Stanford hex has vexed Cougars

Washington State redshirt junior Abe Lodwick can remember celebrating on every Pac-10 basketball court except one: Stanford’s.

That’s simple. The Cougars haven’t won in Maples Pavilion since March 5, 2005, when Dick Bennett was their coach and the Lopez brothers were still in high school.

“I was talking to Klay (Thompson) about it the other day,” Lodwick said. “We’ve never won down there, which is a little bit of motivation.”

The Cougars get another shot Saturday, but it might be tough to match last year’s chance. WSU led by 18 in the second half but lost 60-58 on Jeremy Green’s jumper with 4.6 seconds left.

“Last year we had the game put away, but then we just gave it up,” Lodwick said. “I don’t know what it is. Every team is different. I don’t have an explanation for it, but we need to get it done this week.”

Since winning by nine in 2005, the Cougars have lost in overtime once. But other than last year, Stanford has handled WSU at home with relative ease. Yet, in Pullman, WSU has won three times and lost two two-point games.

“They were really good,” Lodwick said. “The last couple years they’ve lost a lot of talent, but they’re really well-coached and have a system they run well.”

Ex-Zag Hyland enrolls at Vermont

Former Gonzaga freshman guard Keegan Hyland has decided to continue his career at Vermont.

Hyland left Gonzaga over the holiday break. Injuries had limited his practice time and the 6-foot-4 Portland, Maine, native sought a school closer to home.

“It was a combination of things,” Hyland told the Burlington (Vt.) Free Press. “The distance was more of a factor than I originally thought. I knew I wanted to be closer to home and I wanted to play next year.”

Hyland originally committed to Vermont but changed his mind and settled on Gonzaga. Hyland is expected to be eligible to play for the Catamounts next December.