College Basketball Tonight

Gonzaga at Santa Clara

Gonzaga (9-3) takes on the Broncos (9-3) in a West Coast Conference opener. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Toso Pavilion.

At a glance The Bulldogs should get an idea where they stand in the conference right off the bat, as most consider Santa Clara the favorite. This is a match between the league’s two representatives to the NCAA Tournament last season. A key for GU is to stop Broncos guard Steve Nash, considered one of the best at his position in the country. “He presents a lot of problems because he’s multi-dimensional,” GU coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “You have to be careful he doesn’t beat you in other ways than scoring.” Nash averaged 32 points in two games against the Bulldogs last year. Santa Clara coach Dick Davey sees a different challenge from the Bulldogs this year. “They’re a little more athletic than they’ve been, they jump higher and run faster, so maybe their athleticism will be a factor more than it has been in the past,” Davey said. “I still think they’re the best-coached team in the West. (Fitzgerald) gets more out of people than anybody in terms of execution.” Fitzgerald will once again change the starter at the off-guard spot, giving Kevin Williams another chance after having tried Lorenzo Rollins and Mike Leasure in the starting lineup.

Gonzaga: Paul Rogers, 14.3 ppg; Scott Snider, 8.3 rpg; Kyle Dixon, 5.4 apg. Santa Clara: Steve Nash, 15 ppg; Brendan Graves, 7.0 rpg; Nash, 6.3 apg.

Radio: KJRB (790 AM) with Dick Wright 15 minutes before tip-off.

Eastern Washington at BSU, ISU

Eastern’s Eagles (2-9) open Big Sky play in Idaho, starting with tonight’s game at Boise State (4-8). On Saturday, they visit Idaho State (3-7). Both games begin at 6:35.

At a glance: EWU’s last Big Sky road victory was in Boise, a 72-66 decision over the Broncos last Feb. 11 that broke the Eagles’ 44-game road losing streak. EWU center Melvin Lewis dominated that game with 23 points and 16 rebounds, taking advantage of a BSU team that was playing without 7-foot senior John Coker, who was injured and has since graduated. The 6-foot-8 Lewis may be less instrumental tonight, considering he’s still rounding into shape after missing this season’s first eight games while the NCAA conducted a fruitless investigation into credits he earned in junior college. Lewis (9.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg), whose ideal playing weight is rumored to be around 270, weighed in at 304 pounds before the Eagles’ 63-53 home loss to Gonzaga last week… First-year EWU coach Steve Aggers, whose team has played a difficult preseason schedule, is anxious to see how his team matches up in the Big Sky. “I think any time you play your first 2-3 league games, you get a feel for where you’re at,” Aggers said. “I think we’re definitely improved.”

EWU: D’mitri Rideout, 13.5 ppg, 1.8 spg; Lewis, 6.7 rpg. Adam Dean, 11.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg.

Radio: KSBN (1230 AM) with Larry Weir 25 minutes before tip-off.

Idaho at Idaho State, Boise State

Idaho (5-5) tips off Big Sky play against struggling Idaho State (3-7) at 6:30 PST tonight at Holt Arena and Boise State (4-8) at 6:30 on Saturday at the BSU Pavilion.

At a glance: ISU coach Herb Williams’ headaches have become migraines. He’s suspended four players this season and he recently parted with Kahn Cotton’s 13.8 points per game for good. And due to a construction project in Holt Arena, Williams feels like a stranger in his own gym. ISU has practiced there just a handful of times because of the fumes and dust created by the use of heavy equipment. Also, it’s cold because some of the Arena’s doors are open during the day. “For one game it was like 35 degrees,” Williams said. “Great way to run a Division I program.” Center Nate Green (13.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg) is questionable with an injured ankle.

BSU’s downfall has been spotty shooting. “We have to play them on Saturday (after a Friday game vs. Eastern Washington) and with our depth right now, I don’t know if we’ll have enough energy,” BSU coach Rod Jensen said.

Idaho: Shawn Dirden, 13.6 ppg; Reggie Rose, 14.3 ppg; Harry Harrison, 11.1 ppg, 10.3 rpg. ISU: Rob Preston, 11.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg; BSU: Phil Rodman, 10.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg.

Radio: KPRL (1400 AM) in Moscow; KVNI (1080 AM) in Coeur d’Alene.

Willamette, Linfield at Whitworth

No. 12 Whitworth (8-2) takes on the No. 8 Willamette Bearcats (6-4) tonight in a Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges opener. The Pirates face Linfield on Saturday. Both games will be played in the Whitworth Fieldhouse at 8 p.m. after the Whitworth women’s team plays the same schools at 6.

At a glance Willamette has lost four straight. However, one of those losses was to Chaminade (NCAA Division II) and two others (Hawaii-Pacific and BYU/Hawaii) were to NAIA Division I opponents. The Bearcats also lost to No. 14 Oregon Tech.

Willamette has a three-tiered scoring threat in Julius Lowe (20.1 points), Mike Hayter (16.8) and Cavan Scanlan (15.1). The three rank third, seventh and 14th in the league in scoring.

The Pirates will counter with their own trio of Nate Dunham (19.8), Roman Wickers (14.1) and Nate Williams (12.2), who rank fourth, 16th and 19th. … The game also will feature three of the league’s top four rebounders. Dunham leads with 8.5 boards a game, Lowe is second with 7.9 and Scanlan is fourth at 7.4. … Willamette comes into the game ranked sixth in the nation in field-goal percentage (.551) and ninth in scoring offense (90.6). Whitworth’s Pirates are third in scoring defense, allowing 65.4 points a game. Whitworth is coming off an 84-69 road loss to Lewis-Clark State. Whitworth will have to contend with Linfield’s Alex Dixon (16.5 ppg) and Scott Lucas (15.6).

Radio: KSBN (1230 AM) with Chuck DeBruin.

, DataTimes