NCAA basketball

Former Gonzaga center Richard Fox, now an analyst for GU telecasts on KHQ and SWX, and yours truly spent at least half of our near hour-long Zags Insiders Podcast on Monday breaking down the matchup – with or without Graham Ike (ankle) in Gonzaga’s lineup. Here are a few of our thoughts.

The lines have been drawn even though the competition is nine months away: Will the new Pac-12 overtake the Big East next season as the “best of the rest” – the toughest league outside the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC?

Gonzaga moved up again in the Associated Press college basketball rankings, reaching a season-high No. 6 on Monday.

PULLMAN – Ace Glass keeps piling up the awards.

Being on television isn’t new to Courtney Vandersloot.

Gonzaga came out on the wrong end of all nine one- or two-possession games it played in last season, watching its season come to an end with a five-point loss to No. 1 Houston in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

PULLMAN – A pall of nervous energy hung in the Beasley Coliseum air like a thick fog. It wasn’t just that Washington State was in a tight game, and it wasn’t even that this was against Pepperdine, one of the conference’s worst teams. It was also that on this Saturday afternoon, the Cougars were looking to end a four-game skid, the type that threatened to crater their season in coach David Riley’s second year.

Gonzaga escapes with win after last-second 3-pointer by San Francisco misses.

PORTLAND – Emerging as one of the top teams in the conference, Idaho outclassed one of the Big Sky's bottom teams.

Jalen Warley's versatility has led others to refer to him as a Swiss Army knife and a problem solver. Whatever the moniker, Warley’s unique ability to influence games – particularly with standout forwards Braden Huff (knee) and Graham Ike (ankle) sidelined – on both ends of the court was once again on full display in Gonzaga’s 68-66 win over San Francisco on Saturday.

Tyon Grant-Foster came through when Gonzaga needed it the most.The Zags' 14-point second-half lead melted to 61-57 when Grant-Foster scored on a layup with 3:36 remaining while being fouled. He missed the free throw but responded with a huge corner 3-pointer just inside the 2-minute mark, giving GU a seemingly comfortable 10-point lead.

It was more act of survival than impressive closing job.When Tyon Grant-Foster knocked down a wing 3-pointer stretching Gonzaga’s lead to 10 points with under two minutes remaining Saturday night, there was a collective exhale from 6,000 fans at McCarthey Athletic Center who’d watched a comfortable 14-point advantage shrivel to three points down the stretch against San Francisco.

MOSCOW, Idaho – You only have to be the best team at the end.

After starting more than half of Eastern Washington’s men’s basketball games last season, it took an injury to a teammate for Tyler Powell to make his way back into a starting spot this year.

They don’t share many of the same characteristics on the court, but Gonzaga forward Graham Ike and San Francisco guard Ryan Beasley have a few things in common heading into Saturday’s matchup between the Bulldogs and Dons at McCarthey Athletic Center (5 p.m., CBSSN).

When Gonzaga officially closes its final chapter in the West Coast Conference two months from now, it could be worth taking a trip down memory lane and ranking the various streaks Mark Few’s program kept up during the team’s time in the league.

SACRAMENTO – Idaho struggled through an inefficient shooting night, but leaned on free throws and rebounding to build a lead, then withstood a late rally from Sacramento State.

PORTLAND – Eastern Washington took control in the second quarter and had little trouble putting away one of the bottom teams in the Big Sky, breezing to an 81-63 win over Portland State on Thursday at Viking Pavilion.