College Basketball Tonight

Central Washington at Gonzaga

Gonzaga (0-1) plays host to Central Washington (3-1) in a non-conference game at 7 p.m. at the Martin Centre.

At a glance: Gonzaga came away from the Cavanaugh’s Classic with a dramatic overtime loss to Washington State.

Playing close to a talented Pacific-10 Conference team one game could make it tough, in some ways, to face an NAIA opponent next.

“Emotionally, this will be a very hard game for us,” GU coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “It’s a game where they’ll come in and play real hard, and we’re coming off a (big) game. It’s an important step for our kids in that regard.”

More troublesome to Fitzgerald is the expected absence of senior forward Jon Kinloch, who suffered a severe ankle sprain in the WSU game.

Fitzgerald said he would likely start freshman Mike Leasure in Kinloch’s place. “This will force us to give some other kids some minutes,” Fitzgerald said.

Central features the play of 6-foot-7 John Greer, a transfer from Northern Arizona who averages 22.2 points per game and has netted 64 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Gonzaga: Paul Rogers, 21 ppg; Scott Snider, 10 rpg; Snider, 5 apg. Central Washington: John Greer, 22 ppg; Greer, 10.7 rpg; Troy Steigman, 8.3 apg.

Radio: KJRB (790 AM) with Dick Wright 15 minutes before tipoff.

, DataTimes