A Grip on Sports: Gonzaga proves twice on Tuesday a test is always better when it’s over and you’ve passed
A GRIP ON SPORTS • College basketball halftimes are somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 minutes long, considering the comings and goings. But the length isn’t as important as how the time is used. Tuesday night, Mark Few used it well.
•••••••
• Being that no one has won the NCAA Tournament title without a loss since 1976 and Indiana – a fact shared by ESPN every .7 seconds during Gonzaga’s last few games on the WorldWide Leader – then maybe the Zags needed to lose a game coming down the stretch.
But, as is often the case, no one in the West Coast Conference wanted to oblige. Oh, sure, a couple of teams – Saint Mary’s in Moraga, Loyola Marymount in the Kennel, BYU in Provo – offered token resistance but a true challenge? Not really.
Then came Tuesday night. It was, quite possibly, the worst game GU could lose. The last one. The one that would be stuck in the minds of the selection committee and looming over its decision on the tournament’s top seed like Wily E. Coyote’s anvil.
And, like that anvil, when the Cougars cut the rope at halftime, it didn’t fall, defying the law of gravity. Like the Roadrunner, maybe Joel Ayayi, Corey Kispert and, most importantly, Jalen Suggs, never studied law.
At least the unwritten law that states its better to lose a game before the tournament.
Challenged they were. But the Bulldogs didn’t fold, though the first half had a lot of creases as BYU threw some offensive wrinkles at the Zags.
That and a lack of focused effort on Gonzaga’s part led to a 12-point BYU lead at the intermission. Then it was off to the locker room.
Few and his team took care of the effort, the focus and the Cougar lead quickly in the second half. Though, to BYU’s credit, the GU deficit was nine again before a final surge.
If basketball fans in the eastern part of the country went to bed at 10, they probably believed the Zags were done for. If they started watching at that point, thinking an upset was coming, they might believe Gonzaga is 1976 Indiana reincarnated.
Though we don’t believe Few looks good in a red sweater
• It’s too bad the Gonzaga women’s game was in the middle of the afternoon yesterday. Those who had to focus on, you know, work instead of pleasure didn’t get to see their most unlikely of wins.
How unlikely? How about having three starters either out or limited due to food poisoning? Or shooting abysmally throughout the first three quarters? Or only having .6 seconds to get a last shot off, trailing by one?
I’m sure if I had been able to see the ESPN victory predictor, it would have had BYU at 99.9 percent before Jill Townsend lined up in the key as the Zags’ time out expired. And it probably fell as the play began, what with the Cougars defending the first cuts well. Then Jenn Wirth set a teeth-rattling screen – don’t ask if it was legal because I’m not going to answer that – and Townsend had a bit of space. Though she lacked a clear view of the rim. And had little time. No matter. Her shot fell, she waited out the replay review with a trashcan nearby in case, you know, yesterday’s meal made another appearance, and then celebrated with her teammates.
It was worth celebrating. Most unlikely events are.
• Some fan bases take the sharpshooter approach to their complaints about being disrespected. Others, like many in the Washington State camp, favor the shotgun method. Throw enough birdshot around and you’ll hit something appropriate.
It happened yesterday on social media when the Pac-12 announced its conference basketball awards.
Oh, the humanity. Isaac Bonton didn’t make the first team? Travesty. Only Efe Abogidi on the all-freshman team? Awful. Noah Williams snubbed as the most improved player? What the heck?
OK, that last one hit the mark. Williams earned the award and it wasn’t even close. Sure, the winner, Stanford junior Jaiden Delaire improved a lot from his previous season. Just not nearly as much as Williams.
Washington State’s sophomore guard posted more improved numbers in all but one or two statistical categories, meaning the analytic camp would have favored him. He also improved his defense considerably, which should have attracted the old-school folks. And, most importantly, considering it is supposed to be the coaches voting, Williams was instrumental in the Cougars winning seven conference games, something few thought they would do before the season began. Stanford, on the other hand, underperformed, going from a conference favorite to a 10-10 league mark.
It’s hard to understand why Williams didn’t win an award he won’t be eligible for next season. Oh, sure, he could win it. But to improve any more, he would have to raise his game to the Evan Mobley level.
Wait. Maybe we shouldn’t put that past him.
•••
Gonzaga: We start, as we always do, with Jim Meehan’s work from Vegas. He has the game analysis and the difference makers. But he also has more from earlier in the day, when Kispert earned first-team All-America honors. … John Blanchette talked about the blueprint BYU drew up, one that will be hard to duplicate. … Colin Mulvany took care of the visuals with the photo gallery. … Theo Lawson has a story on the all-tournament team, with Suggs the MVP. … There is the usual recap with highlights, some of which shouldn’t be missed. … Finally, I have my TV Take, which is always questionable. … From the women’s title game, Jim Allen supplies the game analysis and a notebook. … John has a column about their comeback. … Once again Colin has photographs. … There is also a recap with highlights. … As big as both wins were for Gonzaga, the losses were even more devastating for the Cougars, especially the women. BYU needed another victory to cement its spot in the women’s tournament. … The Zags’ win solidifies their position as the NCAA top seed.
WSU: The Pac-12 postseason tournament begins today, with the Cougars kicking it off against Arizona State at 1 p.m. Theo has a preview of that game (and the teams’ recent history) as well as a piece on the conference’s awards, which, as we noted above, were handed out yesterday. … Arizona State has Remy Martin. Will he be the difference? … Around the Pac-12 and college basketball, we will avoid most of the stories about the awards. You have enough to read today and don’t need a piece about every school. … We do, however, want to point out how many awards USC freshman Evan Mobley won. My goodness. … The top three teams in the conference are playing for seeding. The other eight need to win the tournament to play in the NCAAs. … Utah’s Timmy Allen has to play even better for the Utes to keep playing. … California and Stanford will meet in Las Vegas today. … UCLA isn’t playing that well. But a good run in Vegas will cover all that up. … In football news, everyone loses transfers these days. And gains them. … … Not all that long ago, John Canzano was firmly in F. King Alexander’s camp. Now he believes the Oregon State president must go. … Speaking of the Beavers, do they really have a quarterback competition?
EWU: One thing about Eastern this season, the Eagles have been mixing-and-matching all year long. Ryan Collingwood has this story about Shantay Legans’ formula heading into the Big Sky basketball tourney. … Around the Big Sky, Montana is chasing some history in Boise. … Idaho State has already had a good season. … The same could be said of Weber State, though making the NCAA tourney is always the goal in Ogden. … In football news, Cal Poly, and former Eastern coach Beau Baldwin, is finally getting started Saturday.
Idaho: The Vandal women advanced to the semifinals with a win over Northern Arizona. … Not only did UI postpone its football game this weekend, last week’s opponent, UC Davis, is dealing with COVID-19 issues after being exposed.
Preps: The Spokane School Board will hear a presentation tonight concerning the proposed downtown stadium. Jim Allen delves deeply into the issue with a preview of tonight’s meeting, answers to some often-asked questions, a look at the history and how a downtown site may help equity issues. … Dave Nichols has a roundup of Tuesday’s high school action.
Mariners: Ty France is ripping the ball. The M’s will find him a position no matter what. … The pitching was better yesterday and Seattle won.
Seahawks: For the Hawks to have a successful offseason, they have to use whatever money they have available to improve the offensive line. … Or maybe on a pass rusher. … Seattle decided not to franchise either Chris Carson or Shaq Griffin.
•••
• I was planning on getting my hair cut today for the first time in a year. It’s pretty long – in the back. The top is still thin and getting thinner. Anyhow, I may have to put it off for a day. The car needs a lube and oil. It’s yelling at me every time I turn it on. Darn modern contraptions. (Insert gif here of Grandpa Simpson shaking his fist at a cloud.) Until later …