COUGARS

Washington State is playing like Syracuse, the good Syracuse teams. The Cougars are sticking with their 2-3 matchup zone, allowing 15th-ranked Baylor to fire away from the perimeter. And so far that philosophy is working well as the Bears are 0-12 from beyond the arc. LaceDarius Dunn, who came in shooting 50 percent from 3, is 0-8 from there today. ... The key stat, we thought before the game began, was the rebound numbers. The Bears have 10 offensive rebounds for 15 points (more than half their total). But the overall number is 20-15, which isn't all that bad for WSU. ... The key stretch of the half came after A.J. Walton made two free throws with 8 minutes, 57 seconds left. In the Bears next six possessions, they missed four shots and turned the ball over twice. The result was an 11-0 run for WSU, giving the Cougars a 35-19 lead. When Baylor then put together a 7-0 run, WSU answered with four DeAngelo Casto points to end the half. ... The Cougars are shooting 53 percent from the floor and have hit five of their eight 3-pointers. Baylor is shooting 28 percent. More after the game and on Twitter.

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