A Grip on Sports: As we await Gonzaga’s Elite Eight showdown with USC, we have way too many other stories to examine
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Oregon State’s magical run ends, done in by Houston’s body blows. Baylor fulfills its early season promise. Is USC a team of destiny? How about UCLA? As whistles clog throats, Connecticut makes it 13 consecutive Final Fours. Arizona? It is in its first. The storylines connected to college basketball are too numerous to cover. And that doesn’t even include all the ones emanating from Gonzaga.
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• What would you like me to cover this clear and cold Tuesday morning? Of course we are going to delve into the Zags, though we looked at their Elite Eight matchup with USC yesterday, so it seems redundant, especially since smarter people than I have a lot to say. But what piques your interest beyond their quest for perfection?
Maybe the Beavers, who looked for all the world to be on the fast track back to Corvallis after 20 minutes last night? A deceptive view to be certain. They hitched up their shorts, dug down defensively and, with a couple minutes left, tied the score with Kelvin Sampson’s best team at 55. Then they exhaled. Wrong move in the NCAA tourney. Taking an execution break isn’t advised at any time and not in the final seconds of a tight game. The Cougars took advantage and pulled away for a win. Too bad. Wayne Tinkle and his energetic family would have looked good in the Final Four.
Maybe the Bears? The coronavirus seemed to take the heart out of Baylor late in the regular season, as Scott Drew’s team returned to action with issues of effort (on defense) and execution (on offense). Against Arkansas, which demands the former and tries to disrupt the latter, the Bears of December and January returned. Not completely, but enough.
Maybe the Los Angeles connection? UCLA once was a regular in the Final Four. USC is, was and always will be a football school. Yet both have a shot at this year’s weekend of destiny. To get there, they only have to go through the two best teams in college hoops. Well, if it is meant to be, it’s meant to be.
Maybe Connecticut’s reputation-earned win? By now, you’ve seen the video. The photos. At the least, Baylor should have been shooting two free throws with a chance to send their classic regional final game against the Huskies to overtime. Except a foul was never called. Which didn’t seem to be a problem in the first half. Heck, there was one offensive foul, costing the Bears at least two, maybe three points, in the first half in which the Husky defender had both feet planted in the restricted zone. But that’s what happens all the time when playing Connecticut. Ask ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla. He’ll tell you.
Maybe the Wildcats doing the impossible? No, we’re not talking about Arizona making the Final Four for the first time. If you play in the Pac-12, you’ve got a shot. It’s the toughest conference in women’s basketball just about every year, so Ada Barnes’ team seemed tested enough to make it. No, we’re referring to Barnes and Aari McDonald making people in Tucson forget the troubles facing the men’s program. Well, maybe not forget. But at least pushing them into the background for a while.
Maybe we just call it March and move on. After all, there is one more day of the madness and then we turn the calendar to April, when championships are decided. And baseball begins. And flowers bloom.
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Gonzaga: Productivity this afternoon will take a huge hit around Spokane business, what with the Zags and USC scheduled to tip at 4:15 on TBS. Jim Meehan previews the contest, picks out the key matchup (it is pretty obvious today) and has his final Tahj Eaddy story of the guard’s career. He also joined Larry Weir yesterday for the latest Press Box podcast. … John Blanchette understands everyone is in love with the Trojans. But what about the Zags? … There are a couple of fun stories to pass along. Theo Lawson charts the history of Drew Timme’s mustache, from its birth to old age. … And Ryan Collingwood charts Anton Watson’s history, from North Idaho to Spokane and everywhere in between. The latter story also has an accompanying photo gallery. … Yes, USC should supply a stern test. But Gonzaga asks questions no one else does. And the answers are hard to find. … Elsewhere in the WCC, a part-time BYU starter is in the portal.
WSU: Around the Pac-12 and college basketball, Oregon State started slowly and, despite battling back to tie late, never really recovered from it. The Beavers did something magical, however, and memorable. … Oregon’s season had its starts and stops. The final stop came too soon. It always does. … Should we mention everyone who enters the transfer portal? Probably not. But Colorado has two. … Utah’s pick as its next basketball coach turned out to be a no-brainer. … In the women’s tournament, besides Arizona moving on to its first Final Four, we also want to mention Stanford is trying for its 14th. … In football news, spring football started at Colorado on Monday. … Utah has dedicated next season to Ty Jordan.
EWU: After losing to Eastern last weekend, Cal Poly pulled the plug on the rest of its football season. Too few players left to continue. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Idaho State did some good things against UC Davis. … Montana State is losing a handful of basketball players.
Preps: Dave Nichols passes along a roundup of Monday’s action.
Mariners: So where will the M’s finish this season? Here’s one prediction. And here’s another. … Spring training is over. What did we learn? Well, we learned ties are a thing. … Joel Pineiro once pitched for the Mariners. Now he’s pitching answers to questions. … Marco Gonzales can’t wait to hear fans screaming at T-Mobile this season. … Virus protocols will relax when 85 percent of the players are vaccinated.
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• We’ll be back on this site with our TV Take around 6:30 or so. We have one wish. If Gonzaga isn’t going to win the national title, let the Zags lose tonight. That way the weekend ahead is free. I would hate to waste time working when it could be really nice. Of course, I’ve been saying this under my breath since the first round. So if they win tonight, they might as well win the whole thing. Until later …