UW Hopes Slumbering Giant Awakes Macculloch Mired In Slump

Todd MacCulloch can explain many things - sometimes the subject matter involves a puck - so he hopes by today’s end he will be able to clarify how he broke free from the throes of a three-game slump.

MacCulloch’s numbers the past three games have been spookier than a Stephen King novel: 15 points, 15 fouls and seven rebounds in 43 minutes - total! And the University of Washington (13-7 overall, 6-5 Pacific-10 Conference), which plays host to Washington State University tonight at 7:30 in Hec Edmundson Pavilion, has a 1-2 record during that stretch.

“I’ve allowed myself to get into foul trouble,” said MacCulloch, a 7-foot sophomore center who’s averaging 13.6 points and 6.9 rebounds this season. “That hasn’t allowed me to get going. I couldn’t get any kind of rhythm going and both my rebounding and scoring have (been) hurt.”

Of course, MacCulloch hasn’t been playing against stiffs on the interior the past three games, either.

Oregon’s Kyle Milling and Rob Ramaker have been known to throw an elbow or two, while Oregon State’s Terrill Woods and Todd Marshall have been focal points recently in the Beavers’ offense. And Cincinnati’s entire team looks as if its been dipped in a batch of steroids.

Still, MacCulloch admits he needs to play smarter defense to avoid foul trouble.

“If I get a foul going over the back of someone, it should be my first or second foul,” said MacCulloch, who scored 20 points, including the game-winning basket in UW’s 74-72 victory over WSU in Pullman in January. “It’s just (a matter of) concentrating and being smart the whole game and not (getting) into foul trouble early, or not at all.”

MacCulloch has been one of the nation’s leaders in field-goal percentage, shooting 71.2 percent on the season. In the Pac-10, only UCLA’s Jelani McCoy (79.4 percent) is shooting better from the field. During his three-game slide, MacCulloch is shooting 50 percent (seven of 14).