The Monday Morning Wash

It is tournament time, and Washington State, Gonzaga, Portland State, and Oregon will represent the Northwest in the Big Dance. The Huskies will be facing off against Valparaiso in something called the CBI.

The CBI is made up of all the teams rejected by the NCAA, and NIT. The .500 Huskies are a #1 seed in this tournament which means we could see a number of games at Hec Edmundson if they don't falter. This tournament doesn't really matter, but it is a nice chance for the team to get some extra work outside the conference and start preparing for next season. Brockman should be available which means the team should be able to win the thing if they stay focused.

Ken Bone has his PSU Vikings primed for their first tournament in a long time. They better enjoy the three hour brush with fame because Bone is likely headed to Oregon State to rebuild that program after the Vike's are eliminated against #1 seed Kansas in the opener.

Oregon slipped in unexpectedly, and that is good for the conference, and good for Ernie Kent who is trying to keep his job. A win or two by the Ducks would really help out his situation, but the Ducks have Mark Few envy. Oregon is a nine seed which isn't a bad place to be, they face off against Mississippi State.

Speaking of Mark Few his Zag's were upset in the championship game of the WCC tournament by Bill Grier and his Sand Diego Torreros. Look for Grier to take over at Gonzaga if Few heads off to Eugene. the Zag's of course are the darlings of the tournament, but they haven't exactly been themselves this year. they start off as a seven seed against Davidson which has one 22 in a row.

The Cougars are a four seed and they face ever dangerous Winthrop. Look for the Cougars to make it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Art Thiel can't resist knocking the CBI bound Dawgs this morning from his bully pulpit at the PI.

Gonzaga, Boise State, Portland State, Washington State. What's missing from this NCAA Tournament snapshot taken Sunday of Northwest college hoops? The biggest school and athletics program in the region. Maybe the University of Washington should move to a smaller conference.

He makes a good point, if they had learned how to shoot free throws they would have been in. I have to put this teams performance down as under achieving over the past two years. They were missing some parts, such as good guards, but they had enough to make the tournament if they were a fundamentally better team.