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If it's possible to look good in a loss, WSU men's hoops (8-6, 1-2) accomplished that feat last night falling to Colorado (10-3, 2-1) in Boulder by a final of 83-78. The game was close from beginning to end with neither team going long stretches without scoring. It came down to who was going to make shots down the stretch. The Buffs made the ones that really counted. Arguably the best player for Wazzu, Noah Williams, didn't make the trip. Michael Flowers has consistently put up double-digit numbers yet only managed seven on 2-10 shooting that included 1-9 from behind the arc. That can happen to any player, any time. It's up to teammates to pick up the slack. Efe Abogidi and TJ Bamba stepped up with above-average scoring tossing in 16 and 14 points respectively. In fact, it's a real head-scratcher why Abogidi didn't get the ball even more. Efe only took six shots and made every one of them while grabbing 10 rebounds to amass another double-double game. The offensive star for the Cougs was Tyrell Roberts who tallied 25-points. The stat that jumps off the page and doesn't bode well for this team going into conference play, WSU managed just 12-assists from the 28 buckets made. That's not team ball and won't get Wazzu much in the way of consistent scoring against Pac-12 teams.
Here are some notes from the loss:
• The game was the first for the Cougs since Dec. 22 against Boise State after missing last week’s contest
against UW due to Covid-19 Protocols
o Fell to 8-6 on the year, 1-2 in Pac-12 contests
o The loss was the third-straight for the Cougs against the Buffs falling to 6-17 all-time including 0-
11 in Boulder.
• WSU led at the break for the 13th time in 14 games on the year, falling to 8-5 in those games
o The one-point halftime lead was the smallest of the season for the Cougs
• WSU used its 7th starting lineup of the season (Flowers, Roberts, Bamba, Gueye, Jackson)
o The Cougs were without second-leading scorer and top perimeter defender Noah Williams due to
Covid-19 Protocols
• Tyrell Roberts led the Cougs in scoring with a career-high 25 points (the most scored in a Pac-12 contest
on the year) – 5th time leading the team in scoring
o Scored in double figures for the 7th time on the season and second straight game.
o Scored 20+ points for the 2nd time on the year
o Made a career-high 9 FG on a career-high 20 FGA
o 19 point second half, highest-scoring half of the season – team-best 7th double-digit scoring half of
the season
• Efe Abogidi ended his night with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
o First double-double of the season 6th of his career – first since posting 13 & 13 at Washington
(1/31/21)
o 16 points marked a career-high in Pac-12 play
o Double-digit rebounds for the first time on the season and 6th time in his career.
o 5th double-digit scoring game of the season – 3rd in the last four games.
o 13 point first half, second double-digit scoring half of the season
• TJ Bamba scored 14 points – tying a career-high in Pac-12 play
o Turned 21 today – returned to Colorado where he played high school basketball
o 6th double-digit scoring game of the season, first since netting 11 against New Mexico St.
(12/15/21) – 10th double-digit game of his career.
Has scored double figures in both games in Boulder in his career
• Mouhamed Gueye posted a career-high 3 blocks in 18 min. of action.
• Colorado’s 19 made FT and 27 attempted FT were season-highs against the Cougs
https://wsucougars.com/news/2022/1/6/mens-basketball-colorado-edges-out-washington-st-in-return-to-action.aspx -
Jamey Vinnick put together a really nice back-story piece on Brock Dieu. You can check it out here:
https://247sports.com/college/washington-state/Article/WSU-football-freshman-Brock-Dieu-baptized-by-fire-suddenly-front-and-center-for-2022-179983792/
Go Cougs!!!
- It seems fitting to put together a list of coaches who branch off of the Mike Leach coaching tree. Perspective on his football genius can easily be determined by a cursory glance:
Dave Aranda/Baylor head coach – Graduate assistant coach under Leach from 2000-02 at Texas Tech
Neal Brown/West Virginia head coach – Played under Leach in 1998 when Leach was offensive coordinator at Kentucky
Sonny Cumbie/Louisiana Tech head coach – Played under Leach at Texas Tech from 2000-03 and later served as a graduate assistant coach under Leach
Sonny Dykes/TCU head coach – Coached wide receivers and later was the co-offensive coordinator at Texas Tech under Leach from 2000-06
Josh Heupel/Tennessee head coach – Played under Leach at Oklahoma in 1999 when Leach was the offensive coordinator for the Sooners
Dana Holgorsen/Houston head coach – Coached alongside Leach as assistants at Valdosta State from 1993-95, then served as a wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator under Leach from ...
- The news of former WSU Coach Mike Leach passing at the young age of 61 is very, very sad. I had the pleasure of writing about the Cougs when Leach was at the helm. To say that he was a unique person doesn't begin to describe the multi-faceted dimension of the man.
In terms of coaching football, Leach led his teams in a way that had most other coaches scratching their heads. His offensive creativity gave a multitude of defensive coordinators ulcers. To say that his techniques for molding student-athletes into football players were unusual would be accurate. Making guys run sprints in a sand pit named "Leach Beach" is a prime example. Crazy as that sounds, his players had fewer ankle injuries over the course of the season than any team in football. Only Mike Leach could get players to hit the beach. And if you look at the coaching tree that branches out from Leach, you'd find a myriad of men who owe him for their start in the profession.
When you examine the way Leach represented the schools ...
- Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, so Wazzu's loss yesterday to UNLV by a score of 74-70 was just that, a loss. However, there were plenty of reasons to applaud both the performance and the progress the Cougs are making over the past few games. Let's get the bad observation out of the way. WSU turned the ball over a ridiculous 22 times. No one is going to beat many teams with such wreckless play, especially against a team that posted a 9-0 record going into the contest. Some of those errors might be attributed to Coach Kyle Smith going with a different lineup almost every game because of player injuries. Facts are facts and when there isn't a steady lineup, players struggle to play team ball. On the bright side, Wazzu shot a respectable 54.2% from the field, coupled with a very nice 56.5% from behind the arc. On defense, WSU held UNLV to just 30.4% from behind the arc and 50.9% overall. The Cougs outrebounded the Rebels by a margin of 33-20. Despite being down by ...
