Tillie hobbling: We've seen that movie

There’s a laugh in here somewhere.

Killian Tillie, though, is struggling to find it.

Ditto a whole lot of Zag fans, who now are caught somewhere between hopeful and terrified about Tillie’s forthcoming role — or lack of one — as No. 2 Gonzaga begins closing in on the postseason.

It’s become gospel, pretty much, that the Zags are a legitimate Final Four candidate with Tillie and his various skills available when needed.

Likewise, however, if Tillie can’t go — or is severely limited in a repeat of last year’s NCAA run — it would be tough to see Gonzaga in the national championship picture.

When Tillie crashed to the floor last Thursday night at Santa Clara, it was the third time he’s sprained his left ankle this season.

I’m not sure if the French know this custom (or the movie it inspired), but Tillie’s most recent injury to that same ankle occurred just before Groundhog Day.

Surely you’ve heard of the film, in which Bill Murray plays a TV reporter sent to cover the famous groundhog celebration in Pennsylvania.

The theme of the flick is that Murray keeps repeating the same day over and over — until he falls in love with producer Andie McDowell and everyone goes on to live in bliss.

But just in case you’re the rare bird who doesn’t know what the phrase “Groundhog Day” has now come to mean, it’s the idea of something repeating itself again and again and again.

Whether or not he’s heard about the fat little rodent made famous every February, Tillie absolutely can identify with the frustration of suffering this same ankle injury repeatedly.

SURVIVAL

So far, Tillie’s struggles (he started the season rehabbing from a “routine” knee operation) haven’t cost Gonzaga in the won-lost column.

Ironically, he scored 20 points in the Zags’ only loss, that hopeless 82-64 wipeout against Michigan in the title game of the Battle 4 Atlantis.

It was the health of Killian’s colleagues that cost Gonzaga that day, with Anton Watson, Ryan Woolridge and Admon Gilder all trying to recover from various ailments while playing a third game in three days — and still gasping from an overtime win over Oregon the night before.

Watson has since been lost for the season to shoulder surgery, which could be a bit more meaningful than you’d first guess.

Coach Mark Few has often referred to the 6-foot-10 but athletically gifted Tillie as his “problem solver” or “Swiss army knife,” because of the senior’s wide range of skills and game savvy.

Watson had not developed Tillie’s shooting touch yet, but at 6-8 with a long reach and similar ability to read what’s going on, the freshman from Gonzaga Prep was developing as a complement to Tillie — and ultimately his replacement as Few’s next Swiss army knife.

Now the coaching staff is staring at the possibility of taking a really good team (23-1, 9-0 in the WCC) into the postseason without either of these multi-purpose players.

Last week, the Zags found a way to get out alive once again — a trait that makes them proud but which they’d rather not keep testing — by shaking off Santa Clara 87-72 down the stretch, and then truly dodging a bullet with a thrilling 83-79 victory at San Francisco.

The Zags flat-out got handled by the USF guards on dribble penetration, which is unusual for this team, and you have to wonder how much Tillie’s ability to cut off lanes and deny open spaces had to do with that.

WHAT NEXT?

Yes, Gonzaga turned up the defense when it mattered most and got a heroic performance from Corey Kispert at crunch time to win at the Hilltop, but that’s not a formula the Zags want to repeat very often.

Groundhog Days with games like the ones on this past trip eventually will bite you.

That leads us directly to the looming schedule, and perhaps how Few may try to manage Tillie’s participation.

The Zags host softy Loyola Marymount (8-15, 2-7) on Thursday night, but after that…

Remember a couple of months ago, when we noted that the conference schedule was backloaded?

Well, after the Loyola Marymount affair, the Zags travel back to the Bay Area for a bout with old foe Saint Mary’s.

The Gaels are tied for second in the WCC at 6-3, having just lost an 81-79 heartbreaker to BYU in Provo, but they’re 19-5 overall and considered an NCAA tourney team by most bracket experts.

Saint Mary’s, like last year, is led by guard Jordan Ford and forward Malik Fitts, and they’re a rare conference team that has a mini-streak going against Gonzaga — having won the conference tournament final a year ago.

After that test, the Zags still face trips to Pepperdine (remember that 75-70 eye-opener in Spokane) and BYU (17-7, 6-3), which finally has NBA prospect Yoeli Childs back in the lineup after a finger injury.

The 6-9 Childs scored 19 points on 9-for-12 shooting in that win over Saint Mary’s, despite sitting more than half the game with foul trouble.

BYU is 11-1 at home, by the way.

And finally, the Zags get one last dose of Saint Mary’s at The Kennel on the final night of the regular season.

The bottom line here is that the Zags will be getting an early feel for what awaits them in the NCAA tournament, with two road games and a final home test coming against two teams who are also headed to The Dance.

Trying to wade though this coming gauntlet would be tough enough at full strength.

Doing it without Killian Tillie at critical moments might be too much to ask.

The groundhog has to get out of this picture…

Immediately.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball each Tuesday.

Steve’s various tales from several decades in sports — “Moments, Memories and Madness” — run on Sundays.