Cougars look to continue fast start

All those who had Washington State at 11-1 heading into the Pac-10 men’s basketball season may now fill out their Mensa applications.

Surprising just about every outside observer known to man, the Cougars have completed their non-conference season with that sterling mark. Although their toughest games lie ahead of them – none more difficult than the league opener Thursday at No. 1 UCLA – there is no disputing that the Cougars will be entering Pac-10 play looking as good as they have in years.

WSU’s lone loss came on the road at Utah, but wins have included impressive efforts against Gonzaga at home and most recently against San Diego State in Seattle.

“It’s where we wanted to be,” junior guard Derrick Low said. “We wish we could have had that game at Utah, but you know, you win some, you lose some. We’ve just got to carry this positive momentum into Pac-10 season.”

The Pac-10 could end up being the nation’s best conference, based on its preseason success, so the hot start guarantees little for WSU. But to suggest a last-place finish as was predicted in the league’s preseason poll would sound silly, based on the resume this team is compiling.

In his first season as a collegiate head coach, Tony Bennett has the Cougars playing solid defense once again, but the team’s offense looks markedly better than it did last season, regardless of whether the coach has used bigger or smaller lineups.

More importantly, this squad appears to have matured significantly, now that its core players are in the program for a third season. Low, Kyle Weaver, Robbie Cowgill and Daven Harmeling are all playing big minutes after first arriving together in 2004, and their experience is showing on the court in clutch situations.

“Winning close games, I think that’s the biggest thing,” Harmeling said of the encouraging signs from the season so far. “The only way to explain what’s happened so far is the time we put in during the summer and the fall. I know that sounds kind of cliché, but this whole summer and fall we’ve just been so close as a unit. The chemistry is just unbelievable right now. I can’t even explain how tight we are as a team on and off the court. That’s huge, all the hard work we’re doing. That always pays off, and it’s starting to (now).”

The Cougars padded their record with a number of wins against far lesser opponents, but the bigger wins against better foes seem to suggest that this team might have an extra gear that its predecessors lacked. Take, for example, the San Diego State win, when a 10-point halftime deficit evaporated thanks to a 27-4 run to open the second half.

“We just had some more scrap,” Bennett said. “And we’re not close to good enough if we don’t play with our hair on fire or whatever.

“This team, there’s a bit more depth. And when one’s not going and the other’s stepping up, that’s good.”

Thanks to its success thus far, a 5-13 record in Pac-10 play would guarantee WSU a winning season for the first time since 1995-96. But that same success has given the Cougars a reason to think that something much greater than just an above-.500 record is there for the taking.

“I think it’s clear that we’re better but we won’t find out how much better until the Pac-10 starts,” Harmeling said. “We have to go on the road. The one road test we had, at Utah, we failed miserably. I think when we get on the road and play some real tough teams in a tough environment (we’ll find out).”