NCAA basketball

Maybe Neil Everett considered how much the late Bill Walton would’ve enjoyed Sunday’s matchup between No. 7 Gonzaga and Oregon – former and future members of Walton’s beloved Pac-12 “Conference of Champions,” playing in the NBA arena where his No. 32 jersey is retired.

PORTLAND – It’s been six years since Gonzaga and Oregon last played, but Mark Few and Dana Altman have been involved in many of the same battles since a 2019 meeting at the Battle 4 Atlantis.

PORTLAND – In some cases, nonconference scheduling requires years of planning, strategy and dialogue.

Three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker, five-time All-NBA forward Blake Griffin and three-time Final Four head coach Kelvin Sampson are among the newcomers who will be eligible to be voted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.

It took until the 12th game but the Gonzaga women’s basketball team played its most complete game of the season Friday.

PHILADELPHIA – Washington State’s women’s basketball team had one of its best shooting performances of the season, but the Cougs still couldn’t break through on the road against Penn, suffering a sixth straight loss to close out their dismal nonconference schedule.

The 509 Classic at the Numerica Veterans Arena on Wednesday ended with what Washington State freshman Ace Glass called a “much needed” 78-63 victory, helping an inconsistent Cougars team find its footing at the tail end of its nonconference men’s basketball schedule.

Anyone still wondering how Steele Venters is holding up physically after missing two full seasons with injury might find their answer by pulling up video of the soaring dunk he converted in the second half of Gonzaga’s 98-70 victory over Campbell Wednesday at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Over the last several days, a haze lingered over Washington State’s basketball team. The Cougars were losing, sure, a five-game skid that featured some bad hoops. But in perhaps a more concerning development for the team, another possibility was beginning to set in.

Playing without students at McCarthey Athletic Center for the first time this season, seventh-ranked Gonzaga knew it would have to scare up some of its own energy Wednesday night against mid-major opponent Campbell.

Gonzaga has been as close as you can get to a sure thing with Graham Ike and Braden Huff in the starting lineup, losing on just two occasions – to national runner-up Houston in the NCAA Tournament and second-ranked Michigan earlier this season – since Mark Few paired the frontcourt players together in last year’s West Conference Tournament.

Campbell coach John Andrzejek did the math quickly in his head. “I think they’re ranked seventh in the country right now,” Andrzejek said after Gonzaga’s 98-70 victory Wednesday at the McCarthey Athletic Center. “There are not six teams better than them, I’ll tell you that for sure.”

Three takeaways at the buzzer of No. 7 Gonzaga’s 98-70 win over Campbell on Wednesday at the McCarthey Athletic Center

Perhaps it’s her grit. Maybe even her unwillingness to let mistakes derail her. Or, maybe, it’s the fact it’s her final collegiate basketball season. Whatever it is, Ines Bettencourt, Gonzaga’s lone senior, has taken on a much-needed leadership role this season.

How the Gonzaga women’s basketball team even had a chance to win on the last possession almost defies description.

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – A furious fourth-quarter rally ran out of steam in the final minute, and the nonconference struggles continued for Washington State's women's basketball team.

When the men’s basketball teams of Eastern Washington and Washington State take to the Spokane Arena court at 7 p.m. Wednesday, both will be looking to prove they’re better than their overall records .

Graham Ike picked up a second weekly honor for his 25-point performance on Saturday in Gonzaga’s 82-72 victory over then No. 25 UCLA.

No. 7 Gonzaga reaches the end of the non-conference portion of its schedule with Campbell’s visit Wednesday, followed by a short plane trip to face Oregon in Portland on Sunday.