A Grip on Sports: Nothing beats wildness of college hoops

Friday: If you want to make an argument that college basketball season is the best of all sports seasons, you won’t get an argument here.

I know the NFL dominates the national sports scene. Rightfully so, considering the money wagered each week through legal, illegal and fantasy means. But it’s nights like last night that have me put my money on college hoop. Figuratively, not literally.

Eastern Washington got it started, defeating Portland State 92-85 in a win that is better than the score indicates. California can be a tough place to visit this time of year, as Gonzaga found out. First off is the traffic. A downed light pole caused a massive backup on PCH, making a tough commute from the South Bay even tougher for the Zags.

But driving didn’t seem to be a problem for the Waves, who penetrated the gaps in GU’s defense much of the night and almost upset the nation’s third-ranked team. The Zags helped in other ways, too, mainly by deciding Thursday was a good night to quit hitting free throws. Their uncharacteristic 14-for-33 performance at the line – GU was shooting 73 percent coming in – allowed the Waves to stay close in Gonzaga’s 78-76, hang-on victory.

However, there was a silver lining to all the free-throw misses. The stoppages in play allowed time to flip over to the Pac-12 Network where the Cougars and Oregon Ducks were washing the last vestiges of Dick and Tony Bennett out of Beasley Coliseum. Defense? Who needs defense?

The score at halftime was 57-52 and believe it or not it was the Cougars with the 57. That was their final total in 12 games last season, before Ernie Kent walked in and – seemingly – magically infused every Cougar with confidence in his offensive abilities. Getting stops? Building confidence in that may take a bit longer. It took until overtime last night, but the Cougars’ defense finally showed up in the extra 5 minutes and that was the difference in the 108-99 victory.

If you are wondering, WSU is 3-1 in Pac-12 play, tied for third with, ahem, Arizona, the 10th-ranked team in the nation. See, college basketball is wacky, weird and, most important, always, always, wonderful.

Tuesday: My first thoughts concerning Ohio State’s 42-20 beatdown of Oregon in the national title game: How do you play football with both hands around your neck? And why is it the Ducks tend to Duckit – to bastardize a local phrase – in big games so often?

Is it the way they play? Is it the Pac-12 competition isn’t stiff enough? Is it a lack of discipline? 

I don’t have the answers. I’m sure no one does, not the Ducks fan down the block, the thousands in Portland or even head coach Mark Helfrich. But almost every time Oregon has a chance to make a national statement, to take a big step, it spits the bit, as my dad used to say.

It happened back in the mid-’90s against Penn State in the Ducks’ first Rose Bowl in almost 30 years. It happened against Auburn in the Ducks’ first try at a national championship. It happened last night.