Zags, Cats rule West once again
We’ve got our rivalry back.
Doesn’t it seem like 15 minutes ago that Gonzaga and Arizona were the unquestioned power couple atop Western hoops?
Everyone else was trying, but…
Oregon was hit-and-miss.
Washington had started another rebuilding phase.
UCLA’s glory days were the stuff of Bill Walton’s bedtime stories.
But the Zags and ’Zona?
They were the best in this part of the country, no argument, and you got a blistering game whenever they crossed paths — which they have in eight different locations since the turn of the Millennium.
The Wildcats knocked Gonzaga out of the 2003 NCAA tournament in double overtime, and used OT again in December of 2014, rallying to stun the Zags at the McKale Center in Tucson.
But Gonzaga has won the most recent two meetings, including a 91-74 dismissal at last season’s Maui Invitational.
Most of us really looked forward to that matchup, but hey…
We had no clue that the Cats would fall into the Pacific after leaving Lahaina.
IT SEEMED like everything ugly happened to Arizona last year.
Worst of all was an FBI investigation involving assistant coach Book Richardson, shoe company cash and superstar center Deandre Ayton — who played for Arizona in the 2017-18 season before bolting to the NBA.
The Cats didn’t handle the negative news very well, and got slapped around to the tune of 15 losses.
UA fans were used to that many defeats as something like a decade’s worth.
Coach Sean Miller seemed destined to be sent packing, on the theory that they didn’t blame a cabin boy when the Titanic went down.
Miller appeared to be in charge of the whole mess, although there was no smoking gun (other than his captain’s hat), and everyone from influential alums to newspaper columnists insisted he had to go for the good of a proud university.
However…
He didn’t.
And then, even under fierce scrutiny, Miller managed to capture one of the best recruiting classes in the country — and convince the kids to stay despite what they’d read and heard.
The Cats are off to a 10-1 start, and just as in the pre-FBI days, they’re loaded with talent.
Gonzaga will get a close-up look Saturday night at McKale — with the Zags ranked No. 6 in the AP poll and Arizona at No. 15.
The Zags have never won in Tucson (nor have a lot of other schools), so this collision could tell us a lot about both teams.
How hard is it to win at McKale?
Consider: Arizona pounded a pretty salty Illinois bunch 90-69 earlier this year, and the Illini were just beaten last weekend — on the road — by No. 4 Maryland (10-0) on a last-second bucket. Then Wednesday night, Illinois beat the only team to tarnish Gonzaga’s record, taking down No. 5 Michigan.
As for resuming the rivalry we all want to see, the Wildcats will come to Spokane next year for the back half of this home-and-home series.
Miller and Mark Few already have had discussions about more meetings down the road.
Great news for basketball junkies here in the West.
ONE THING we do know is that Gonzaga hasn’t had an Arizona-style hiccup.
No investigations, no suspensions, no questions at all about a program that also leads the nation in academic All Americans — and has rolled up an average of 30 wins per season.
The Zags are the only team that has advanced to five straight Sweet 16s, and you have to like their chances this year — what with the NCAA putting on a first-weekend carnival in Spokane.
Miller was quick to agree about the Zags, and he didn’t seem to be blowing smoke about the Cats’ next opponent.
“For them, it’s never one player, it’s always a team, and the best team is going to win,” Miller said.
“Gonzaga does not beat themselves. We’ve played them six times since I’ve been here, (and) in every game their style is virtually the same.
“The faces change, but they have a way of playing that they believe in. They have a great coach — and the other thing about them is they’re battle tested.
“Guys on their team, they’ve played in the (NCAA) tournament, they’ve played against the best, they’ve played on away courts.
“You’re not going to spook them. They’re going to do what they do.”
Quite a compliment.
But can the Zags “do what they do” at McKale this weekend?
It’s one of the toughest tasks in college basketball.
Win or lose, though, it’s terrific that this rivalry is back in the headlines...
And for the right reasons.
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Email: scameron@cdapress.com
Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Steve also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball each Tuesday.