A Grip on Sports: As Gonzaga discovered, it was not a good day to be one of the nation’s top-ranked teams
A GRIP ON SPORTS • It happens to football on the occasional Saturday in the fall. And it happens at least once a year in the winter for college hoops. A whole bunch of highly ranked teams lose on the same day. This year, basketball’s day of devastation arrived yesterday.
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• We summarized it in our TV Take from Gonzaga’s Saturday night defeat at BYU. Baylor, the nation’s top-ranked team, lost at home to third-ranked Kansas in the morning (in our neck of the woods). San Diego State, the fourth-ranked squad, shed their undefeated status at home to unranked UNLV just before the Zags’ tipoff. And then the 23rd-ranked Cougars, bolstered by their home crowd that, at one point, threw trash on the floor to show their displeasure with the officiating, manhandled the Bulldogs, who came in as the nation’s second-ranked team.
Now the top five ranked teams in the nation will be anyone’s guess come Monday.
It probably should be: 1) Kansas; 2) Dayton; 3) Baylor; 4) Gonzaga and 5) Maryland (if the Terps, winners of nine consecutive games, handle 25th-ranked Ohio State on the road today). But who knows?
This week, of the nation’s top six teams, only Kansas and Dayton did not lose.
But Duke will get the benefit of the doubt. It always does. And though Baylor lost at home, that loss did come against what most consider the national title favorite.
I’ve told you what I believe the top five should be. Now here’s what I think it will be, if Maryland wins today: 1) Kansas; 2) Dayton; 3) Baylor; 4) Maryland and 5) Duke. Yep, I can see the Zags dropping to sixth, just ahead of San Diego State. And if No. 8 Florida State defeats Louisville today? Maybe the Seminoles rise to sixth and push GU and the Aztecs down another notch.
• Gonzaga shot 28 free throws last night, BYU just 18. So it’s pretty obvious, right, the game was called fairly. One can argue that, and possibly say it was even more than fair, considering the Zags were the visitors.
Go ahead if you want. I have another opinion. And it is similar to the narrative coming out of the Gonzaga locker room after the game.
BYU just played tougher.
The Cougars came out and hit GU in the mouth. At one point, early, literally. Then they just continued to hit them, across the arms, in the chest and, in one exceptionally cheap shot, in the kidneys from behind. Gonzaga never responded, at least not to the level needed to win a West Coast Conference game against a good team on the road.
BYU was the more physical team. They controlled the tempo with their physicality – and by, at times, eschewing the offensive glass and dropping five back in transition defense. Yes, the Cougars were called for 21 fouls (Gonzaga was called for 15). On the surface, that seems more than fair. But what if BYU fouled 55 times and was called for 21 while GU fouled 25 and heard 15 whistles?
The more aggressive team is going to commit more fouls. It’s the percentage called that matters. Some games, being physically aggressive is a detriment, as key players can get into foul trouble. Last night it was an advantage. A winning advantage.
More power to the Cougars. Their game plan worked. Some games its does. Other games it backfires. But when you are the underdog, trying to make an impression on the nation, making an impression on your opponent is a smart strategy.
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Gonzaga: Jim Meehan has the game analysis from Provo (as well as the three keys to the Cougars’ win). We’ll give you a succinct analysis: If Ryan Woolridge only takes two shots, scores two points and has but four assists in 37 minutes, the Zags always will be in trouble against good teams. … We can pass along a photo gallery from Provo. … The folks in the office put together this recap and highlights. … We had our TV Take. … The women won at Pepperdine, riding a big third quarter to a 64-50 decision. Jim Allen has the particulars in this story. … There is a lot of coverage from Utah, of course, what with the importance of the win for BYU. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Saint Mary’s dominated the second half against San Diego.
WSU: When Ernie Kent was fired and Kyle Smith hired, every player on the Washington State basketball roster had to make a decision. Stay or go. It took Jeff Pollard a while, but he decided to stay. Theo Lawson takes us through that process in this story, which also tells us what the year has meant for Pollard on this his Senior Day. … Volleyball players from WSU and Eastern are still participating in the U.S. Women’s National Team tryouts. That news is part of our local briefs. … Around the Pac-12, the losing streak is over. Washington took advantage of California’s lack of shooting to blow out the Bears 87-52. … The best game of the day was in Tucson, where Payton Pritchard willed Oregon to overtime and Shakur Juiston took over there in a 73-72 win over Arizona. The Wildcats had their chances as well. … Oregon State made it close, really close, at the end by Arizona State moved to the top of the Pac-12 standings alone with its seventh consecutive win. … UCLA is also hot, having won five consecutive times. The Bruins rallied past No. 18 Colorado in Boulder. … Utah is contemplating lineup changes today against USC. … In women’s basketball, there is a huge game at Stanford tomorrow as Oregon faces the Cardinal. Sabrina Ionescu tries to do something no one has ever done in college basketball. … In football news, it looks as if Colorado is hiring former UCLA coach Karl Dorrell as its next head coach. Dorrell was twice an assistant in Boulder.
EWU: The Eagles played nearly perfect basketball in stretches Saturday against Northern Arizona. And still the Lumberjacks made a game of it in Cheney. That’s conference play in a nutshell. Eastern did win, pulling away late for an 80-70 decision. Ryan Collingwood was at Reese Court and has this game story. Tyler Tjomsland has the photo report. … S-R columnist Shawn Vestal has his thoughts on the faculty report calling for a discussion concerning athletics’ role at the university and re-examining options for the future. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana went into Bozeman, ignored the noise and took home a 59-54 victory over Montana State. … Northern Colorado also defeated a home team, handling Idaho State in Pocatello. … Weber State handled Southern Utah in Ogden.
Idaho: A dismal season continued last night for the Vandals as they shot 25 percent from the field in the first half, trailed by as many as 19 and ultimately fell to visiting Sacramento State, 67-56. Peter Harriman looks at the bright side in this story.
Whitworth: The Pirates had already clinched the top seed in the upcoming Northwest Conference tournament. Linfield needed a win to ensure hosting a first-round game against Whitman. The Wildcats earned what they needed, a 91-80 victory at home.
Preps: The busiest Saturday night of the winter occurred last night, with state titles decided in wrestling and gymnastics. And, of course, berths in the state basketball tournament also on the line. We start with wrestling, with a story covering the 4A and 3A tournaments as well as one on the smaller schools. … In gymnastics, individual finals were decided yesterday. … On the basketball front, Dave Nichols finished his stint in Kennewick with stories on the 3A boys, the 4A girls and the 4A boys. The Mt. Spokane and Gonzaga Prep boys earned state berths. … We also have roundups from district playoffs in girls and boys from around our area as well as the state results for Idaho girls.
Chiefs: Spokane played five consecutive games on the road. It won four of them, the latest 2-1 at Medicine Hat. That seems like a good road trip.
Mariners: Larry Stone tells us Shed Long is headed for a “huge year.” That can mean many different things. … Spring games have started, even though the M’s were rained out yesterday.
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• I have avoided the XFL so far, mainly because there is so much else going on this time of year, another professional football league seems redundant. Seattle played yesterday (and lost) so we watched a little. It’s not great football. But it is football and that’s enough for some folks. Not me. I would rather watch basketball or golf or, if it stops raining, spring training baseball. Until later …