WSU’s loss to UA, the morning after
COUGARS
Got settled into our Phoenix-area hotel around 1 a.m. and to sleep about an hour later. Of course, when the sun made an appearance before 7, it triggered some sort of masochistic response and we were awake. Not wide-awake, mind you, but enough where sleep was a dream. So here we are. I guarantee a few things can be found on the link. Stories covering last night's Pac-10 games, including Washington State's 79-70 loss to Arizona. Comments from the participants. And some sleep-deprived or induced tpos. Read on.
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• Washington State: What more can you say about the Cougars effort? It was there, but the efficiency wasn't. And, heck, Arizona is better (for more on that, see this piece from CougCenter). But better doesn't always win, or there would never be any of those little things called upsets. ... One sad thought for WSU fans. If Klay Thompson's two games against Arizona had been reversed, the Cougars still would have lost last night but they would have won going away in Pullman. And, as my pop used to say, if frogs had wings ... We have some links, including our blog post from last night and game story, along with the Associated Press gamer. ... From the Arizona Daily Star, there is this gamer from Bruce Pascoe, Patrick Finley's sidebar on Solomon Hill, and Greg Hansen's column. The Wildcats have a somewhat big game Saturday with Washington. ... We also have some comments from last night's participants we didn't use in the story ... "They keep coming out you," Ken Bone said of the Wildcats. "They have so many weapons you might stop 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 guys, but there are a few others sitting there that can play. That's why those teams are in the Top 20." ... "We didn't stop at anytime trying to give our best effort," he said. "And that will go a long ways." ... "Those plays hurt," Bone said of Faisal Aden's missed front end and DeAngelo Casto's jammed slam, "but you know they are trying to score. Unfortunately we just didn't get the ball in the basket." ... "That was a big shot," he said of Derrick Williams shot-clock beating 10-footer. "Our defense was very good a number of possessions, we just ran up against a very good team." ... "He started feeling confident and became a little more assertive to score," Bone said of Klay Thompson's 18-point second half. ... "Overall I'm pleased because I thought they played with a great amount of energy and effort," Bone said. ... "They ran some good stuff on offense," Thompson said of the Wildcats' starts to the first and second half. "It wasn't a lack of energy, we were playing hard, they just executed. I thought we did a good job coming back. It wasn't enough." ... "I felt like I had a height mismatch, so I tried to post up a lot," he said. "I missed a lot of easy shots in the key." ... "It just spreads the court out and it's hard to guard," Casto said of the high ball screen UA used almost exclusively to end possessions in the second half. "The run their offense to a T and they run it well." ... "Just make plays and keep them honest," Hill answered when asked what he tries to do. "Make them play me. They were helping down low, which opened us up outside." ... "You can tell he was trying to be more aggressive," Kyle Fogg said of Thompson. "He's so good you can't really stop him, you just slow him down." ... "We didn't have an easy solution for him," Miller said of Thompson. "He's got the gift of height. And he is best when he puts the ball on the court and drives to the basket." ... "Kyle made him work hard for those 30 points." ... "Solomon Hill asserted himself early in the second half." ... "It's outstanding he is so consistent and I think that's what separates him from a lot of other very good players," Miller said of Williams, with a not-so-veiled critique of the other contenders for Pac-10 player of the year.
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• Around the Pac-10: The status quo stayed in place last night, with the standings nearly unchanged (FYI, at the Pac-10 site at 6:30 this morning, they were completely unchanged, not updated with last night's results) after Thursday night's games. The Wildcats are still on top, UCLA is nipping on their heels, Washington still has a shot and, well, then it gets interesting. The .500 Cougars are still in fourth, with USC and Oregon tied for fifth, a half-game back of WSU, and Stanford and Cal a half-game behind those two. As the first six get a bye into the second-round of the Pac-10 tournament, it's imperative Washington State gets a split of the weekend by defeating last-place Arizona State on Saturday. ... The Sun Devils stretched their conference losing streak to 11 by playing the same way they had in the previous 10, pretty good but not good enough to defeat Washington. The Huskies, winners by a 79-62 score, are hurting a bit. ... The smallest player on the court led USC to a much-needed road win and sent California to its fourth-consecutive defeat, 78-75, in Berkeley. ... Once again UCLA built a big enough lead to hold off an overmatched foe, surviving a Jeremy Green onslaught in a 69-65 win at Stanford. ... It's not often a Sports Illustrated writer pens a personal blog post critical of a basketball program, but that happened to Oregon State this week, leading Craig Robinson to respond with a comment about vegetables. ... The Ducks are hurting a bit headed into their game with Oregon State on Saturday, though Garrett Sim is playing well. ... Someone asked via Twitter for an update on the television negotiations and guess what, we can link one from San Jose's Jon Wilner. Can you stomach Fox for a few more years? Could happen. ... Wilner was also at the mock selection committee meeting and filed this post.
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• That's all for this morning. It's back to bed for me, though I'm not sure sleep will come. Maybe a quick jog around the parking lot would help. But then I would worry that would just trigger the big sleep, and no one wants that (I hope). We'll be back today if we have anything to share. Until later ...
