The season ends in the second weekend of March Madness.
The Washington State Cougars season came to an end in the round of 32, falling to the Iowa State Cyclones 67-56.
After entering the second half tied at 27, the Cougs struggled to find an offensive rhythm as the Cyclone defense suffocated them. The Cougs were held to just 2/11 from beyond the arc as the Cyclones were able to race out to a lead as much as 14.
WSU held their own early. The Cougar defense turned the tables on the Cyclones, not allowing them any room to let off a good shot as a pair of Isaac Jones free throws and a pair of Jaylen Wells buckets gave WSU the early 7-0 lead.
Curtis Jones finally broke the Cyclone field goal drought with a trey six minutes into the game, but Jones was quick to answer with an inside bucket to keep the Cougs ahead by two possessions. The game quickly became the rock fight many expected. Both teams had struggles scoring from the field due to the great defense on each side.
Eventually, the Cyclones were able to completely erase the deficit and take a lead of their own thanks to a pair of Keshon Gilbert free throws. Wells asserted his first half dominance with a bucket from beyond, and inside, the arc to push WSU’s lead back to four.
Wells’ 7/12 from the field and 16 first half points helped pace the Cougs, but they were only able to score nine points outside of him to keep the score knotted up at 27 all headed into the half.
The second half couldn’t start any worse for WSU. A 6-0 Cyclone run opened things up for a second half WSU couldn’t overcome. While WSU was able to get as close as a point, the Cyclones defense held down the WSU offense enough for the Cyclone offense to push their lead out to double digits.
As WSU tried to fight their way back into it, eight second-half turnovers plagued the Cougs. ISU took advantage of WSU’s sloppy turnovers for 11 points off turnovers.
The Cougar offense couldn’t recover from the 10-point deficit and the Cyclones were able to open a lead as much as 14 to all but eliminate WSU.
WSU’s offense hit just 11/25 from the field and 2/11 from beyond the arc in the second half while the Cyclones hit half of their shots from the field and from three.
Iowa State is a No. 2 seed — and a national championship contender — for a reason. Their defense suffocated the Cougs, not allowing for many opportunities to score, especially in the second half.
WSU now heads into an offseason of great unknown.