Cougs expect tough game vs Ducks
LOS ANGELES – There is a certain symmetry here.
After years of frustration, the Washington State Cougars finally scratched the itch caused by loss after loss to the University of Oregon. Losses marked by the irritation of knowing a play here, a call there, and the annoyance would end.
The 3-pointers, the travel, the call – all usually preceded by a few unprintable adjectives when brought up in conversation among the Cougars’ faithful.
Then came Jan. 20 in Pullman and Feb. 16 in Eugene – two WSU wins. The streak, which had reached 13, was over and buried, not to be unearthed until next year.
Except the Northwest rivals are matched again in the first round of the Pacific Life Pac-10 tournament tonight.
“I don’t want to say it’s fitting, but it almost is that we would play them again,” said Robbie Cowgill. “It always seems the game against them has all these back stories, all these memories and all this buildup to it.”
In the full circle that is basketball, it’s the Cougars’ chance to frustrate the Ducks. A WSU win might just put a stake through Oregon’s NCAA tournament hopes.
Therein lies the danger, at least to WSU coach Tony Bennett.
“They had their backs against the wall and they’ve won three in a row,” Bennett said. “I expect nothing but a high-level game from them, and hopefully from us.”
The Ducks’ hopes have been hanging by a thread for two weeks and they’ve responded, playing their best basketball of the season to finish conference 9-9 (18-12 overall) and expand their NCAA bubble a bit.
“I just know how well Oregon is playing,” Bennett said, before giving a quick summation of how to win. “The team that executes is going to come out on top.”
In the two games between them this year, that’s been the Cougars, especially in Oregon.
“I know how well we played against them down there to come away victorious,” Bennett said of the win in which WSU held Oregon to 23.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc, outrebounded UO by 11, forced 12 turnovers and generally frustrated the Ducks on offense.
But that was before Oregon got the message coach Ernie Kent has been trying to send his players all season: They weren’t going to the postseason unless their defense improved.
“I think we’re better defensively,” Kent said. “We’re doing some things differently as a group and it’s really paying off for us.”
It’s that improvement that worried Bennett, not the fact WSU has all but clinched an NCAA berth for the second consecutive season and might let down a little this week.
“I hope our guys realize this is one and done for tournament ball and that will prepare us for the NCAA tournament,” he said before adding he believes they do. “Whenever you have a chance to start fresh and win some kind of title, whether it’s a tournament championship or a league title, you want to be ready for it.”
The first step is to get past the Ducks, whose offense has been a test for WSU to contain in years past.
“Every time we play them it’s a challenge,” Kyle Weaver said. “We’ve struggled against Oregon in the past, but we’ve had some success this year, beat them twice. So hopefully, we can get them again.”
“The key for us against them is to make them shoot contested shots, but don’t let them dent your defense,” Bennett said. “They get a lot of their offense off ball screens and how spread out they are. But they also get a lot when they penetrate and beat you off the dribble and they draw you to them. Then they kick it out and those guys can all shoot it.”
Maarty Leunen is the one guy who has hurt WSU in both meeting this season, from inside and out. The 6-foot-9 senior scored 20 in both games, hitting a total of seven 3-pointers.
But other than Leunen, the Ducks’ offense struggled, especially point guard Tajuan Porter.
Still, Bennett compares Oregon to a pro team.
“They’re a hard team to guard, sort of like the Phoenix Suns,” he said. “They are the new wave and I don’t know if you won’t see more and more teams go to this.”