A Grip on Sports: A packed Thursday was just the appetizer – though, in some ways, not a very tasty one – for the weekend

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There were televised college basketball games to watch from nearly dawn to midnight yesterday, which means one thing. Well, two. Our backside is sore this morning and there are a plethora of games to cover before we can even think of looking ahead to the weekend.

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• Yes, even El Guapo would have appreciated the college hoops action yesterday. Though, if he were a fan of a Northwest-based Pac-12 team, maybe not.

It was a bad day for schools from that part of basketball firmament.

How bad? Washington State allowed UCLA to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor, lost 91-61 and didn’t seem to have the worse day – in its state. That dubious honor might have been earned by Washington, which lost 95-68 late last night against USC.

The worse loss in the region? Your choice. Either it was the Oregon State men being rolled by Arizona 98-64 in Corvallis or it was the 10th-ranked Oregon women looking lost in a 57-41 loss to No. 11 Arizona. OK, take the OSU men and give the points. The Beavers certainly did.

At least, in this area, Gonzaga rolled over visiting Pepperdine – don’t watch the first half though – and Eastern Washington handed Southern Utah its first loss since early in the season. Consider the latter a going-away present for the Thunderbirds, though the teams will meet again in Cheney on Saturday.

We were all excited yesterday to be able to watch the Cougars play, thanks to ESPN changing the Zags’ scheduled start time, when we should have been ticked. After all, if the Bulldogs had played at 2 p.m., as originally scheduled, we would have been free to watch Eastern play. And would have seen a tight game, an adjective that no one would use to describe the Cougars’ loss.

• It doesn’t get easier this weekend. Neither for the local teams or our Laz-e-Boy.

The Zags travel to Saint Mary’s on Saturday night – another schedule change thanks to ESPN, with the game tipping at 7 instead of 5 – in a game that will probably decide the Gaels’ postseason fate. An 0-3 start in West Coast Conference play (after three home games) may lock the Gaels out of the NCAA tourney, baring a conference tournament win, of course.

The Cougars are USC, the Huskies have an afternoon date in Pauley and Idaho will try to earn its first win of the year when it hosts Northern Colorado again. All three will be large underdogs.

Much of the college hoops action will be overshadowed, nationally, by the NFL playoffs. Saturday features two cold-weather games: the Rams in Green Bay and Baltimore at Buffalo. Sunday sees Cleveland trying to upset host Kansas City and Tampa Bay inside at New Orleans in the battle of veteran quarterbacks.

And, don’t forget, for the first time ever, the WSU women will play as a ranked team. It may not last all that long, however, as the meet USC tonight and No. 8 UCLA on Sunday.

Yep, it’s a good weekend to make s’mores, hot chocolate and a camp in front of the 4K TV.

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Gonzaga: The second half was more like the GU basketball we’ve come to expect this season. The first half? No, not at all. (Don’t forget, though, second-ranked Baylor eked out an 11-point win at 2-5 Iowa State not long ago.) Jim Meehan has the analysis of the Zags’ performance as well as the difference makers. … We watched and wrote our TV Take, centering round Jay Bilas’ pretty shocking statement. Do you think Gonzaga’s rise is one of the greatest success stories in American sports history? … Colin Mulvany was in McCarthey and has this photo gallery. … There is the usual in-depth recap with highlights. … Jim has a short story on the time change Saturday. … The women were in Santa Cruz to play Santa Clara and won easily. Jim Allen has more in this story. … Back to the men. They are, once again, penciled in for a top seed in the Indiana-based NCAA tourney. … Elsewhere in the WCC, BYU clamped down on Saint Mary’s as time ran down and picked up a 62-52 win in Moraga. The Gaels are 0-2 in conference. … Pacific finally played again and the Tigers blew out Santa Clara.

WSU: It was, without question and with lots of statistical evidence, the worse loss of the Kyle Smith era. Theo Lawson has this story about the 91-61 blowout. UCLA just shot the lights out. … On a brighter note, Theo has the news a cornerback from Michigan State is transferring to Washington State. … Around the Pac-12 and college basketball, money is the root of all problems. … Oregon State looked lost against the aggressive and intense Arizona Wildcats. Next up for the Beavers is Arizona State. … Colorado is surging, with California the latest victim of one of the conference’s hottest teams. … Utah finally put a complete game together and Stanford paid the price. … Washington was just a speed bump, if that, for USC. The Huskies have yet to win a conference game. … In football news, Jon Wilner looks ahead to next year’s Heisman race and the early prognostications about the conference. He also has a stock report. … Washington may just be the North favorite next season. Don’t forget, though the Huskies didn’t win the Apple Cup (that’s a little humor folks, don’t get bent out of shape), they did officially win the North title this season. … Well, Urban Meyer isn’t going to be the USC coach anytime soon. … Oregon State has potential at the receiver spots. The Beavers lost a running back, though. … Colorado lost three more players.

EWU: The Eagles have to be the favorite to win the conference title, especially after they never trailed in last night’s win. Ryan Collingwood has the coverage. … Larry Weir spoke with Luke Byrnes yesterday about Eastern and other subjects. It is all part of the latest Press Box podcast. … Around the Big Sky, Southern Utah made it official. It is leaving the Big Sky for the newly revamped Western Athletic Conference. In a couple years, the FCS landscape in the West could look a bit different. … Montana opened with 17 unanswered points and held on against Northern Arizona. … Montana State defeated Portland State.

Idaho: The men were blown out in Moscow by Northern Colorado while the Vandal women lost to the Bears on a last-second shot in Greeley.

Whitworth: For the second consecutive night, the Pirates held off Seattle Pacific.

Preps: Dave Nichols has a notebook of news items from around the region.

Seahawks: Russell Wilson spoke with the media yesterday. He made two things clear. He wasn’t onboard with Brian Schottenheimer’s firing. And he expects to have a big say in whomever the Seahawks hire to replace Schottenheimer as offensive coordinator. The ball is now on Pete Carroll’s side of the 50. … Schottenheimer’s fate seemed to be sealed as the Hawk offense melted down in the second half of the season. … John Schneider had a better year than many of his NFL peers. … You remember the Beast Quake? Seismologists certainly do.

Sounders: Seattle lost one of its front-office folks.

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• There is a bit of a lull today in the storm of sporting events to watch. Take advantage if you can. But don’t make a trip to Costco. That’s where I’m headed this morning and crowds are not allowed. I have spoken. Until later …