‘This weekend will say a lot about us’: Washington State heads to the Bay Area looking to continue its climb
Washington State’s basketball team is finding its rhythm and rising up the rankings. The Cougars, riding a three-game winning streak, seem to be settling in.
The extent of their improvement over the past month will become more clear after their Pac-12 series in the Bay Area.
“This weekend will say a lot about us moving forward, just how we come out and play,” WSU coach Kyle Smith said Tuesday. “If we come out and compete hard, then let the chips fall where they may. We’ll see if we can get one or two of these on the road. That’d be a big boost going into the last stretch of league (play).”
WSU, which has climbed back to a season-best No. 37 in the NCAA NET rankings, looks for payback when it visits Stanford (13-7, 6-4) for a 6 p.m. tip on Thursday at Maples Pavilion, where the Cougars (12-7, 5-3) haven’t won in seven tries, dating to early 2011.
The Cardinal handed the Cougars a 62-57 defeat Jan. 13 in Pullman to collect their 10th win in the series’ last 11 matchups.
WSU endured a 12-minute scoring drought in the second half and Stanford used a 23-0 surge to secure victory in an odd game that was delayed over an hour because of COVID-19 testing procedures.
“We turned it over, gave them baskets,” Smith said. “We’ve had a couple of second-half droughts (this year). Hopefully, we’re past that and we have a way to get a basket when we need it, or just some other ways to stop a run like that.
“Still scratching my head on that one.”
The Cougars haven’t lost since, though they did undergo a weeklong pause because of COVID-19 issues in their program. A few factors have contributed to WSU’s stretch of solid play, Smith said.
The team is benefiting from Michael Flowers’ leadership. The senior transfer from South Alabama, who is leading WSU in scoring (12.9 points per game) and assists (3.11), has “calmed us down.”
“He takes a lot of the ball-handling responsibility, plus he’s a threat to score and we’re taking on his personality a little bit,” Smith said. “He’s a pretty calm guy.”
Roles are becoming defined and more consistent scoring options are surfacing, making WSU less reliant on 3-point shooting.
Sophomore forward Andrej Jakimovski has been on fire recently. He logged a combined 45 points on 48% shooting over the last three games. Newcomer guard Tyrell Roberts is starting to feel it too while posts Mouhamed Gueye and Efe Abogidi are contributing steadily and efficiently.
“We’re just playing more comfortable together,” Smith said.
“We really played with seven guys the majority of the time,” Smith added of WSU’s last game, a 70-43 rout of Colorado on Sunday. “This time of the season, you get down to seven or eight guys who are really going to take the majority of your minutes because I think guys start to get a feel for what their expectations are within the team.”
The Cougars are one of the nation’s top defensive outfits. They rank 21st in Division I in efficiency rating and 18th in effective field-goal percentage allowed.
WSU guard TJ Bamba, who missed the CU game with a knee injury, has a chance to return to the court.
“He’s kinda day-to-day right now,” Smith said. “Just gauging it, I think he’ll be available. … I don’t know if he’ll be 100%.”
Center Dishon Jackson hasn’t appeared since suffering an eye injury in a Jan. 8 game at Utah. He won’t be ready this week.
“We’ll really appreciate Dishon when he gets back,” Smith said. “We’re a little thin inside.”
Stanford has won three of its past four, including a 64-61 victory over then-No. 15 USC. The Cal Golden Bears (9-13, 2-9) host WSU at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Cougars pulled away from Cal late, prevailing 65-57 on Jan. 15. The Bears, who entertain Washington on Thursday, have lost eight consecutive games, but they did give the Trojans a scare in a seven-point loss last weekend.
Standout Cal forward Andre Kelly is questionable to play this week after suffering an injury in the USC game.