NCAA

LAS VEGAS – The halftime message in Gonzaga’s locker room – after Santa Clara snagged 11 offensive rebounds and scored 14 second-chance points – was crystal clear and obvious.

LAS VEGAS – Three takeaways at the buzzer from Gonzaga’s 79-68 win over Santa Clara in Tuesday’s West Coast Conference Tournament championship game.

Mario Saint-Supery took a dive into Oregon State's cheerleader section and quickly became part of an internet meme after scoring Gonzaga's first basket Monday in a West Coast Conference Tournament semifinal game at Orleans Arena.

Santa Clara has been knocking on the West Coast Tournament championship door in recent years.

LAS VEGAS – They were picked to finish 1-2 in the West Coast Conference preseason coaches poll.

BOISE — Eastern Washington rediscovered its February grit when it needed it most, holding off pesky Weber State 84-79 Monday night in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament at Idaho Central Arena.

Let’s consider this a Quad 1 win for Gonzaga. Not because the vanquished Oregon State (17-16) was highly regarded by those who rank such things. The Quad in question belonged to Jalen Warley who returned to action Monday night after missing the last two games with a quadriceps contusion, and being limited by it for an unknown number of previous games.

Zags take care of business against Oregon State to reach West Coast Conference Tournament final.

LAS VEGAS - Slow starts for teams that receive byes deep into conference tournaments are seemingly inevitable.

BOISE – The Eastern Washington women’s basketball team opened its stay at the Big Sky Conference Tournament with perhaps its most impressive – and gutsiest – win of the season.

Wayne Tinkle pinpointed defensive coverage on Graham Ike as an area fourth-seeded Oregon State needed to polish up if the Beavers had any chance of upsetting top-seeded Gonzaga in Monday's West Coast Conference Tournament semifinal. 

PULLMAN – Coach David Riley will be back for a third season with Washington State men’s basketball.

Their numbers didn’t leap off the stat sheet. Then again, not many Gonzaga players’ numbers did aside from Graham Ike’s 24 points and 11 rebounds. But GU point guards Mario Saint-Supery and Braeden Smith got the job done with their combined effort in a 65-56 victory Monday over Oregon State in the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals at Orleans Arena.

Gonzaga welcomed the return of forward Jalen Warley, who missed the previous two games with a lingering thigh contusion. The Virginia transfer seemed to have pretty good mobility while challenging perimeter shots, leaping for rebounds and scoring one basket in transition.

Gonzaga didn’t have any games last week, but that extended break didn’t stop the Zags from moving up in the NET rankings and down in a few bracket projections.

For four decades, Gonzaga University’s Kennel Club has had one goal for each and every home game: be loud.

BOISE – Idaho guard Biko Johnson’s stepback 3-pointer with just over a minute left highlighted a game-changing run for the Vandals, who held on for one of their biggest wins in recent memory.

LAS VEGAS – The West Coast Conference Tournament field should probably be wary of Gonzaga.

Twenty years ago, March 2006, Adam Morrison executed his own celebratory leap onto the scorer’s table before surfing back onto the court on the shoulders of surging Zag zealots.