Just in case there was any lingering doubt as to who ruled college basketball in Washington, Gonzaga erased all doubt with an emphatic 74-52 beating of Washington State. And if a 22-point win doesn't seem impressive enough, realize that Gonzaga held just a slim 3-point lead at halftime.The win had to be cathartic to Bulldogs fans who long suffered against some pretty good teams from Washington State. Above all of that, Gonzaga proved that they could not only survive against slow-down teams, but actually thrive. And if anything, Gonzaga was getting busy on the defensive end and really forced the action, making the Cougars look pretty bad.
Josh Heytvelt and Jeremy Pargo were once again outstanding. I know I've said this before, but Heytvelt is playing up to his potential and before we anoint Tyler Hansbrough as the greatest player in college basketball, we should give the Gonzaga big man some consideration. I know, it's sacrilege to even mention.
And there was some stat floating out there today that Gonzaga is nearly undefeated when Pargo has more assists than points, but you can forgive him for having only 11 points and 10 assists.
What's really impressive is that Gonzaga is making a joke out of their tough preseason schedule. They have handled Oklahoma State, Maryland, Tennessee, Indiana and now Washington State with relative ease. The Bulldogs will play at Arizona on Sunday, which should be another indicator of how good this team is. But when you look at what they have done, you have to consider this one of Mark Few's best teams ... as we've long contended in this space.




