Pepp goes on pause

[Zags11]

Im nervous. I believe tourny will be played regardless.

[TexasZagFan]

Im nervous. I believe tourny will be played regardless.

I agree, they're setting up the bubble in Indianapolis.

I'm nervous about the California schools.

[willandi]

My concern is that 7 schools in our conference are located in California, where the prospect of further shutdowns is real.

I agree and I am also concerned. Stating that the closures are an irrational response is a political opinion. It does nothing to help discuss the situation.

[MDABE80]

There's some biology mixed in too Will. Hard to know how much of either is in the mix. One thing I'm wondering is if Few and staff might look to games with higher end schools that are continuing to play and are being religiously tested like our team is.

[ZagsGoZags]

good point Abe,
if we play enough games ....
at all .....
its hard to believe we would not be admitted to the NCAA tournament which the great Basketball Powers seem determined to produce (and I am so glad they are). having our own wheels in the sky might help us reduce that part of the risk if we played in neutral sites.

[willandi]

There's some biology mixed in too Will. Hard to know how much of either is in the mix. One thing I'm wondering is if Few and staff might look to games with higher end schools that are continuing to play and are being religiously tested like our team is.

Yes, I understand some of it, from what I have read...but we just don't know so much yet.
I have read that O pos blood type seem to be less susceptible, and that, for some reason, Negros of any nation seem to be more susceptible, and most NCAA teams have African Americans.
The teams that not only test religiously but conscientiously maintain personal bubbles, that eliminate as many chance encounters as possible, are the ones that will keep playing. Few and Gonzaga will attempt to fill vacancies in the schedule with such teams, I am sure.
There is just so much still unknown and I am holding out hope for the vaccine, but just read that WA state seems to be behind in their distribution of the vaccine.
All we can do is hope, plan for that future and strive to achieve it.

[WallaWallaZag]

if the cali schools can still travel...why not just have them all play the away games first?

fluid situations require fluid thinking...

usf @ zags today (saturday) 1/2
scu @ zags next thursday 1/7

why not have usf stick around spokane and scu arrive early and the two can play each other on monday/tuesday in the kennel???
i'm sure gonzaga could find a way to accommodate and wouldn't really dent the budget for either school as they're going to be here anyways.

[Martin Centre Mad Man]

There's some biology mixed in too Will. Hard to know how much of either is in the mix. One thing I'm wondering is if Few and staff might look to games with higher end schools that are continuing to play and are being religiously tested like our team is.

I suspect that the Gonzaga athletic department is working on contingency plans to replace games that fall off the schedule. We would all love to see some of the better non conference opponents reappear on the schedule. At different points during the offseason, Tennessee, Baylor, Houston, Texas Tech, and Arizona were all either on the schedule or potential preseason tournament matchups. I would love to see the Zags play a game or two against those teams in January or February.

However, we should probably factor in the risk that extra travel poses for infection spread and exposure. If the Zags are looking for credible opponents with minimal travel, they might find a couple of opportunities that are closer to home. Boise State sits atop the Mountain West standings at 7-1. Washington State is undefeated at 8-0. Either opponent could be scheduled with a phone call and a quick bus ride. It is likely that one or both of those programs will have opportunities to schedule a game on short notice.

[WallaWallaZag]

not much upside to playing bsu/wsu...neither would be a cbs primetime game and zags aren't likely to be willing to play either away from home, so travel isn't even a consideration, except for the opponent. zags fly charter anyways, so is there really that much difference between a bus ride in terms of covid risk?

zona has already self-imposed a postseason ban, so playing the zags would be their superbowl...they might be willing to go out of their way to make it happen.

[kitzbuel]

not much upside to playing bsu/wsu...neither would be a cbs primetime game and zags aren't likely to be willing to play either away from home, so travel isn't even a consideration, except for the opponent. zags fly charter anyways, so is there really that much difference between a bus ride in terms of covid risk?

zona has already self-imposed a postseason ban, so playing the zags would be their superbowl...they might be willing to go out of their way to make it happen.

If the staff are looking to plan for quick, contingency games that can be turned on or off quickly, local teams make sense. Postponements are occurring just hours before scheduled games, so having a few of those local contingency games in their back pocket is good planning IMO.


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[Mr Vulture]

If the staff are looking to plan for quick, contingency games that can be turned on or off quickly, local teams make sense. Postponements are occurring just hours before scheduled games, so having a few of those local contingency games in their back pocket is good planning IMO.


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Agreed. If they need games, why not look at teams that could be available. This could be any of WSU, EWU, Idaho, and even Montana. I’d add in UW but they would be hard to do as they think they’re worthy of dictating terms


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[MDABE80]

We’ll do the best we can. The Im sure the staff is doing the best it can to keep this season going. If the rest of WWC drops out, we’ll find some good games to finish this magical season.