A Grip on Sports: It’s hard to top the basketball weekend Washington State just had
A GRIP ON SPORTS • The weekend isn’t quite over. Today is a holiday, which means, for many people, there is one more day tacked on. But even without the extra 24 hours, it was one of the more productive basketball weekends around Washington State University.
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• We don’t want to get into the whole “greatest this” or “greatest that” argument, so we will stick to the facts. The Cougars’ two basketball teams won four games over a weekend which began on Thursday night. That’s hard to top.
The men didn’t play the Pac-12’s best, sure, and they did it at home. But how many times over the past few years have either California or Stanford come into Pullman and left with a win? Well, if you are looking at the past decade, the Bears have done it four times in the past decade, Stanford six. Which is, added up, 50% of the games played in Beasley between the three schools in 10 years.
Not this season. The Cougars handled woeful Cal easily Thursday and held off winless-in-conference Stanford 60-59 Saturday night.
Sweeping a weekend at home against two of the conference’s also-rans probably shouldn’t be a cause for a celebration. But when you are trying to build a foundation for future success, as Kyle Smith is, then, why not? Celebrate the victories. All of them.
Road victories are even tougher to come by. Which is why the weekend was even more special for the women.
Friday, they won at Oregon State. It was the second consecutive year that’s happened but before that the Cougars had lost the last six in Corvallis. And Sunday? Washington State did something it hasn’t done in decades. No, not win in Eugene. The Cougars have done that often in the past decade. Well, three times, actually.
No, the big deal has to do with the Ducks’ ranking. They came into the game in the nation’s top 25. Twenty-first to be exact. And the last time a WSU team had defeated a ranked opponent on the road in women’s basketball? That would have been during the 1997-98 season.
Yes, the Cougars’ survive-anyway-you-can 85-84 overtime victory Sunday turned out to be something they haven’t done this century.
All it took was overcoming a 15-point deficit from beyond the arc, having a possible winning shot waved off at the end of regulation because the Oregon clock operator paused the darn thing in the final seconds and losing starting center Bella Murekatete – 20 points, seven rebounds – to fouls late.
Put it all together and it was the type of win Kamie Ethridge’s team needs to earn another NCAA at-large berth.
And one that caps an incredibly successful weekend for two WSU programs that have searched for such success for years.
• Speaking of success, the area’s four-year college men’s teams have certainly had plenty.
The given, of course, is Gonzaga. Despite some close calls, the Zags are where they usually are this time of year, ranked in the top-10 nationally and atop the West Coast Conference standings. All while basically rebuilding a roster that has lost two top-five NBA picks in two years.
Whitworth is also where it usually is, atop the Northwest Conference standings with a 5-1 mark. The Pirates are tied with Whitman, but hold the tiebreaker courtesy of their decisive 72-58 win in Walla Walla a week ago.
Eastern Washington has righted its ship since an up-and-down pre-conference schedule, won all five Big Sky games it’s played and will host rival Montana tonight in Cheney.
In other words, the five Inland Northwest four-year college men’s programs feature leaders in three of the four conferences in which they participate.
That’s 75% by our math. Which is pretty darn good by anyone’s math.
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WSU: We linked the story of the women’s Oregon win above and we do it again here. … There is also football news, with Colton Clark sharing Jake Dickert seems to have finished his offensive coaching staff. The latest hire, Nick Edwards, also has deep roots to the area, having played and coach at EWU. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college basketball, Jon Wilner looks at the weekend in the Mercury News. … There was a huge upset yesterday, with host USC hanging a defeat on second-ranked Stanford. … No. 10 Utah won the battle of ranked teams, winning in Salt Lake City over No. 14 Arizona on last-second free throws. … Eighth-ranked UCLA held off California. … Washington shot the lights out at Oregon State, something that has happened often this season. … In men’s news, Oregon State’s freshmen are taking on big roles. … Colorado is turning over the ball too often. … Thirteen consecutive wins shows UCLA is capable of March success. … Is Arizona? … Utah is really slumping. … In football news, a longtime Oregon tight end is headed to Miami. … Finally, Georgia was shattered due to an auto crash that cost the lives of two young people associated with the program.
Gonzaga: How do the Zags keep winning year after year despite losing great players to the NBA? By attracting other great players. One visited over the weekend and Zoom Diallo, from Curtis High, liked what he saw. Actually, according to what he told Theo Lawson, it exceeded expectations. … Though the 3-point shooting dominated the headlines, Jim Meehan looked elsewhere for the key to Saturday’s win over Portland. … Elsewhere in the WCC, BYU used a team effort to defeat Pepperdine.
EWU and Idaho: The two local Big Sky schools are playing today, hosting the Montana schools. The conference-leading Eagles take on Montana while Idaho, still looking for its first conference win, welcomes second-place Montana State to Moscow. Both begin at 6 p.m.
Preps: Dave Nichols has a roundup featuring the local successes this weekend in the track meet at The Podium.
Seahawks: We must admit we didn’t know how many unrestricted free agents the Hawks have. A couple have really dominated the discussion. … The priority, of course, is Geno Smith. … This mock draft has the Hawks taking two defensive linemen in the first round. … The Hawks’ playoff appearance was icing on the cake. … Tarik Woolen admits he made mistakes. … Jamal Adams was missed. … The rivalry with the 49ers seems about ready to take off once more. For Seattle to take the next step, the Seahawks will have to beat S.F.
Kraken: Just how did Seattle’s offense become this good?
Mariners: Dominican shortstop Felnin Celesten may not be someone you know about now. But in a few years? He very well could be the M’s next superstar. They are betting a lot of money on that happening.
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• The NFL games yesterday included the most exciting play imaginable. Yep, a big guy picking up a fumble and running 98 yards to other way for a score. Until later …