WSU’s win over Long Beach, morning after
COUGARS
That other tournament has started. You know, that NCAA-thingee. The one with the bracket and the million-dollar pools. That one. But, of course, it takes a back seat to the elder statesman of college basketball’s postseason tournaments, the NIT. The one Washington State is in and has moved on to the second round. We have more on the Cougars win and the rest of the Pac-10’s postseason, so read on.
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• Washington State: One of the coaches said last night something to the effect no one grows up hoping to go to the NIT. What? … OK, that’s enough of playing dumb. Sure, no one does. But they all grow up dreaming of playing college basketball, of playing in front of large crowds with a school’s name across the front of the jersey. And that’s what the NIT allows kids to do. Keep playing. If they can get over their disappointment of not making the NCAA. … Last night WSU was able to do that better – and quicker – than Long Beach State and the Cougars rode that early momentum to an 85-74 win. … Speaking about dreaming of the NCAA and playing college basketball, one fan started chanting “one more year” to Klay Thompson last night, but did it at a pretty inappropriate time – while Thompson was shooting free throws. After the game – appropriate – more fans joined in. I’ll tell you what, it’s that dream of playing in the NCAA tournament that would be the one thing that could bring Thompson back to Pullman next year. It’s something he’s always wanted to do, that no one in his family, including dad, never did, and something he’s wanted to experience since coming to WSU. If the Cougars can add another big man to help inside, it’s quite possible improved postseason chances next year might, added with the NBA contract uncertainty, tip the scales toward the staying side. Of course, only one person knows for sure. Thompson. … Back to last night. We had our story available. As for Monday’s second-round game, the best I can tell it is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2, but the tip isn’t expected until 8:45. Do you know WSU has never lost an NIT game at home? Yep, the Cougars are 4-0. … There was also this today from CougCenter. … If you want to listen to Ken Bone’s post-game comments, along with some of those from Thompson and Marcus Capers, the videos are below, courtesy of the WSU athletic video department.
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• Around the Pac-10: It was a depleted California team that took on Mississippi last night in the NIT’s first round. No Markhuri Sanders-Frison, out with a dislocated shoulder. And Harper Kamp was sick. Still, the Bears were able to hold on , 77-74 and move on to a second-round matchup at Colorado. No word on Sanders-Frison’s availability. … Oregon moved to the second round of the CBI with a 68-59 home-court win over Weber State. The Ducks will host Duquesne on Monday night. … Lots of people thought USC shouldn’t have been in the NCAA tournament (including a few in Pullman). The Trojans didn’t seem to believe it either, playing horrendous offense in the second half and losing 59-46 to VCU in the qualifying game. … As for those who haven’t played yet, Arizona is confident , UCLA needs to grow up quickly, and Washington? Well the Huskies seemed to have weathered their midseason slump, turning to a couple freshmen to give Isaiah Thomas some help .
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• That’s all for this morning. The Cougars will have an easy day today, then get back at it hard tomorrow in preparation for Oklahoma State. We’ll do the same. Until later …
* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "SportsLink." Read all stories from this blog