David Riley’s squad continues to defy the odds and bolster their resume.
It’s been a little over a month since Washington State tipped off their 2024 basketball season against Portland State. In that game, WSU won 100-92, displaying a fast-paced offense led by newcomer Cedric Coward, who scored 23 points. Though it was just a 40-minute sample size, WSU looked to be a force offensively with Coward but may struggle on the defensive end. Fast forward to today; the Cougars have been without Coward for the past four games and may be for the forseeable future. Yet, they sit at 8-2 and have pulled off back-to-back possible quad-one victories against Nevada and Boise State. Their defense, which had its doubters, is now 53rd on KenPom’s metrics and 45th on BartTorvik.
This year’s WSU team, which was left depleted after a run to the big dance last year, is flat out good. And they’re not even fully healthy!
What David Riley has been able to do in year one without his star in Coward and role players Kase Wynott and Rihards Vavers is beyond impressive. It’s one of the best coaching jobs in the nation through the first third of the season.
On Saturday, WSU went into Boise, Idaho, for a “netural site” game at Idaho Central Arena against the Boise State Broncos. Though WSU led by as much as 24, the Broncos nearly pulled off a miracle comeback, outscoring WSU 45-30 in the second half and reducing the deficit down to as little as four in the final 20 seconds of play. The Cougars fended off the vigorous comeback effort from the Broncos to hang on for a 74-69 win.
For the second straight game, WSU used an early haymaker to take a double-digit lead into halftime, leaving the opposing team stunned. WSU jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, tacked on a pair of 6-0 runs and a vicious 9-0 run that gave them a staggering 19-point lead within the first 15 minutes of gametime. It wasn’t just one player pulling the way early on. Their starters each chipped in almost equally, with all scoring at least six and none scoring above 10 in the first half.
Entering this week, WSU knew their defense was going to face it’s biggest tests of the early season. While they looked improved in wins over Northern Colorado and Fresno State, neither of their offenses were on the same level as Nevada and Boise State. And in both, WSU’s defense didn’t just rise to the occasion but shattered all expectations. WSU held a BSU team that entered Saturday’s contest hitting at least 47% of their two-pointers in every game, to just 36.8% from inside the arc and an even worse 17.6% from beyond the three-point line. It’s the same formula WSU used to beat Nevada just five days earlier. Shoot just efficiently enough to get by in the first half while your defense significantly limits an offense to season lows.
The second half wasn’t nearly as smooth of a ride for WSU. They battled foul trouble, hit just three of their 12 three-pointers, and turned the ball over 10 times to BSU’s four. The offensive miscues allowed BSU to slowly chip away, scoring 11 points off turnovers and finding their groove offensively, hitting 50% of their shots in the second half. Tyson Degenhart led BSU’s comeback efforts, scoring 16 of his 18 points in the second half.
WSU watched as their one 24-point lead dwindled down. A 13-3 run, aided by a five-minute WSU scoring drought, helped cut the lead to 12 and bring life to the BSU crowd. Thankfully for WSU, as the game entered the final minutes, the Broncos offense began to slow down, allowing WSU to keep BSU’s at an arms-length away. Their early onslaught proved to be just enough to keep BSU’s rally from ever getting across the finish line, escaping with a narrow five-point win.
While it would have been nice to add a blowout “neutral-site” victory to the resume, any win against a potential quad-one opponent will do just fine. Especially when you entered the arena knowing you’d have three key rotational players unable to play in the game.
WSU proved last week it can begin to dream big. The defense has done a full 180 from their early season fears, and if they can just get—and stay—healthy, this team is a real threat.
The Cougars will enjoy a much-needed week off to try and get some of their players back before hosting the Missouri State Bears at Beasley Coliseum on Saturday.
