Gonzaga 87, Portland 75
By Malika Andrews |
Do the number of wins make up a rivalry? Is it the abilities of the players? Or is it simply that if two teams are from the same city, they are rivals?
As I sat in the front row of the half-full student section Jan. 3 at the men’s basketball game against Gonzaga, wondering whether or not the Pilots had it in them to beat the No. 6 Bulldogs at home for a second year in a row, I couldn't help but notice the sea of red Gonzaga fans outnumbered the purple Pilot fans.
As Gonzaga fans’ cheers overwhelmed the Pilots’ cheers, I wondered if the Pilots truly had a home court advantage, or if the Chiles Center had just turned into an extension of Spokane’s Kennel.
The Bulldogs came in with the drive to avenge last year's 82-73 loss and ran the game. From the moment they won the tip off, the first half was all Gonzaga.
The Pilots struggled to find momentum. They committed several careless turnovers and could not seem to sink a shot. In the first half, the Pilots shot 39.3% from the field. Gonzaga shot 55.6%.
Gonzaga used its impressive size to muscle its way into the paint. They were also able to create space and take outside shots that put them up 43-28 at halftime.
The second half began the same way the first half ended. Big man (7’1, 304 lb) junior Przemek Karnowski hit his first three of his career, which gave Gonzaga their biggest lead of the night, 65-44.
Sophomore Alec Wintering led the Pilots on a 15-1 run. What was once a 21-point deficit, Portland managed to whittle down to six.
This run sent a shot of electricity through the crowd and brought the student section back to life. Soon after, the Pilots were within five points.
After a few plays, chants of “Let’s Go Zags,” and a monster dunk by Karnowski with a foul that turned into a 3-point play, Gonzaga gained the momentum they needed to pull off a 87-75 victory.
The game results prompted me to ask the question that Comcast SportsNet Northwest reporter and Gonzaga alum, Jamie Hudson, posed in a pre-game article: Is this match-up truly a rivalry?
Even as a proud Pilot fan, I have my reservations.
While it is exciting when our neighboring school comes to town, Gonzaga simply has a better developed basketball team.
Although the Pilots had a strong freshman recruiting class this year, the quality of Gonzaga’s players is unparalleled in the WCC.
The level of competition is simply not the same. The Pilots are not able to recruit at the level that the Bulldogs do, and as a result, they cannot compete. For example, this year the Zags acquired 2013 SEC Sixth Man of the Year, Kyle Wiltjer, a redshirt junior transfer from Kentucky. In addition, Former USC leading scorer and rebounder senior Byron Wesley chose to play his final season in Spokane.
However, as far as the feel at UP, fans are never more excited than when Gonzaga comes to town. It was poor timing as many UP students were on break couldn’t be at the game. But Pilots across the country tuned in to ESPN2 to cheer the team on.
It will take program adjustments and a few more wins before UP could consistently compete against Gonzaga, but the players and students have a new level of energy when the Bulldogs are in the Chiles Center.
Yet while I enjoy jumping up and down with my peers and waving purple and silver pom-poms in the air, I will hold off on calling this a rivalry. Location alone is not enough to make a rivalry, nor is beating a top ten team every few years.
While there is always emphasis on the game against Gonzaga, a rivalry should be more of a dog fight. A rivalry should be a game where there is passion from both sides that result in discussions, like who is the best point guard in the league, Steph Curry or Damian Lillard? Until Portland can recruit stars that can outshine some of Gonzaga’s, these games will be nothing more than a team hoping for an improbable win.
Malika Andrews is the sports editor for The Beacon. She can be reached at andrewsm17@up.edu or on Twitter @malika_andrews
