groves has played in a whopping 144 games, a result of his COVID year. The Shadle Park alum remains hopeful that his final games result in a return to the NCAA Tournament.

PULLMAN – Donald Watts strides through the doorway, ducking into a bustling Roost Cafe on Washington State basketball game day on Saturday morning, in many ways a changed man.

The Eastern Washington women played championship-level basketball the last 10 games of the regular season – and all were wins. It’s been a record-setting season for EWU.

Nobody knows for sure how many wins it will take for WSU to earn a berth to the NCAA Tournament. But if the Cougs need at least one more, it starts with the first game at the Pac-12 Conference Tournament on Wednesday when ninth-seeded WSU (18-13) faces No. 8 Cal (17-13) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Tip is at 2:30 p.m.

The former commissioner has not uttered a public peep about the demise or the plight of WSU, OSU.

PULLMAN – Kyle Smith is staying mum on a potential contract extension.