Stanford makes it look easy, 65-54

Washington State had no answer for Lawrence Hill. And, when Taylor Rochestie picked up his third foul with 17 minutes left and had to sit, the Cougars had little execution on offense. That combination, along with possibly the Cougars poorest defense effort of the season, proved too much for WSU in Thursday’s defeat. About the only offense the Cougars had for 30 minutes was supplied by Klay Thompson, who finished with 8 points. But that was more than offset by Hill’s 20, along with the 13 of reserve center Will Paul, most of those coming on pick and pops. Aron Baynes chipped in 16 points and pulled down his usual nine rebounds, but Rochestie struggled, with just seven points before fouling out with 1:13 left. And everyone struggled on the defensive end as Stanford shot 55 percent, including a season-best and hard-to-fathom 69 percent from beyond the arc. We’ll be back in about 90 minutes with our game story. Till then …