Washington State achieves historic victory, topples No. 5 Arizona in Tucson

Washington State pulled off one of its best wins in program history. That much is certain.

But considering WSU’s history against top-five opponents on the road – and Arizona’s winning tradition on its home court – an argument could be made that it was the Cougars’ most impressive regular-season victory of all time.

WSU achieved its first road win ever over an AP top-five team, toppling fifth-ranked Arizona 74-61 on Saturday at McKale Center in Tucson.

It marked the Cougars’ first win over a top-five opponent since they beat No. 4 UCLA in Pullman in 1983. WSU had lost 37 consecutive games against top-five teams before upsetting the Wildcats.

“I had no idea that it was the biggest win probably for our program in 30, 40 years, since (former coach George Raveling),” WSU coach Kyle Smith said. “Experience matters, and to do it on the road is even more special.”

The Cougars (7-10, 2-4 Pac-12) snapped Arizona’s 28-game winning streak at home. WSU secured its second win over the Wildcats (14-2, 3-2) in the past 18 matchups.

Arizona, which entered the game boasting the most productive offense in the nation, was held to season lows in points and field-goal percentage (31.7%).

“Tremendous,” Smith said of WSU’s defensive effort. “(Arizona’s) inside attack is so potent. We just tried to limit their catches (underneath) as best we could, and I think that helped. We blocked a lot of shots (five). You gotta make some plays to win and we made some big-time plays.”

WSU opened up a 10-point lead at halftime after guard Jabe Mullins hit back-to-back 3-pointers and guard TJ Bamba followed with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. The Cougars poured it on for the first 7 minutes of the second half, extending their lead to a game-high 18 points with 12:44 remaining after forward DJ Rodman hit two straight 3s.

The Wildcats surged late to trim the deficit to five points with about 5 minutes remaining, but the Cougars regrouped and outhustled Arizona the rest of the way. Bamba responded with consecutive driving baskets, then dished an assist to post Mouhamed Gueye for a corner 3 – which beat the shot-clock buzzer – and the Cougars extended their lead to 12 points with 1:54 left , enough to put the Wildcats away.

“We’ve been in that situation before, and we let one get away against UCLA,” Smith said, referring to WSU’s 67-66 home loss to the 11th-ranked Bruins on Dec. 30. The Cougars led for 38 minutes in that game but slipped down the stretch.

“TJ really stepped up,” Smith said. “I talked to him earlier in the game: ‘They are pressuring us. In that situation, someone is going to have to go by someone and make a play.’ And he made a really tough finish. … You gotta do that to win a game on the road. You’re going to have to make some 3s to win on the road. They are a really good offense, so you can never relax.”

The top 3-point-shooting team in the Pac-12, WSU finished 12 of 28 and limited Arizona to 4 of 25 from 3-point range.

The Wildcats had a significant size advantage, but WSU stayed aggressive on defense to the finish and largely prevented Arizona from exploiting the mismatch. The Wildcats outrebounded the Cougars 45-41.

WSU committed just nine turnovers, limiting the Wildcats’ run-and-gun attack.

“We didn’t turn it over. That helps,” Smith said. “When they get in transition, they just get so much momentum.”

The Cougars were 13-point underdogs against the Pac-12 favorites, but controlled the lead for over 32 minutes to bounce back from a loss to Arizona State on Thursday.

Gueye, a sophomore NBA prospect, looked the part against a formidable opponent. He had perhaps his finest game in a WSU uniform, scoring a season-high 24 points (10 of 22 from the floor) and adding 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the year.

“ ‘Mo’ was really motivated,” Smith said. “He didn’t feel like he played his best game at Arizona State and he answered the bell. … He kind of led the charge.”

Mullins contributed 13 points, shooting 3 of 4 on 3s. Guard Justin Powell added 12 points – all in the first half – and Rodman chipped in 11. Bamba totaled nine points, shooting 3 of 11 from the field, but “made all the winning plays” late, Smith noted, and played tight defense on standout Arizona point guard Kerr Kriisa .

Kriisa had 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting. All-conference forward Azuolas Tubelis scored 29 points (9 of 20 from the field) and pulled down 14 rebounds. Arizona center Oumar Ballo added 11 points, shooting 4 of 11 from the floor.

It’s been an up-and-down season for WSU, but the Cougars proved they can hang with – and beat – any team in the conference.

“Really proud of our guys,” Smith said. “We’ve had a really tough schedule.

“The first six league games have been tough, against high-ranked opponents, and none higher than Arizona. I’ve got a lot of respect for what they do, and our guys just came together, had a tremendous effort, played really hard and played until the final buzzer.”

The Cougars return home for a two-game stand against the Bay Area schools, beginning at 8 p.m. Wednesday against California.