WCC Basketball Fans

Gonzaga 73, Oklahoma State 52

Three weeks ago, one of college basketball’s premier programs from the non-BCS realm looked dead in the water in terms of punching an at-large ticket to the biggest show in their sport.

Now, as 2010 gives way to 2011, the landscape looks and feels quite different in Eastern Washington. The little Jesuit school with the funny name (albeit the name of a highly-respected Jesuit from centuries past) is once again comporting itself the way it’s supposed to.

It’s true: Coach Mark Few’s Gonzaga Bulldogs have seemingly shaken off the rust of early season jitters and are primed for yet another West Coast Conference run and, quite possibly, an at-large berth to the 2011 NCAA Tournament.  The Bulldogs dominated the Oklahoma State Cowboys in every aspect of an intersectional encounter Friday night in Spokane, Washington. Muscular big man Robert Sacre was a force to be reckoned with for the Zags, as he scored 16 points and brought down a career-high 15 rebounds in a thorough thumping of the outclassed Cowboys from the Big 12 Conference.

The reality is as pleasing as it is plain: The Bulldogs have now won five games in a row after a December slump which saw the nationally recognized program fall off the college basketball radar. Gonzaga got bloodied up at almost every turn over the first month of the season. The Zags were zapped by Washington State, Kansas State, San Diego State, Illinois and Notre Dame, with the SDSU and Illinois losses coming at home. A deficient backcourt prevented GU’s bigs from finding a comfort zone, and the team suffered as a result.

Now, though, Sacre and teammate Elias Harris are hitting their stride, and that’s why Few’s forces have dispatched Baylor, Xavier and OSU to put some meat on their resume. Harris scored 22 points in this tilt to pace Gonzaga, who imposed its will upon the Cowboys on both sides of the game.  Gonzaga bested Oklahoma State in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free-throw percentage, rebounding, and assists. The complete demolition of a power-conference foe is what basketball people were expecting from the Zags back in the middle of November. This team has found its winning formula before the start of West Coast Conference action.

GU’s profile now looks a lot better to the Selection Committee, and with Memphis still on the non-conference slate, a win in that game should provide enough quality scalps for the Bulldogs to make March Madness once again.

Marshall Moses was right on his season average for the Cowboys as he posted a solid 17-point, 7-rebound evening. However, OSU needed more basketball prophets than just Moses to hang with the Zags. Travis Ford’s Cowboys had won five straight contests before falling in Spokane this evening.  This was only the second road game of the season for Oklahoma State, which – after its light non-conference slate – must make hay in the Big 12 to chart its own course to the Big Dance.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer