College Basketball Tonight
Washington State at Washington
The Cougars (8-5 Pac-10, 14-8) go for their third consecutive Pac-10 road win in a 3 p.m. showdown against the rival Huskies (3-10, 7-15) at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
At a glance
WSU has won the last four games in the rivalry and, with a victory, could put together its longest winning streak against UW since 1942. The Cougars, coming off a less-than-inspired effort in Tuesday night’s rout of Division II Seattle Pacific, edged the Huskies 74-73 earlier in the year in Pullman. The hot-shooting Dawgs grabbed a 36-29 halftime lead in that one, but couldn’t match WSU down the stretch. Huskies freshman Mark Sanford scored 20 points in the near-upset, and the Cougars’ front line will have its hands full again trying to contain the 6-foot-8, 200-pounder from Dallas. WSU coach Kevin Eastman, whose Cougars have won eight of their last 11 and sit alone in fourth place in the Pac-10, feels his team needs two more wins to have a shot at back-to-back invitations to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the school’s history. And with three of its remaining five games against Top 25 opponents, this is one WSU can’t afford to let slip away.
WSU: Mark Hendrickson, 15.0 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game; Isaac Fontaine, 17.7 ppg; Shamon Antrum, 14.2 ppg; Donminic Ellison, 6.9 assists per game. UW: Bryant Boston, 15.0 ppg; Mark Sanford, 13.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg; Jason Hamilton, 4.4 apg.
Radio: KXLY (920 AM) Spokane, KWSU (1250 AM) Pullman, KORD 870 AM) Tri-Cities, KCLX (1450 AM) Colfax, KCVL (1240 AM) Colville, KWWW (1340 AM) Wenatchee, KBSN (1470 AM) Moses Lake, KNSN (97.1 FM) Walla Walla, 2:30 p.m.
San Diego at Gonzaga
Gonzaga (6-7 WCC, 17-8) plays host to USD (5-8, 10-14)
for an 8 p.m. contest in the Martin Centre. The game will be broadcast live on Prime Sports Northwest (cable channel 24 in Spokane).
At a glance
Despite a pair of talented guards in Doug Harris and David Fizdale, San Diego committed 22 turnovers and had the ball stolen 13 times in Thursday’s two-point loss at Portland.
In recent seasons, though, Gonzaga has had trouble with San Diego, which owns a three-game winning streak over the Bulldogs.
Basically, this one comes down to which team finishes fourth in the league. The fourth- and fifth-placed teams meet each other in the opening round of the WCC tournament, meaning this could be a preview of the opener.
“They are hard for us to play, hard for us to match up with,” GU coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “We’ve always had trouble with them for some reason.”
GU is coming off a stunning shooting performance in which the Bulldogs netted 22 3-point baskets. An aggressive USD defense likely will not present the Bulldogs with that many open looks at the basket.
Gonzaga: John Rillie, 13.6 ppg; Paul Rogers, 5.2 rpg; Kyle Dixon, 4.2 apg. USD: Doug Harris, 16.9 ppg; Brian Bruso, 5.3 rpg; David Fizdale, 5.9 apg.
Radio/TV: KJRB (790 AM), pre-game 15 minutes before tipoff. TV, Prime Sports Northwest.
Snow at North Idaho
North Idaho College and Snow, each 7-10 in the Scenic
West Athletic Conference and 15-14 overall, will determine the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds at next week’s regional tournament. Gametime is 7:30 at Christianson Gym.
NIC’s women (7-10, 11-15) face Snow (5-12, 10-16) at 5:30.
At a glance
The Cardinals are trying to build momentum for the Region 18 tournament. If NIC loses, its likely opponent will be Southern Idaho and the likely site will be at CSI in Twin Falls. If NIC wins, it will probably face Eastern Utah or Ricks at a neutral site.
In a 77-74 win over NIC in December, the Badgers relied on free throws, shooting 49 to NIC’s 14.
In December’s NIC-Snow women’s game, Snow attempted 40 free throws to NIC’s 21. But the Cardinals, who will be the No. 6 or No. 7 seed for the tournament, committed 30 turnovers.
Weber State at Idaho
The Vandals (5-6 Big Sky, 11-12) meet red-hot Weber State
(10-2, 17-7) at 1:05 at Memorial Gym, the unusual time and site a result of the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival’s occupation of the Kibbie Dome.
At a glance
Weber State has won eight straight Sky games, a streak that started with a 73-56 thumping of Idaho last month, and has the inside track to hosting the tournament.
Idaho, losers of seven straight to WSU, can cement a tournament berth with a win. To do so, UI must defend better than it did in Thursday’s comeback win over Northern Arizona. Like NAU’s John Rondeno, Weber guard Rueben Nembhard is physical and will try to post up or drive on defenders. Guard Lewis Lofton, from North Idaho College, can score on the break and beyond the 3-point line, the specialty of 6-foot-6 teammate Jimmy DeGraffenried.
An interesting battle will feature WSU’s Kirk Smith and UI’s Harry Harrison, the conference’s top two rebounders (Harrison 10.9, Smith 10.8).
Idaho: Harry Harrison, 12.8 ppg; Mark Leslie, 15 ppg. Weber State: Rueben Nembhard, 19.3 ppg; Jimmy DeGraffenried, 16.2 ppg, 44.8 percentage on 3-pointers; Kirk Smith, 12.1 ppg.
Radio: KVNI (1080 AM) Coeur d’Alene; KRPL (1400 AM) Moscow, and other stations on the Vandal network.
Northern Arizona at Eastern Washington
The Lumberjacks (4-8 Big Sky, 7-16) visit Reese Court for
a 4 p.m. Big Sky Conference game against the Eagles (1-11, 4-19). Eastern’s final home game of the season has been moved ahead 3 hours to accommodate high school playoffs.
At a glance
The Eagles have lost two straight since surprising Boise State two weeks ago, the latest loss coming Thursday night against Weber State, when Eastern squandered 52 percent shooting by committing 20 turnovers and playing poor interior defense. Northern Arizona, which defeated the Eagles 67-58 last month, plays its second game since leading scorer Brad Snyder was killed in a car accident. A 6-foot-6 junior, Snyder was averaging 14.1 points and 4.0 assists per game.
Eastern: Josh Lewis, 11.4 points per game; Melvin Lewis, 11.2 ppg, 8.5 rebounds per game; Kevin Groves, 11.0 ppg; Carl Crider, 3.5 assists per game. NAU: John Rondeno, 13.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg; Tyrone Johnson, 9.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg; Jermone Riley, 3.4 apg.
Radio: KSBN (1230 AM).