A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s not often Spokane-area sports fans have a jam-packed Saturday. And all of the events could be over by lunchtime, leaving the afternoon for going to a movie or cross-country skiing or a nice dining experience. Oh, right.

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• Well, at least the local sporting events will be done early. That is, if Eastern Washington’s basketball game, scheduled for this afternoon in Flagstaff, Ariz., is called off, as Friday’s game was.

The packed morning begins with the Game of the Century (mid-December, 2020 edition) in South Dakota, as top-ranked Gonzaga faces No. 3 Iowa in a contest pitting the two best offenses in college basketball. The 3-0 Zags are coming off a two-week COVID-related layoff. The undefeated Hawkeyes are coming off a 50-point win six days ago.

As of now (6:30 a.m., PST), this game is a go. Knock on wood it stays that way. It is one of the more highly anticipated matchups of the nonconference season. But really, 20 years ago, who would have ever thought a Gonzaga/Iowa game would earn such an honor? And yet here we are.

Sometime in the second half of that game (televised on CBS), the Washington State football matchup with Utah will kick off on FS1. It will be the last game of this disjointed season for the Cougars and the Utes and, for once, I’m pretty sure most WSU fans are whispering “thank God” to that news.

Not because their team looks, you know, 2008 bad. Nope. Because between the on-off again nature of the pandemic season, it’s been hard to not only get interested but to feel as if the players deserve all the crud that’s come their way.

Someday the school should honor this group with a medal or something. They may have played only four games – the fewest since the flu-pandemic and World War I year of 1918, when WSU played twice – but they exhibited the characteristics any fan wants out of their football team: steadfastness, determination, effort. You name it, this Cougar team powered through ever obstacle to get to this point. These young men deserve and hand – and a break.

Whitworth and Lewis-Clark State played last night and, harkening back to the players’ AAU days, will wake up this morning and play again in the Fieldhouse. That game should be over around noon as well.

It may not be a perfect Saturday – it’s unseasonably warm and it should rain much of the day – but the first few hours certainly begin with a bang.

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WSU: The Cougars won their first game of this weird season. More than likely when they walk off the field in Salt Lake City today, that will be their only victory. The Utes are favored and the Cougs are hurting, especially in the secondary. Theo Lawson picks Utah to win and by almost two touchdowns. It is hard to argue. … Theo also has a preview of the game against a Utah team that has won two consecutive times as well as some COVID-19 related news about the secondary. … Not to be forgotten, Theo also has his two-minute drill. There should be a Max Borghi sighting today. … The basketball team raised its record to 6-0 for the second time in four years with an 82-54 rout of Montana State in Beasley Coliseum. … Utah is finished after today’s game as well. … Around the Pac-12 and college football, there will be a 2020 conference championship trophy at Autzen Stadium but, really, should there be? Given a chance, Oregon made the most of it, hitting USC with early interceptions and holding on for a 31-24 title-game win in the Coliseum last night. After the Duck win, the Pac-12 looks like this: Oregon is the conference champion, USC is the South Division champ, Washington is the North champion and Colorado will probably be the highest-ranked team. Participation trophies for everyone. … Speaking of participation, that’s what Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly and Clemson’s Dabo Sweeney want for their players’ parents (and, cough, cough, their programs’ boosters) with the CFP semifinals. That may not possible at the Rose Bowl. So they want the game moved from Pasadena. … There is a Pac-12 game in the Rose Bowl today, with Stanford facing UCLA in what will be the final game for both teams. The Cardinal have been the conference’s nomads. The Bruins will try to prove they have made strides this season. … Washington made the right decision to end its season yesterday and not play a bowl game. … Former UW quarterback Jacob Sirmon is headed to Central Michigan. … Oregon State wants to finish strong against an Arizona State team that may end up in a bowl with a victory. … Colorado is building something new under Karl Dorrell. … That’s what Arizona is looking to do with whomever it hires. If anyone is left on the roster. … Hey, California’s football season is featured in the New York Times. Oh, it’s not a good thing. … Finally, TV analyst Yogi Roth has taken a lead role in Pac-12 football and not just on the air. … In basketball news, Oregon State has added another game next week. … Colorado is rebounding better thus far this season. … Utah had no trouble with visiting Idaho. … Arizona and Stanford meet in the first key conference matchup played in Santa Cruz.

Gonzaga: This year’s Iowa and Zag teams have a remarkably similar DNA. They hang their shooting shirts on efficient offense, though the Hawkeyes are more dependent on their best player, Luka Garza. They also admire each other’s program, as Jim Meehan relays in this preview. … His key matchup? Garza vs. Drew Timme in the middle. … Watch how Gonzaga’s team defense deals with Garza around the basket. The Zags have a way of coming up with varied schemes to double the post. With the limited practice time recently, however, the Bulldogs may not be able to so much out of the ordinary. … Elsewhere in the WCC, BYU gave the conference another signature nonconference victory, going into San Diego and handing the 18th-ranked Aztecs their first loss.

EWU: Just a couple hours before tip, the Eagles’ game at Northern Arizona was canceled. Ryan Collingwood has more in this story. … Around the Big Sky, Weber State opened conference play with a blowout of Portland State on the road. … Northern Colorado lost a nonconference matchup at Utah State. … Idaho State rolled in another nonconference game. … Montana also picked up an easy nonconference win.

Idaho: Utah had its way with the Vandals in Salt Lake City, winning 79-41.

Boxing: Spokane’s Patrick Ferguson is fighting for the IBO cruiserweight title today in South Africa. Ryan has more in this preview.

Seahawks: Some key players practiced yesterday but not right tackle Brandon Shell. … What’s the deal with Tyler Lockett lately?

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• If you are interested, we will be back in a few hours with our thoughts on the Gonzaga/Iowa broadcast. Tom McCarthy (no relation to the folks who donated to GU’s arena; he’s missing an “e” in his name) and Clark Kellogg will be on the call. And we will back here tomorrow with more thoughts on the, hopefully, packed Saturday of sports. Until then …