Notes: Huskies-Bulldogs matchup a pricey ticket

The Washington-Gonzaga game Sunday night at Edmundson Pavilion is shaping up as one of the hottest tickets in the history of Huskies basketball.

All 10,000 seats sold long ago, forcing fans interested in seeing the game in person to turn to the Internet.

On craigslist.com Tuesday, one fan offered to pay up to $150 each for two tickets to the game. At face value, tickets are $25 and $30. On eBay, an auction for two tickets was up to $206 by mid-afternoon.

The game itself is the main attraction, matching teams each ranked in the top 20 and holding two of the three longest home-court winning streaks in the country.

Adding to the value of the game is the fact that there's a chance it will be the last time Gonzaga plays Washington in Seattle for a while.

A four-year contract between the schools runs out after next season's meeting in Spokane, and Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar left open the possibility Tuesday that it won't be renewed.

"We've got to talk about it," Romar said. "We're leaning toward doing it but we're not going to do it without talking about it."

Romar didn't indicate any reason the Huskies wouldn't want to continue playing Gonzaga, only that it is something he and his coaching staff want to discuss before entering into a commitment.

There have yet to be any conversations between the schools about the future of the series, according to Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth.

"We would love to continue it," Roth said. "I can't imagine there's any reason why we wouldn't. It's been a good series for the state. ... Clearly, our intention is wanting to play the game and I'm assuming it's their intention, too."

While it seems like an obvious natural rivalry now, it has only been in the last 10 years the schools have played on an annual basis, coinciding with Gonzaga's rise as a basketball power.

They began an annual home-and-away series in 1998 under former Washington coach Bob Bender, whose staff developed a friendly relationship with Gonzaga's staff.

The schools agreed to a new four-year deal just after Romar took over as Washington's coach in 2002. That contract was apparently signed shortly before the schools became embroiled in a controversy over the recruiting of Clarkston High forward Josh Heytvelt, who ended up signing with Gonzaga. Recruiting violations involving Heytvelt helped land Washington on two years' probation. Gonzaga was one of several schools to turn in the Huskies.

If Washington continues the series, it could ask that games be played at the more neutral Spokane Arena rather than Gonzaga's on-campus home, The Kennel. The Huskies and Gonzaga played at the Spokane Arena in 1999, Washington's first game in Spokane since 1982. The last three meetings in Spokane have been on campus.

Most of the tickets for this year's game were sold as part of Washington's season-ticket package. The Huskies have sold 8,441, a few hundred more than a year ago. The remaining tickets were snatched up by season-ticket holders, who were given first dibs to purchase additional seats. Several hundred fans are on a waiting list should any tickets become available at the last minute.

Gonzaga fans are likely among those bidding for seats on the Internet. The school was given the usual visiting team allotment of 100 tickets.

Perry out indefinitely

Freshman guard Harvey Perry — who has yet to play in a regular-season game — has been diagnosed with a small stress fracture in his lower back, Romar said.

Perry will be required to rest for two weeks — he has already sat out for two weeks, making a total of a month without doing anything. He will then begin a rehab program that could take up to eight weeks.

Romar said that during that process it will be decided whether Perry will play this season. Perry said last week he would like to play this season if possible.

But Romar said nothing is being ruled out, including the possibility that Perry might redshirt.

"It's very difficult to say what's going to happen at this point," Romar said.

Romar said that based on the tests, it is thought that the four weeks of rest and the rehab program should be enough to recover from the injury and that surgery shouldn't be necessary.

Notes

• Gonzaga guard Erroll Knight had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday, a procedure the school described as "preventative maintenance" to flush out the knee following a surgery Nov. 8 to repair frayed cartilage. It is uncertain when Knight will be back, but Gonzaga coach Mark Few said in a statement that "we are encouraged it will be soon."

• Heytvelt also had surgery Tuesday to insert three screws into his ankle to repair a fracture suffered against Connecticut in the Maui Invitational last week. Few said, "We're still hopeful of having Josh return late in the season."

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Times staff reporter Bud Withers contributed to this article.