WSU travels to Santa Clara, plus links

Washington State will face its second consecutive West Coast Conference team this evening.

The Cougars have traveled to Santa Clara to face a team with the same name. Santa Clara should provide a good road test for WSU – KenPom only grants the Cougars a 26 percent chance of victory – and if the Cougars can pull come away with a win there’s a good chance they won’t lose again before starting Pac-12 play.

The game will not be televised but Bud Nameck is on the call and we can all travel back to a simpler time for a few hours as we huddle around our radios and listen to the game. If you’re using a computer here is a link to the broadcast.

We’ve got more on tonight’s matchup, and some links, after the jump.

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The Broncos – picked to finish seventh in the WCC preseason media poll – have a pair of guards that can cause trouble. Sophomore Jared Brownridge was the WCC Newcomer of the Year a season ago after averaging 17.2 points as a freshman. He’s a great 3-point shooter – he’s currently hitting 46 percent on shots beyond the arc – so whoever draws that defensive assignment better get his hands up on closeouts.

He scored 38 points once last season and had back-to-back 30 point games.

His scoring numbers (14.3 points per game) are actually down by about one outside swish per game because backcourt mate Brandon Clark has dominated the ball. When Clark is on the floor, 31.8 percent of Broncos possessions end with him making a shot, missing a shot that the defense rebounds or with Clark turning the ball over.

Since that figure probably doesn’t mean much without context, only 34 players end a higher percentage of their teams’ possessions.

Clark isn’t a total ball-hog, he’s had six assists in both of SCU’s last two games and had nine against San Diego Christian earlier this season.

Steve Nash’s former school relies heavily on outside shooting and will likely dare the Cougars to do the same. While SCU is one of the few teams WSU will have a height advantage over, and should be able to rebound well in this game, but the Broncos have a very solid interior defense.

It may sound like Bennett ball is back at times because SCU has one of the slowest tempos of any team in the country.

If the Cougars win, it likely means that SCU missed its 3-pointers and the long rebounds led to transition baskets for the Cougars, who were able to speed the Broncos out of their comfort zone.

If SCU wins then WSU probably had a poor shooting night from the outside and wasn’t able to do anything against SCU’s packed-in defense.

Here are some links:

— Washington State’s baseball team traveled to the Dominican Republic and we’ve got a story about the trip.

— Over at CougCenter they’ve got an interactive graphic that portrays what FBS programs are spending on assistant coaches .

— The Daily Evergreen has a preview of WSU’s game against the Broncos.

— Arizona is wary that a struggling Michigan team still has some bite .

— Following in Marcus Mariota’s cleat-prints isn’t going to be easy .

— How did Oregon State land Gary Andersen? By giving him a bunch of money .

— Could Kyle Whittingham leave Utah to coach a Michigan team he just beat?