A Grip on Sports: As the madness makes a comeback, so does Gonzaga’s first-round opponent
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Now we know. Gonzaga will face Norfolk State on Saturday to begin what the Zags hope will be a six-game run to the national title. If it is the Norfolk State that played the second half of their play-in game Thursday night, the Bulldogs will roll. If it’s the first-half team, it could be interesting.
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• Who are we kidding? Gonzaga is a 35-point favorite, or somewhere around there. That’s a lot. Even if the Zags don’t cover by, say, 15 points, they still walk away with a 20-point win. Would that be OK?
Heck, in late March, a one-point win is more than OK. It is all that’s needed. Win six games by six points and, guess what, you’ve won the national championship. The banner doesn’t say how, it just says who. And that who is you. A tough road with lots of tight turns and potholes is still a road to where you want to go as much as straight-line interstate. And a few years later, those winding stretches became the things of legend.
The angst disappears but the banner in the rafters lasts forever.
Remember that when Gonzaga wins a game soon without playing its best. The NCAA Tournament is a bottom-line journey. Sixty-eight teams play 67 games. Sixty-seven teams go home without the ultimate prize. One team grabs it.
Doesn’t matter how. Just who.
• UCLA didn’t look to be moving on last night. The Pac-12’s most enigmatic team displayed all of its riddle-like nature in its play-in contest with Michigan State. There were the bad Bruins in the first half. The good Bruins showed up to start the second – and the overtime. But the baffling Bruins were there too at too many times.
Yet, come Saturday, they will still be playing BYU. And Michigan State will be in East Lansing, wondering how a season that began with so much promise turned into one of disappointment.
• The NCAA’s main draw begins this morning. By the time you read this, we may be deep into the first round. So it’s probably appropriate to ask which games today most intrigue you?
As a basketball fan, the last one of the night, fifth-seeded Villanova vs. 12th-seed Winthrop (starting at 6:50 on TBS), tops my list. As a quick aside, doesn’t it seem the selection committee now aims to put vulnerable teams into the fifth seed just to keep the 5-vs.-12 upsets brewing? The Wildcats are vulnerable. Jay Wright’s team will be playing without senior point guard Collin Gillespie, the heart and soul of the group. He’s out for the year with an injury. It’s worth tuning in just to see how Villanova does.
Another interesting story line is available when eight-seed Loyola of Chicago faces Georgia Tech, the surprise ACC Tournament winner. If you don’t mind getting plastered in the middle of the day (it tips at 12:50 on TBS), a fun drinking game would be to take a shot every time Sister Jean’s face appears on the screen.
Anyhow, those are the games I’m looking forward to watching. But what I’m really looking forward to, after two years without an opening weekend, is watching the scores appear in the upper-right corner and switching to a tight finish. Just to see who gets to celebrate moving on and who has to collapse in despair as their season ends.
That’s the heart and soul of this tournament.
• Winter is almost over. Which means it is time for the Spokane Chiefs to start the Western Hockey League season.
If there is another paragraph we’ve written in the past 12 months that encapsulates the weirdness of this year’s COVID-19-addled sports scene, I’m not sure what it is.
The WHL schedule begins tonight for the Chiefs, as they play the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent. No fans will be in the facility. None will be in the Spokane Arena next Friday when the Chiefs hold their home opener. In a few short weeks, the 24-game schedule will be over. And we will be in the middle of the spring.
Enjoy it while you can folks.
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Gonzaga: Another day, another All-America first-team selection for Corey Kispert. Jim Meehan tells us which one was announced Thursday. … Jim delves into the bond between the coaching staffs at GU, Illinois and Baylor, three schools that are among the favorites for the title. … The same story, told in a longer way, is available from The Athletic. … I am old enough to remember when the S-R used to hand out blue Gonzaga cheer cards. Maggie Quinlan tells us what the school did this week. … Carolyn Lamberson delves into whom all the nation’s celebrities picked to win the tournament. Gonzaga was a common choice. … The women have seniors whom they rely upon but Jim Allen tells us the future is bright with the roster’s youth in key spots. … The West Region has a lot of familiar faces. … Elsewhere in the West Coast Conference, if BYU expected to play blue blood Michigan State, then it was surprised. The Cougars will face even bluer blooded UCLA in the first round. … The team put out a few videos last night. I’m sure you saw them. … Saint Mary’s NIT loss just put a bow on the Bay Area’s awful basketball season. … Shawn Bradley is trying to make something positive come from his bicycle accident.
WSU: The school’s lone NCAA basketball representative had a remarkable season. Theo Lawson went through hundreds of moments and picked five that truly shaped their successful run to the tournament for the first time in 30 years. … Around the Pac-12 and college basketball, the future of the Pac-12 Networks is cloudy at best. … As we said above, UCLA is moving on to the main bracket after its come-from-behind, overtime win over Michigan State. The Bruins, and the conference members with budget deficits, needed that. … USC’s Evan Mobley will lead the Trojans into their game with Drake, which also won a play-in contest. … Oregon State turned its season around. How did the Beavers do that? … Oregon is more than Chris Duarte, but he’s really important to the Ducks. … Tad Boyle’s coaching career is the opposite of Colorado’s opponent, Georgetown and Patrick Ewing. … Utah is looking for a new coach. What should his resume look like? And does it have to be a “he?” … In football news, it’s time for Arizona to hold spring practice, the first under new coach Jedd Fisch. … What’s up with Washington’s recruiting? … Stanford’s former quarterback is ready for the NFL. … There is a familiar name on the Colorado staff. … Utah has a renewed faith in its defensive backs.
EWU: Speaking of a successful run, Shantay Legans has had one in his four-year tenure leading Eastern’s men. How did that happen? Legans worked hard and sought counsel wisely from a varied group of supporters. Ryan Collingwood chronicles his journey in this story. … Ryan also made a few calls soliciting input from players and coaches whose teams have upset Kansas in the past. Their answers appear in this explanatory piece. … Larry Weir touched base with former Eastern coach Kirk Earlywine for the latest Press Box podcast.
Idaho: The records were different but the Vandal men’s and women’s basketball teams shared one experience. They both had to deal with COIVD-19’s impact multiple times and multiple ways. Peter Harriman has more in this story.
Whitworth: The Pirates’ basketball seasons are over. Both women and men canceled their weekend series with Whitman due to COVID-19 concerns. Dan Thompson has the news and reaction.
Preps: Dave Nichols offers this roundup of results after a busy Thursday.
Chiefs: As we said above, Spokane begins its 24-game WHL journey tonight. Dan has a preview.
Mariners: Spring training seems like a beginning every year but to a lot of players, including Julio Rodriguez, after winter ball, it’s just an extension of a never-ending year. … The roster is taking shape. … Hey, the M’s won yesterday.
Seahawks: Now that the Hawks have traded one of their few draft picks for an offensive lineman and re-signed center Ethan Pocic, are they done with their up-front fix? Maybe. But there is still more to do. … The lack of draft picks is by design. … The team needs a true threat as its third receiver.
Sounders: It’s time for some of the younger players to step up and take a bigger role.
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• Thank goodness I’m done with this morning’s column. It’s days like this when I wish I could sleep in, wake slowly, put on my UC Irvine gear and root for the Anteaters as they make their annual NCAA Tournament trek. But that fantasy will have to wait – darn Gauchos – as UCI didn’t earn an at-large berth – darn selection committee – and I still am getting up every morning and pounding out drivel on the keyboard. Until later …