Washington State, behind a 29-point performance from Klay Thompson, notched its first Pac-10 victory of the season over Oregon State 84-70.
The Cougs, 11-4, now look for revenge Saturday against Oregon (7:30 FSN). Last year on New Year's Eve, the Ducks sent the Cougs spinning into oblivion after a 91-89 double-overtime defeat. The Cougs, 10-2 before the Oregon game, lost ten of their final twelve games.
Oregon not only started Wazzu's tailspin, but ended it . The last two games of the 2010 season were defeats in Eugene, and then the opening round of the Pac-10 tournament, to Oregon.
The Ducks have won three straight against the Cougars. Fourth time's the charm?
Coach Ken Bone might not want to admit it, but if the Cougars intend to make a run at the NCAA tournament, they must win both games this weekend.
What a difference six days and three lackluster games can make. The Cougs, 10-4, seemed to have all the momentum in the world after advancing to the Diamond Head Classic final with a 77-71 victory over No. 15 Baylor. But the fatigue of six games in 14 days became apparent in the second halves of their three most-recent games against Butler, UCLA and USC. In all three games, the opponents made late scoring runs the Cougars could neither counter nor match.
Now, WSU finds itself desperate for wins against Oregon State and Oregon, needing at least a split this weekend to avoid a disastrous 0-4 conference start that would all but eliminate WSU from NCAA tournament consideration. Oregon State, 7-6, comes into tonight’s game with a surprising pair of opening weekend victories over Arizona State and Arizona.
Keys to trapping the Beavers in tonight's game include:
1. Getting Klay Thompson involved early – If his first few shots don't go down, he tends to struggle. Thompson’s most efficient games this season have been when he converts easy buckets around the rim to start the game.
2. Getting More Bench scoring – The Cougar bench has been quieter than the patrons of the Owen Science library.
The Cougars need to do a better job of incorporating sophomore forward Brock Motum into the offense. Motum is shooting 65-percent from the field and 50-percent beyond the arc this season but has had limited touches in each of the last three games for the Cougars (perhaps part of the reason they're struggling).
3. Regaining Their Swarming Defense – The fatigue of traveling has undoubtedly taken its toll. The Cougars’ zone defense, a key to their early season success, has not been efficient lately. They are failing to close out on shooters and are often a step slow in their rotations, allowing for lots of open looks.
Welcome back Wazzu Sports fans! It’s been a long time coming but after much consideration we’ve decided to get this thing going again. Since we’ve been gone a lot, and I do mean A LOT, has happened in the world of Cougar athletics.
The 2010 Cougar Football season came and went, and though the young Cougs struggled to a 2-10 record, Coug Nation saw the signs of progress that Paul Wulff and Co. have been talking about. Sure there was the embarrassment of fumbling the first handoff of the year (shaking head) as well as beating FCS juggernaut Montana State by one (banging head on desk), but the Cougs were competitive in almost every game, and even beat Oregon State!
There is hope for the future, Coug fans. As much as I’ve bashed Paul Wulff, I have to give credit where credit is due. He has this team believing the future is bright. The proof is how his players respond to him, week-in and week-out, with nothing to play for. For those reasons, and our relatively weak OOC schedule, I’m giddy like a school boy for September 3rd, 2011. The 2010-11 Men’s Basketball season started out with hard fought wins over Gonzaga, Mississippi State and Baylor. Three games later the Cougs came crashing back to Earth when they struggled against Butler, UCLA and USC. Perhaps the Cougs were tired after almost three weeks on the road... Or maybe teams have figured out what it takes to beat WSU... But fear not, Coug fans, for there’s absolutely no way this team will fall like it did last year (at least for my sanity, I sure as hell hope not).Perhaps the biggest story since we last posted (and come to think of it was the last story we actually posted) is the addition of Colorado and Utah to the Pac-10. Aside from a Pac-10 title for the Cougs, this is the best thing that could’ve happened over the course of the year. The influx of cash headed toward the conference will give the WSU athletic department the necessary funds to make potential recruits realize what we as Coug fans already know -- that Pullman is the greatest place on Earth.
With all that said, I’d like to welcome everyone back to the blog. We’re still in the process of getting the band back together, but once we do it should be good times ahead for everyone. Happy New Year, fellow Cougs, and as always, Go Cougs!!
There are six Pac-10 teams ranked in the top 30 and Washington State is not among them.
The Cougars, two weekends ago ranked 28th, fell from the national polls at the claws of No. 17 Arizona, which swept the Cougars last weekend in Pullman.
No. 22 Oregon State rolls into town today for a three-game series.
Mom's Weekend, more commonly associated with unscrupulous moms rampaging through Pullman, this year brought another surprise as Cougar baseball defeated the No. 1 team in the nation.
This is the first time in school history the Cougars have won a series against the Sun Devils.
Winning two of three games against ASU, WSU advanced to 3-3 in conference play and into a three-way tie for third place, hopefully not earning the players too much affection from visiting moms.
With one out to go for victory, Washington State dropped the ball, literally.
The Cougs dropped their Pac-10 opener last night to the University of Washington in Seattle on a freak two-out error to end the game.
The Cougars, who led 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, did everything they could to give this one away.
Needing just one out to end the game, WSU pitcher Adam Conley hit a Husky batter, advancing him to base.
The Huskies gained another base runner when catcher Jay Ponciano committed defensive interference, preventing the next batter from hitting a pitch.
Left fielder Brett Jacobs then dropped one of only three Husky hits the entire game, a fly ball, bringing the two Husky base runners home. UW won, 3-2.
