NCAA basketball

The arena sat in hushed disbelief, struggling to process a scene that seemed ripped straight out of their worst nightmares: USC’s superstar laying crumpled on the court, clutching her right knee, her cries ringing out to the rafters where she hoped a banner would soon hang.

DENVER — Bryce Pope was ready to watch a game he wished he was playing in. A game that he should have been playing in.

In the latest Zags Basketball Insiders Podcast, longtime Spokesman-Review reporter Jim Meehan and former GU center and TV analyst Richard Fox break down the dominant win over Georgia, the heartbreaking loss to Houston and debate the overall entertainment value of this year's tournament.

Mason Williams, Sebastian Hartmann and Nic McClain, three of the six holdovers from the previous men’s basketball coaching staff at Eastern Washington, have chosen to enter the transfer portal.

Gonzaga figures to have a busy offseason and it started quickly Monday with sophomore wing Dusty Stromer reportedly planning to enter the transfer portal.

Had the Zags played exactly the same game Saturday night against any of the No. 2 or 3 seeds, they win. They win, and they advance.

PULLMAN – Washington State guard Nate Calmese will be moving on to his fourth school in four years.

SEATTLE – Back in the days of the old Pac-12 – like a year ago – the fans of Arizona would descend on Las Vegas every March for the conference basketball tournament and create a home-court advantage no other school could match.

On Sunday evening in Fort Worth, Texas – 2,000 miles from her hometown of Wenatchee and an incalculable distance of how far she has actually come in the last five years – Hailey Van Lith played the final home game of her college career.

Saint Mary’s shot at the Sweet 16 went amiss Sunday, 15 years after reaching that NCAA Tournament stage for the only time in program history.

The 34th game of the season Sunday for the Gonzaga women’s basketball team played out like a microcosm of the year.

WICHITA, Kan. – Kelvin Sampson had a boss in the early days of his coaching career who looked for innovative plays in a magazine and installed them immediately, convinced they could work for his team.

With just one senior, it’s obvious that the Washington State women’s basketball team is using the postseason as a springboard for next season.

The top-seeded Cougars were scoring points seemingly at will most of the second half, but their top-ranked defense was unable to stop Graham Ike and Gonzaga’s offense. So instead of game over, Gonzaga was still in the picture, even after a J’Wan Roberts field goal with 4:29 left gave Houston a 76-65 lead.

WICHITA, Kan. – Gonzaga fans shared the same reaction when they learned the Zags’ NCAA Tournament seed on Selection Sunday, wincing, sighing and groaning when an “8” popped up next to the Zags’ name near the end of the hourlong CBS show.

PULLMAN – Isaac Jones may have found a home in northern California.

The Wildcats are narrow favorites after both teams rolled over first-round opponents.

WICHITA, Kan. – The question was directed at Graham Ike, not Mark Few.

Here are four observations from Gonzaga’s 81-76 loss to Houston on Saturday at Intrust Bank Arena in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.