To knock off Santa Clara for Quad 1 win, WSU will need to limit the Broncos’ explosive scorers

PULLMAN — As Washington State embarks on a stretch that could make or break its season, a span of four Quad 1 games in five contests over the next two weeks, the Cougars might notice something about the first opponent.

Santa Clara, which will host WSU for an 8 p.m. tip-off on Thursday night, has a couple puzzling results on its ledger recently. The Broncos (13-7, 5-2) are coming off an upset road win over Gonzaga, dropping 103 points on the suddenly skidding Zags, tallying a dizzying 18 triples and showing off their array of scorers.

Before that? Santa Clara dropped a road matchup to middling LMU, managing just 54 points for the game, taking what could end up becoming a costly Quad 3 loss.

If there’s one way to make sense of those two outings, it’s this: To beat Gonzaga, Santa Clara drained 18 of 38 beyond the arc, a sizzling 47%. In their loss to LMU, they hit just 4 of 26, which translates to 15%.

If that seems a little reductive — of course it helps to hit shots to win games — it shouldn’t. WSU, which is third in the conference in 3-point defense, would do well to pay attention to the kinds of shots the Broncos found.

Guard Tyeree Bryan, who canned seven triples for 35 points, often did his damage on catch-and-shoot 3s. That’s the kind of look he used to hit a dagger against Gonzaga, and it’s the kind of shot he hit earlier in the half to secure a seven-point lead. On the first shot, GU guard Nolan Hickman gets a pretty good contest, but it doesn’t bother the 6-foot-5 Bryan, who is able to see over the defense.

Depending on if WSU guard Isaiah Watts can return from his hand injury — coach David Riley said “there might be” a chance he does against Santa Clara or Saint Mary’s on Saturday — the Cougs might put guard Tomas Thrastarson on Bryan. Thrastarson might be a freshman, but with a 6-6 frame, he’s held up well against bigger opponents in past games.

The Cougs will also need to stick to Bronco wing Adama-Alpha Bal, who posted all 20 of his points in the second half to topple Gonzaga, including four treys. He presents the same kinds of matchup problems that Bryan does: Bal is a rangy 6-foot-7, giving him the length to shoot over contests and the size to finish over taller defenders.

For WSU, the likely solution against Bal might be sophomore wing LeJuan Watts, who has guarded many of the opponents’ best players this season. Watts doesn’t have Bal’s size, standing 6-6, but he does have the physicality to make life tough on him.

Here’s a sampling of Bal’s scoring on Saturday against the Bulldogs.

Tall and lengthy as the Broncos are across the board, though, they haven’t been as effective on defense. For the season, Santa Clara is allowing opponents to shoot 57.2% on 2-pointers, which is No. 9 in the WCC. The Broncos wield the conference’s best 3-point defense, though, limiting opponents to 27% from deep.

They’re sure to close out hard on WSU’s best shooters, including big men Dane Erikstrup and Ethan Price, plus Thrastarson. The fix for the Cougs might be to attack those closeouts and get to the rim, where they’re shooting 57% on 2s.

WSU is leveraging its size well lately. In their blowout win over Portland last weekend, the Cougars converted 17 of 22 layups, making an effort to bury defenders around the basket, and they did well to finish when they got there. That followed an 8-for-12 effort on layups last weekend against San Diego.

“They definitely have good size down there,” WSU coach David Riley said of Santa Clara, which also features 7-footer Cristoph Tilly in the rotation, “but with us, I think the way we played most of that Portland game, for about eight minutes of the San Diego game — the beginning and end — we were getting multiple paint touches. Guys are playing inside out and playing unselfish. I think we can get good 2s and good 3s no matter what if we just play the right way and play through multiple paint touches.”

Either way, it’s a critical Quad 1 game for WSU. Entering Thursday’s game, Santa Clara finds itself just outside the bubble, with about a 20% chance to earn an at-large bid, according to Bart Torvik data. The Cougars have some work to do to get there, but perhaps more importantly, they can knock the Broncos further off the bubble and position themselves to earn a bid.

It’s partially a function of the path they’ve charted. Because of a costly Quad 4 loss to Pacific earlier this month, WSU needs to capitalize on the opportunities ahead. As of Wednesday — NET rankings change every day — the Cougs have six more Quad 1 games on their schedule. They can get off on the right foot by knocking off Santa Clara on Thursday.