A Grip on Sports: For the next week or so, Las Vegas is the hub of West Coast college basketball – our favorite subject

A GRIP ON SPORTS • When it comes to hoops, the cliché about Las Vegas isn’t true. The odds are good what happens there will not stay there. It will end up here. And fill up this space.

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• We’re tired this morning. Vegas is guaranteed to do that. A 9 p.m. start for the second West Coast Conference men’s semifinal pitting Pepperdine and BYU is also guaranteed to do that. Especially when the game is tight.

One wants to stay up, watch the ending and see who will compete with Gonzaga tonight for the conference’s automatic NCAA berth. But when one is a lot older than 61, that’s not an option. The eyes stayed open but the mind shut down. Bed won.

As did BYU, though it took the Cougars an overtime to get it done. Now they have to face the nation’s top team less than 24 hours later (6 p.m., ESPN) knowing full well only their A+ game will result in cutting down the nets. That’s more of a challenge than someone like me trying to stay up past 10:30.

• The cream has risen to the top in the women’s tournament as well. Gonzaga finished atop the regular season standings with a lone loss. That came to second-place BYU in Provo. Tonight they will play the rubber match in their season series.

In this case the roles are a bit reversed. Santa Clara made the Bulldogs scrap and claw before finally going away. BYU, which lost to San Francisco less than two weeks ago, avenged that defeat in a big way, winning by 30. The Cougars should be the better-rested squad in today’s 1 p.m. final (ESPNU). 

• What would a spin around Las Vegas be if it didn’t include a story about a wedding?

Theo Lawson talked with a few Gonzaga fans in the area and found a couple that decided to tie the knot just before the tournament began. They made the trip to Las Vegas, got married and then settled down to watch the Bulldogs on TV like the rest of us, due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Love and basketball indeed.

• There is even more college basketball news and this piece didn’t emanate from Nevada. Nope, it’s more local than that.

For the fourth time in five seasons, the Big Sky Conference men’s basketball most valuable player is an Eastern Eagle. Though this one might be the most unexpected – short and long term.

When Tanner Groves played for Shadle Park High, it was obvious he had a chance to play at the next level. But what level would that be? A couple summers on the western travel circuit with Eastern Washington Elite allowed Groves to show his relentless work ethic allowed him to compete with players recruited by major institutions. Shantay Legans, then an EWU assistant, watched. And pounced.

In Groves’ four seasons with Legans, who was named the head coach before Groves stepped on campus, he has continued to improve. Still, when his redshirt junior year began, he was expected to be a complimentary piece to Eastern’s stars, including preseason MVP Jacob Davison.

Of course, the unexpected became the norm this season, including the level to which Groves performed. The 6-foot-9 post, who backed up last year’s Big Sky MVP Jacob Peatling, dominated the conference inside, averaging nearly 18 points, more than seven rebounds and shooting almost 60 percent from the field.

Groves’ success is just another example of how far hard work and perseverance can take an athlete.

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Gonzaga: There is a lot to share, so let’s get to it. We start with Jim Meehan’s work, including his conversation with Larry Weir on the latest Press Box podcast. That came before Jim headed over to the Orleans, watched, chatted with players and coaches, and wrote his game analysis on the easy win over Saint Mary’s and his difference makers. … Colin Mulvany covered the game with his camera, producing this photo gallery. … John Blanchette examines the biggest fallacy of this time of year. We won’t spoil what it is, or John’s opinion as expressed in this column. … We watched from our living room, noted what was said and what happened and put it all in our TV Take. … Earlier in the day, Jim shared the weekly poll results, which had Gonzaga at the top again. … On the women’s side, Jim Allen not only covered the semifinal win over Santa Clara, he also wrote a notebook which recalled some of the Orleans’ horrors and then put together a preview of this afternoon’s title game. Before all that, however, he covered their poll status. Without playing, the Zags moved up. … Colin did double duty and has this photo gallery. … That’s not all the news from GU, however. The men’s cross country team was invited to the NCAA championship for the first time as a team. That’s part of our local briefs. … The upcoming NCAA tourney should be fun. … Elsewhere in the WCC, BYU and Pepperdine went at it for 45 minutes. The part I saw was fun to watch.

WSU: Around the Pac-12 and college basketball, Jon Wilner takes a look at the Arizona situation. … He also picks his conference award winners. … The conference tournament begins Wednesday. … Washington has one last chance to salvage an awful season. … Oregon may not be the conference tournament favorite but don’t bet against the regular season champions. … When Colorado leaves Boulder for Las Vegas, the Buffs won’t return until the NCAA run is done. … Arizona’s president wants Sean Miller on the bench next season. That’s what he said. … In football news, Washington is getting prepped for spring practice. The Huskies will be without Puka Nacua, who is transferring to BYU. … Utah has hired a new receivers coach. … The Arizona State defense must improve this spring. … Matt Fink won’t be back for a sixth season at USC. … An Alabama transfer with a checkered past is not going to Utah after all. He’s headed to UCLA. … Arizona has lost another defensive player. … Les Miles was fired by Kansas yesterday, a result of what happened at LSU. The LSU president at the time? F. King Alexander, now the Oregon State president.

EWU: As we mentioned above, the Eagles have another men’s MVP. Ryan Collingwood has that story. … The women’s basketball team saw their season end at the tournament as they lost 71-51 to Portland State.

Idaho: This isn’t good news. The Vandals won’t be playing Northern Arizona this Saturday as the football team is dealing with COVID-19 issues. The Big Sky has not announced a makeup date, maybe because the first week available is coming up and no one knows if the team will be able to play next weekend.

Preps: Dave Nichols has a roundup of Monday’s prep action.

Mariners: The M’s lost 10-0 yesterday. … The roster is coming into focus though the final 26 is still up in the air a bit. … Baseball scouts leave no country unturned.

Seahawks: When it comes to the salary cap, sometimes NFL teams have to rob Peter to pay Paul. In the Hawks’ case, rob the defensive line to free money up for Russell Wilson’s protection – or something like that. The team cut Carlos Dunlap, the pass-rushing defensive end they picked up to bolster their playoff run. It saves money and allows roster flexibility.

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• I appreciate daylight saving time. What I don’t appreciate is the Sunday when the clocks jump ahead. That happens this week. See, the sunlight was just starting to wake me up on time to do this column. Now, instead of it streaming in my window at 6 or so, it will be back to 7. It throws off my schedule as I hate alarms. So if Sunday’s column seems off, you now know why. Until later …