Back-To-Back Rival Games About To End
Gonzaga University plays back-to-back games against its travel partner, University of Portland, for the last time this week.
This annual quirk in the West Coast Conference schedule, which afflicts every set of travel partners during the course of a season, is the result of squeezing all 56 league games into a seven-week span without forcing any of the eight teams to play more than three consecutive games on the road.
By doing so, the WCC can play its postseason tournament the weekend before the NCAA announces its pairings and gain some valuable television exposure.
The back-to-back games have long been viewed with disdain by most league coaches. So, beginning next season, the WCC will scrap the setup in favor of a format that will eliminate back-to-back games but require one set of travel partners to play four consecutive road games once every four years.
GU’s Mark Few, who is preparing his Bulldogs (14-5, 4-0 in the WCC) for tonight’s 7:30 home game against the Pilots (7-10, 1-3) and a return matchup in Portland on Saturday, isn’t sold on the change.
“You’ve got to play everybody twice anyway, so the back-to-back games have never bothered me that much,” Few said. “The only thing that’s tough about that is if you have a key player injured. Then he misses both games against that one team, and that can have a big impact on the league race.
“But I’d still rather do that, so you can alternate home and away, rather than play four straight road games. That can bury you, and then your kids start to lose confidence.”
Few added, however, that he would rather the league deal with some more troubling matters - like playing the WCC tournament at Santa Clara each year - than with eliminating back-to-back games.
Forbes cleared to practice
After a half-season of sitting on its hands, the NCAA has ruled on an appeal concerning the academic status of Gonzaga freshman Germayne Forbes. And while the ruling isn’t what Bulldogs coach Mark Few hoped for, it could have been worse.
Forbes, a first-year recruit from London, had been declared an academic non-qualifier because the NCAA refused to accept one of his high school classes as a core class. As a result, the 6-foot-1, 181-pound guard has been unable to practice or take part in any other team activities.
But in a recent decision on an appeal filed several months ago by GU, the NCAA has reclassified Forbes as a partial qualifier, which means he can take part in practices and other team activities, but is still ineligible to compete in games.
“They realized they had made a grave error and they conceded some of it - but not all of it,” said Few, who added that the class in question has been recognized as a college-level course by such English universities as Oxford and Cambridge. “But at least he can hang out with the team now, which is going to help him greatly.”
Forbes, who returned to London over the recent semester break, will be eligible to play for the Zags next season and will have three years of eligibility. His fourth year could be restored if he earns his degree in four years.
Back on the road
It has been just four days since Eastern Washington stunned preseason favorite and defending Big Sky Conference champion Weber State 90-78 in Ogden, Utah, to climb back atop the league standings. As a reward, the Eagles (7-8, 4-1) get to head right back out on the road, this time to Montana, where they will face Montana State (10-8, 2-3) on Thursday night in Bozeman and Montana (7-9, 2-3) on Saturday night in Missoula.
EWU coach Steve Aggers, whose Eagles are tied for the Big Sky lead with Portland State (12-5, 4-1), expects anything but smooth sledding.
“This Montana trip is probably the toughest road trip in our league,” he said. “You’re in a bus a lot, and they’re both very good teams.”
Plus, the Eagles have a history of falling flat in Montana, where they have lost 14 of their last 15 and nine straight against the Bobcats and eight of their last nine against the Grizzlies.
However, EWU did beat Montana on the road last season, 81-75, to clinch the sixth and final spot in the Big Sky tournament.
Different spins
Depending on whose opinion one values most, EWU’s upset of Weber State was the result of either an outstanding Eagles effort - which is Weber State coach Joe Cravens’ take - or shaky officiating, which is the direction in which Wildcats forward Harold Arceneaux seems to be leaning.
In his postgame comments, Cravens said “We just got outplayed. That’s all there is to it. We could sit here and lament that all evening, but there’s no excuse. We just got our butts kicked.”
Arceneaux, last year’s Big Sky player of the year, felt the guys in the striped shirts played a major role, too, especially after he picked up two early fouls and played less than 10 minutes in the first half.
“They tried to get me out of the game, and the refs helped them,” said Arceneaux.
Frahm honored again
Gonzaga’s Richie Frahm has been named the WCC’s player of the week for the second time in three weeks. He leads the conference in scoring with an average of 17.8 points per game.
Williams steps down
Santa Clara athletic director Carroll Williams will retire July 1 after eight years on the job.
Williams, 66, spent 22 seasons as the Broncos’ men’s basketball coach (1970-1992) and compiled a 344-274 career record, leading his teams to five postseason appearances - including a berth in the 1987 NCAA Tournament.
1. Portland at Gonzaga 7:30 p.m. at Martin Centre Radio: 630 AM
2. Eagles this week Thursday: at Montana State Saturday: at Montana