NCAA basketball

Washington State men's basketball hits the road for its first West Coast Conference home game on Monday.

The timing of Gonzaga’s game against UCLA on Saturday allowed Few a chance to meet up with Golden State coach Steve Kerr and Los Angeles Clippers counterpart Tyronn Lue.

PULLMAN – David Riley has been coaching Ethan Price long enough to know when he might be on.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – With four losses to Gonzaga in four previous attempts, UCLA’s Mick Cronin may not have been bold enough to forecast a victory for the 22nd-ranked Bruins over the 14th-ranked Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at Intuit Dome.

Whatever the specific reason or reasons why the Gonzaga women’s basketball players find themselves struggling during pressure-point moments, one thing is certain: The Bulldogs must find a way to overcome many things, including themselves at times.

From staff reports

Just about every time Gonzaga and UCLA have met this century, the game has been a tense, exciting affair. No matter the stakes.

Here are three observations from No. 14 Gonzaga’s 65-62 loss to No. 22 UCLA on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.

After being on the opposite end each of the last four years, UCLA turned the tables and dished out a helping of heartache to Gonzaga. For the Zags, it looked all too familiar to their previous three setbacks, coming up short in a winnable game down the stretch.

Washington State can't find much luck on the injury front.

After being on the other end each of the last four years, this time it was the UCLA Bruins dishing out a helping of heartache to the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The key matchup is a big deal. UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau vs. Gonzaga counterpart Graham Ike is the main event. Their numbers are almost identical.

There is probably no other team in the Mark Few coaching era at Gonzaga that has produced more dramatic outcomes than UCLA.

College basketball non-conference scheduling is always a work in progress, but Gonzaga’s came together fairly late on the shot clock, err, calendar for this season. The final product: No complaints, especially with the Zags playing in the premier matchup on opening night and essentially closing day of the non-conference slate.

It’s a line of questioning Mike Roth got frequently during a 24-year tenure as Gonzaga’s athletic director. Probably more times than he can count.

Mychel Thompson was a four-year player at Pepperdine who started 114 games from 2007-11. Early in his college career, the Waves tried recruiting his younger brother. Klay, the Thompson family's middle child, took an official visit to campus in Malibu, Calif. In an attempt to get him to commit, Pepperdine called in one of the city's famous residents: Reggie Miller.

Our list of the best players on the best West Coast Conference teams isn’t packed with future All-Americans, projected lottery picks and two-time national champions like the one we compiled months ago highlighting the top players on Gonzaga’s non-conference schedule. Do not take that to mean the WCC is down or lacks individual star power.

A few days before Gonzaga’s nonconference home swing against Nicholls State and Bucknell, Graham Ike and Braden Huff decided to get in some extra work on their short game after practice at the Volkar Center.

Gonzaga senior forward Ben Gregg is a featured fixture on televisions throughout the Northwest.