Cougars stalk 2-0 conference start against California

Substance over style is an unwritten mantra of sorts for Washington State University under the direction of Dick Bennett, and as such Friday’s Pacific-10 Conference-opening win over Stanford couldn’t have been much better.

“It wasn’t just that we didn’t lose,” the coach said of the 60-51 victory. “We won the game, and that’s always a nice thing. Most of our wins in the past year up to this point have been, we just didn’t lose it. This one, you could say we went out and won it.”

Now, the Cougars (6-4, 1-0) get a shot to finish off what would be their most substantive weekend of the season, and possibly in years, with another quasi-home game at the Arena at 2 p.m. today against California (7-4, 0-1).

WSU hasn’t been 2-0 in Pac-10 play in 10 years, but Bennett said he’s not yet concerned with the significance of individual games – he’s still in so-called survival mode.

“They’re long and athletic and they play hard,” Bennett said of Cal. “It’s a little early to start thinking about or talking about what certain things mean. You get into the second half of the season, and that’s when you start saying, ‘Boy, this is big.’ “

If the Cougars are to outlast the Bears, a team that lost 81-67 at Washington on Friday, they will probably need another strong rebounding effort. Against the Cardinal, WSU held a large rebounding edge in the first half and held onto that advantage in the second, when Cougars shooting took over to complete what Bennett called his team’s best game.

Cal comes to Spokane depending on rebounding in a similar way: Neither team has lost this season when pulling down more missed shots. (The Bears are 6-0; the Cougars are 4-0 and 13-0 under Bennett.)

Things have been more difficult this year for Cal on the glass, as last year’s top Pac-10 rebounder, Leon Powe, is out for the year with a knee injury. The Bears have been hobbled by a number of injuries, and will dress only eight scholarship players today. Add that to the fact that the Cougars beat Cal twice last season, and WSU’s optimism is understandable.

But, as Bennett has suggested many times this season, his team’s room for error is frighteningly small. One of his expected starters, senior forward Shami Gill, could be forced out of the lineup because of continuing back trouble that sidelined him for much of Saturday’s practice.

If Gill can’t go, then freshman Robbie Cowgill would make his fourth career start.

“Stanford has always been known to rebound the ball well because of their size,” WSU forward Chris Schlatter said. “Shami, myself, Robbie – we did a nice job of boxing guys out and then the guards came in and got the rebounds. That definitely helps.”