NCAA basketball

Gonzaga looked dominant. Washington State looked disjointed.

On a day dedicated to cancer awareness and prevention, something suddenly triggered tears. Fortier’s week was full of wet eyes – mostly attached to the gratefulness she has for conquering her recent battle with breast cancer.

Message boards are full of concerns about the high rate of turnovers for Gonzaga this season.

Gonzaga’s aggressive approach to nonconference scheduling won’t change as Mark Few’s program leaves the West Coast Conference for the revamped Pac-12 next season.

The trouble started early, remarkably early, too early to even exude a veneer of a competitive game. First, less than a minute into Tuesday’s game, Washington State forward Eemeli Yalaho lost the ball. Then, Yalaho threw away another turnover. The Cougars committed yet another turnover, once more of the unforced variety, when fellow forward ND Okafor was called for an obvious traveling violation.

Gonzaga’s starters had established an eight-point lead Tuesday night against Washington State by the time Mark Few made personnel changes at the second media timeout.

Coming off his third 30-point outing of the season, Gonzaga forward Graham Ike was one of 20 players named to the Wooden Award Watch List on Tuesday.

Gonzaga grabbed a 16-point advantage and never looked back, leading by as many as 39 points in an eventual 83-53 win over rival Washington State at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Steve Myklebust has been broadcasting sports so long that he probably invented the phrase people often tease him about.

On Tuesday, Innocenti was a key reason why Washington State leading scorer Ace Glass and his teammates had off nights in Gonzaga’s 83-53 victory at the McCarthey Athletic Center. Glass, a talented 6-foot-3 freshman, came in averaging 16.5 points but produced only 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting, including 0 of 5 on 3-point attempts.

Three takeaways at the buzzer from Gonzaga’s 83-53 victory over Washington State on Tuesday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Washington State will be shorthanded at the wing position for the second time in as many games against Gonzaga, but based on who’s available the Cougars may feel they’re better-suited to spring an upset of the rival Zags than they were a month ago when the teams met in Pullman.

Someone building a list of the issues Gonzaga has encountered in recent games might include extended lapses on the defensive end, subpar shooting from the 3-point line and foul line , and the inability to find consistent offensive production from someone other than Graham Ike.

The conference that doesn’t exist is tracking for the same fate on Selection Sunday as the conference that used to exist.

Gonzaga returns home to face Washington State on Tuesday before visiting Santa Clara on Saturday in a clash of the top two teams in the West Coast Conference standings.

Gonzaga’s upset loss to Portland was obviously a blemish on the Zags’ NCAA Tournament resume, but perhaps not quite as damaging as some predicted initially.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Gonzaga players didn’t spend much time listening to the discourse surrounding their team in the 48 hours that followed a seven-point upset loss at Portland.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Braden Huff won't be back on the court anytime soon, but it may not be long before Gonzaga determines whether the team's second-leading scorer is able to suit up again this season.

MALIBU, Calif. – Washington State couldn’t keep pace with a surging Pepperdine team, which built a big early lead and breezed past the Cougs 78-62 on Saturday at Firestone Fieldhouse.