A Grip on Sports: The Zags were caught sleeping a bit too long last night, and that carried over in a way this morning
A GRIP ON SPORTS • We would love to delve deeply into Gonzaga’s loss last night at Saint Mary’s. Or Washington State’s defeat in Seattle. Or Whitworth’s NCAA-clinching win over Whitman at home. But delving deeply takes time, something we don’t have this morning.
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• It’s our own fault. We overslept. Not that we got a whole bunch of hours of sleep. Just a few, thanks to a night spent dealing with some physical issues. Nothing major mind you. Just the type that keep you up most of the night and make you wonder if you will ever eat again. (Spoiler alert: we will.)
During the time we were awake we couldn’t stop thinking about something we saw near the end of the Bulldogs’ streak-ending loss in Moraga, Calif.
It came just after a Saint Mary’s player had picked up a charge on Julian Strawther with 24 seconds remaining. The play had extinguished the top-ranked Zags’ last hopes – they were down six when it happened – and made their first West Coast Conference loss inevitable.
The TV cameras caught Mark Few doing something remarkable. He was standing on the sidelines next to the Saint Mary’s player who had picked up the charge. It was a gutsy play. The type of play that wins such games. And Few seemed to be acknowledged it. At least he was talking with the Gael in a pleasant way. Laughing at one point. And the foot-shorter coach ended the conversation with an affirming tap on the player’s chest.
If Few wasn’t angry at that point, how could anyone else be? There are times coaches just know. It isn’t their team’s night. Whatever the reason, it isn’t meant to be. Even if you have, arguably, the best team in college basketball wearing your uniforms.
You can’t rail against it, especially not to a player who just made a play you want your players to make every possession, if possible. All you can do is figure out what went wrong, try to correct it and move on. The loss that just happened or was in the final stages of happening? That’s the past. The past can’t be allowed to impact the future in a negative way. Not if you want to reach your goals. And, to be clear, Few and his team have just two goals left this season. One is to win in Las Vegas. The other is to win in New Orleans. Those are still possible.
With 24 seconds remaining last night, the goal of winning in Moraga wasn’t.
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Gonzaga: Our coverage is stellar, as always. It was lacking just one thing. But we didn’t do a TV Take, though we did watch much of the 67-57 loss. Anyhow, Jim Meehan has the game story from Moraga, while Theo Lawson covers the difference makers and the different nature of the day. … Tyler Tjomsland has the photo report. … The folks in the office put together this recap with highlights. … We were in the Kennel yesterday afternoon to watch the Zag women toy with Loyola Marymount on Senior Day. Jim Allen has the story and James Snook supplied the photographs. …. Back to the men, there is coverage from the Bay Area to pass along. … Around the WCC, Pepperdine was the sacrificial lamb at BYU’s Senior Night. … The Cougar women won the conference regular season title.
WSU: No matter how good your offense is, this late in the season your defense must step up if you want to win close games. The Cougars’ didn’t yesterday. At least not enough in a 78-70 road loss to Washington. Colton Clark was at Hec Ed and has this game story. … There is coverage of the rivalry game from the Seattle area of course. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college basketball, if the top six teams lost Saturday, it stands to reason No. 2 Arizona didn’t get the job done in Boulder. Again. Yep, the Wildcats fell to Colorado 79-63. … Arizona State may be the hottest team in the conference after winning a close one at Utah. … UCLA bounced back with a wipeout win at Oregon State in which the Beavers gave up down the stretch. … USC struggled in Eugene against Oregon but once again figured out how to win. That is six consecutive wins for the Trojans. … Stanford has sunk to the depths. How low? The Cardinal lost to California 53-39. … In football news, Dan Lanning is finding his niche with the Oregon team.
EWU: Every road game in the Big Sky is a chore for some reason. Even against the conference’s cellar dwellers. The Eagles found that out Saturday night in Sacramento and they fell to the Hornets 81-75. … Around the Big Sky, Weber State got back on track by rolling over host Northern Arizona 73-49. … Montana and Montana State meet today.
Idaho: The Vandals made a late run but Northern Colorado had enough firepower to hold them off in Greeley, 98-94.
Whitworth: Next stop, the NCAA Division III basketball tournament. Again. The Pirates blew out Whitman 85-59 and clinched the Northwest Conference’s automatic berth. Where those playoffs will be is another story. No one knows yet. But we do know Whitworth will enter on a two-game NCAA winning streak (it’s a long, pandemic-related story). Dan Thompson has the game coverage.
Preps: The Greater Spokane League had six basketball teams playing yesterday. Five of them won and the sixth, Gonzaga Prep, was in a spot in which a loss didn’t end its season. Dave Nichols covers all the games in this roundup. … Dave also has a roundup of the other action Saturday.
Chiefs: Don’t look now, but Spokane won 7-1 at the Arena, inching closer to a playoff spot. Kevin Dudley has this story.
Track and field: John Blanchette was in The Podium on Saturday, covering the USA Track and Field Indoor Championships. He has two stories from the meet and we pass both along.
Mariners: With the contract talks turning ugly, at least Ryan Divish can focus on minor league players trying to make their mark. It is baseball, after all.
Sounders: The opener is this evening in Nashville, part of 10 matches to focus on this season.
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• Sorry we didn’t have a lot to say this morning. Even strong coffee didn’t help. Maybe about a six-hour nap is the key. Or a long walk off a short pier. See, we do feel poorly. You can tell. We’re spouting sayings my dad used to say. Until later …