A Grip on Sports: It was a near-perfect Monday for the area’s college basketball teams

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We were going to start today talking about the great day the local Division I basketball teams had Monday. Then we decided to amend our thoughts. It was a really good day. But just barely the wrong side of great.

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• Part of any equation we solve on the rare day after all four have played are the x-factors. The opponents.

And a couple of them tarnished the results a bit.

But let’s start with the items worth celebrate. For example, Washington State’s first-half performance in the 73-65 win over visiting UC Santa Barbara. If you’ve followed this column any length of time at all, you know UCSB is the alma mater of the oldest son. And you also know the Gauchos have developed one of the better mid-major programs in the nation.

Which means the Cougars were facing their toughest opponent yet. And they smoked them in the opening half to the tune of a 16-point lead. After that? Well, we will let Kyle Smith let you know what happened.

“We just got a little loose in the second half,” the Cougar coach said.

Which is often the trademark of a young team. But the bottom line is Washington State earned a win.

The same scenario played out in Spokane, where Gonzaga rolled over Alcorn State, 84-57.

(In a quick aside, if you are into comparing scores, the Braves opened a four-game Pacific Northwest road trip in Pullman last week and lost 85-67 to the Cougars.)

With Monday’s game well in hand, the top-ranked Bulldogs yielded 36 second-half points, with most of the heavy lifting done by newcomers to the program. Which means Mark Few and his staff have some game video from which to teach, which is never a bad thing.

The third win of the night came in Cheney. Eastern had yet to grace first-year coach David Riley with a win after opening with two tough road games. But visiting Walla Walla, a NAIA school, proved to be the perfect answer. The Eagles rolled 111-71 behind Steele Venters’ 27 points. Then again, the theme was the same. The second half wasn’t what Riley wanted.

“We started off the right way defensively, but we gave up 44 points in that second half which isn’t good enough, and a lot of that came down to discipline,” he told our Dan Thompson.

Idaho did an excellent job on the defensive end all night but the Vandals were the only area Division I team to lose. However, they did have quite possibly the toughest assignment, traveling to Fresno to play the Bulldogs. Fresno State is 3-0 and, historically, has been tough at home.

In a weird way, the 69-62 defeat might have been the Vandals’ best performance thus far.

• Wouldn’t it be something if Washington State went bowling this Christmas season? After all, never in the history of the program, which dates back more than a century, has there been a year with such mid-season disruption. Maybe during the last pandemic. Or during a World War. Still, to wade through the effluent the Cougars have had to deal with and then come out the other side, a la Andy Dufrense, smelling like a rose, that would be incredible.

Of course, with the loss at Oregon last week, the Rose Bowl is all but mathematically out of reach. But other bowls, in nice warm locations, are still in play. If the Cougars win one more game.

The best chance is always the next one. That’s certainly true this week when Arizona, possessors of just one victory – over a COVID-19-riddled California team in Tucson – head north into the late-November cold. Our guess it will be just above freezing when the game kicks off Friday night in Pullman. And will get progressively colder.

For a group of players who have been practicing in 80-degree weather, that has to be a shock. And facing a Washington State team that has that bowl carrot dangling in front of it won’t help.

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Gonzaga: As one would guess, the S-R has you covered. Theo Lawson moved over a chair last night and wrote the game story. … Jim Meehan handled the difference makers and a sidebar, writing about Hunter Sallis and his early season comparison to Joel Ayayi. … Jim also had stories before the game, one covering the WCC weekly awards won by Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren, the other on the polls, which still have Gonzaga at No. 1. And he joined Larry Weir for the latest Press Box podcast. … Jesse Tinsley covered the game with his camera, putting together this photo gallery. … The folks in the office put together a recap with highlights. … The Zags’ win over Texas, with Timme the focal point, didn’t disappoint. … Around the WCC, BYU has a big early season game tonight, facing No. 12 Oregon in Portland. … Saint Mary’s and USF won last night.

WSU: We mentioned the Cougars’ prize on the line this Friday night against Arizona. Colton Clark mentions it as well in this first look at the Wildcats. … Colton also was in Beasley last night and has this game story. … This week’s opponent, Arizona, has struggled in the red zone all season. … The Cougar women received votes in the latest Associated Press poll. Jim Allen has that story. … A couple of standouts with local connections, WSU’s Charlisse Leger-Walker and Stanford’s Lexie Hull, are on just about every basketball award watch list they can be. That information leads off a local briefs column. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, ESPN is not happy with John Canzano. But the Oregonian columnist held the network’s feet to the fire, as he should, and now it looks as if ESPN is finally working to fix the fuzzy high-def broadcasts. … Jon Wilner has his weekly power rankings in the Mercury News. … Whenever there is a coaching opening, there are stories about job candidates. Why should Washington be any different? … Third-ranked Oregon has some injury issues heading into the showdown with No. 24 Utah in Salt Lake City. The Duck defense seems up to the task. … The Utes see the game as an opportunity. … The battle for Los Angeles takes place Saturday, with USC starting a new quarterback and UCLA trying to build on the momentum from last week. … The Big Game is this week as well. … Speaking of defense, Oregon State’s new-look group did the job against Stanford. … Colorado has lost another starting linebacker. … The channel for the Territorial Cup does not please either fanbase. … In basketball news, UCLA, which is still ranked just behind Gonzaga, pulled away from Long Beach State late. … California won its first game of the season, defeating USD. … Stanford handled San Jose State. … Arizona State got past North Florida but may have lost a key player for a while. … Utah rolled over Bethune-Cookman, 86-55. … Colorado routed overmatched Maine. … The road was unkind to Oregon State, which lost at Tulsa. … Washington picked up its first win of the season, though getting past Texas Southern 72-65 was a grind. … USC is headed to Florida Gulf Coast. There is a connection there. … Arizona hosts North Dakota State tonight as the administration pleads with fans to follow protocols.

EWU: Venters was one of the Eagles who stayed after former coach Shantay Legans left for Portland. And Eastern couldn’t be happier today, as Venters had a career-scoring high in David Riley’s first-ever win, 111-71 over Walla Walla. Dan Thompson was in Cheney and has this story. … Around the Big Sky, this is the week of the Brawl, with Montana State once again the team with a conference title on the line. The Griz would not be adverse from ripping that away from the Bobcats. … In basketball, Weber State picked up a big road win over Duquesne. … Montana lost its second consecutive road game, this one 79-77 at North Dakota. … Sacramento State topped Cal Poly.

Idaho: As we mentioned above, the Vandals played well but lost at Fresno State, 69-62.

Chiefs: After a week or so of COVID-19 issues, Spokane has been cleared to get back at it.

Seahawks: D.K. Metcalf has a tendency to pop off occasionally. Pete Carroll is positive he’ll get that under control. … Chris Carson is still out. Would his return help the Hawks run the ball more, something Carroll is positive the team needs? … Questions? Here are four answers. … The defense’s effort shouldn’t be overlooked even if the offense struggled to assimilate Russell Wilson back into the fold.

Mariners: The general managers’ meeting is over. Where do the M’s stand? … There were a few changes on the coaching staff.

Kraken: Seattle has been playing just good enough to lose. Thus says the Kraken’s general manager.

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• If you were wondering why there wasn’t a TV Take from the Gonzaga game last night, the answer is simple: Late-night high school basketball practice. We are helping out at the local school and that is going to cut into the number of TV Takes we are able to do. Last year wasn’t a problem as COVID-19 pushed the prep season to the spring. But this year there will be conflicts. Hey, we heard that cork pop. It’s too early in the day to celebrate that way. Until later …