Washington State Cougars
Pacific 10 (25-7, 13-5)
Seed: #3
East Region
RPI: 26
Big Wins:
12/30 at USC (58-55), 1/6 Arizona (77-73), 2/1 at Arizona (72-66)
Bad Losses:
12/2 at Utah (55-69), 1/13 at Stanford (68-71), 3/9 vs USC (61-70)
Last NCAA
Appearance: 1994, First Round loss to Boston College
Coach:
Tony Bennett (First NCAA appearance)
Probable
Starters:
Kyle Weaver,
Junior, Guard, 11.5 ppg, 4.5 apg, 5.5 rpg
Derrick Low,
Junior, Guard, 13.6 ppg, 2.1 apg, 2.1 rpg
Daven Harmeling,
Sophomore, Forward, 9.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg
Ivory Clark,
Senior, Forward, 8.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.4 bpg
Robbie Cowgill,
Junior, Forward, 7.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg
Key
Roleplayers:
Mac Hopson,
Sophomore, Guard, 4.4 ppg, 2.0 apg
Taylor
Rochestie, Sophomore, Guard, 4.4 ppg, 1.8 apg
Aron Baynes,
Sophomore, Center, 4.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg
Why They Can
Surprise:
You can never
argue against the system. Coach Tony Bennett has taken over the reigns at
Washington State from his father Dick Bennett and immediately put his stamp
on the program. Sure they only score 66.5 points per game, but that is about
ten more than last year. And the defense has not slipped at all.
The tremendous
ball control and the meager 10.3 turnovers per game can be credited to the
backcourt of Kyle Weaver and Derrick Low. Weaver will do a bit of everything
and leads the team in assists and rebounding and is the best defender
on the squad. With a little more consistency on the outside shooting, Weaver
would be a superstar, but he can still score by getting to the basket and
averages 11.5 points per game. Low is the outside shooter and will take all
the big shots for WSU.
Why They Can
Disappoint:
Offensive
rebounds are as rare in Pullman as sunny days in December. Seldom will WSU
outrebound anybody. The Cougars do not even attempt to get many offensive
rebounds, since it is more important for them to get back on defense. Even
giving up an offensive board is not that big of a deal as long as it does
not lead to an easy bucket. The opposition still has to try and break down
the defense and WSU has no problem playing tough D for 70 seconds.
Who To
Watch:
Daven Harmeling,
Ivory Clark and Robbie Cowgill are not the most intimidating frontcourt in
the Pac-10, but they excel in the Cougars style of play. Cowgill has some
smooth moves under the basket and, like most Cougars, can step outside and
hit the mid-range jumper or find an open teammate. The overall depth for
Washington State is not great, but Aron Baynes provides a big body, and the
occasional big game, off the bench.
Joel’s
Bracket Says: Second Round loss to Vanderbilt
