SportsLink

WSU will travel to St. Mary’s in NIT

Posted by Vince Grippi

March 15, 2009 6:15 p.m. • 19 comments

COUGARS • UPDATED: 6:30 P.M.

Washington State got its wish. The Cougars will take their 17-15 record into the NIT, facing St. Mary’s Tuesday night in Moraga, Calif., at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2. For more on the Gaels, read on. We’ll have more after we talk with WSU coach Tony Bennett this evening.

••••••••••

• The Gaels finished the regular season 26-6 overall and 10-4 in the West Coast Conference, where they finished second to Gonzaga. The Bulldogs were also the only team to defeat St. Mary’s at home, winning 72-70, though the Gaels were without point guard Patty Mills.

St. Mary’s lost four games without Mills, who broke his wrist in the first half of the Gaels’ 69-62 loss at GU. Mills, who leads St. Mary’s with a 17.8 scoring average, returned for the WCC Tournament, but was ineffective. He was 2 of 16 from the floor – 0 of 7 from beyond the arc – in the 83-58 tournament title game loss to Gonzaga.

The Gaels used a loophole in the NCAA scheduling rules and added an extra game with Eastern Washington last Friday, but their 85-65 win must not have impressed the NCAA selection committee. Mills, who played on Australia’s 2008 Olympic team, was 6 of 14 against the Eagles, for 19 points.

But St. Mary’s isn’t a one-man team. Forward Diamon Simpson, twice the WCC’s defensive player of the year, averaged 13.8 points and 10.5 rebounds, despite being just 6-foot-7. Center Omar Samhan is a presence in the middle, with the 6-11, 265-pound junior averaging 14.2 points and 9.4 rebounds.

Besides Gonzaga – the Gaels lost three times to the Bulldogs, WSU lost at home 74-52 – the teams have one other common opponent: Oregon. The Cougars defeated UO three times, including 62-40 last Wednesday in the Pac-10 Tournament. St. Mary’s went to Eugene in mid-December and edged the Ducks, 78-73.

The winner of the WSU/St. Mary’s game will face the winner of South Carolina/Davidson in the second round.

19 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

kaddy on March 15 at 6:45 p.m.
Tough matchup, but we can and should beat this team.
MikeSequim on March 15 at 6:53 p.m.
No one in the WCC plays the style the Coug’s do. It should be very interesting. The Simpson Casto match-up will be good as well as Samhan and Aron. I like Klay in the match-up the best. If Patty Mills plays well it could be a problem.

Go Coug’s

Mike, Sequim
garlandcoug on March 15 at 6:57 p.m.
If you watched the first half of St Mary’s and Gonzaga you know what they are capable of. Should be tough close game
coug79 on March 15 at 7:07 p.m.
A tough draw, but glad we get to see the Cougs play again.
junurz on March 15 at 7:26 p.m.
Happy, Happy, Congratulation on the postseason …
Contrasting styles of play and am happy to witness another game involving the Cougs. Mike,Sequim 7:30, Tuesday at the Seven Cedars, we can share tall story/refreshments or two. Vince as always your are welcome.
OlyCoug on March 15 at 7:38 p.m.
Let’s think “Notre Dame” on this one.

A fired up Cougs defense putting the clamps on the Gaels’ big scorers. Keep the scores in the 50’s and St. Mary’s won’t know what hit them.

Now, if we come out like the last game with UCLA…flat, lifeless, shooting bricks…game over. I can’t see TB letting that happen again, however.

GO COUGS! It’ll be great to see at least one more game from Taylor and Co.
TommyCoug on March 15 at 8:42 p.m.
Watch out…St. Mary’s plays fast and tough…and are, no doubt, upset at not making the NCAA. No time to over prepare…travel tomorrow and game on Tuesday. Puts Cougs in a tight spot…I hope the guys can rally and Tony B. gives them the best prescription for a win!

GO COUGS!!
coreyb on March 15 at 9:13 p.m.
time to call Mark Few and get some pointers. Should be a fun game.
Leo_Z on March 15 at 9:38 p.m.
I just randomly happen to be in San Francisco the next four days. How do I go about getting tickets for this thing? We need all the support down there we can get!
Leo_Z on March 15 at 9:43 p.m.
Oh, I see. I need to check wsucougars.com at 9am. Now after wondering what the odds of the Cougs’ postseason are, I wonder what the odds of me watching a game that’s just across the bay on TV are!