- Podcast Vs. Everyone
- Posts
- About Last Night: Cougs solve Stanford just in time
About Last Night: Cougs solve Stanford just in time
A big second-half run powers WSU to its 7th straight win.
Jeff Nusser
February 18, 2024
Questions or feedback? Leave a comment below or hit us up at [email protected].
If you like what you read, please share it with someone who you also think would like it by clicking one of those social share buttons above!
Table of Contents
WSU 72, Stanford 59: Quick Recap
The Cougs earned their seventh consecutive victory — and kept pace with Arizona in the Pac-12 title race — by pulling away in the second half against a Cardinal squad that was feisty and motivated after getting whipped in Seattle on Thursday.
WSU improved to 20-6 overall and 11-4 in Pac-12 play, remaining just one-half game behind the Wildcats. They’ll face off on Thursday in Tucson, where a WSU win would give the Cougars the outright lead for the Pac-12 regular season title with four games to play.
Like a few other games during this streak, it wasn’t a work of art, but few games in conference are — especially the second time around, when teams make their adjustments. The Cougars pulled out to a 10-point lead midway through the first half, and it looked (and felt) as if WSU was going to cruise to a season sweep of Stanford.
Perhaps the Cougs felt it too and relaxed, because the Cardinal didn’t stop playing hard and ended up taking a 1-point lead into the break.
WSU trailed by as much as five early in the second half before finally getting it together. Down by 1 with 12 minutes left, WSU went on an 18-4 run over 8:33 to open up a 13-point lead with 3:36 to go. The Cougs never led by less than double digits the rest of the way.
In A Minute
Line o’ the night: Isaac Jones with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 steals, 1 turnover.
One stat to tell the tale: 33% — Stanford’s percentage on 3s. The Cardinal came into the game shooting more than 42% from beyond the arc in Pac-12 play.
Highlights
Tourney Check
Not quite “lock” status, but at a 90.3% chance of earning an at-large bid (based on probable results the rest of the way), it’s getting damn close.
via barttorvik.com
The Cougs also moved up to No. 34 in kenpom’s rankings and will almost certainly make their debut in the AP Poll on Monday — their first appearance since 2008.
Three Thoughts
1. Trap Avoided
As the Cougs trailed early in the second half, the game was starting to feel awfully trap-ish. It’s really damn hard to win as many games in a row as the Cougars have — even if other teams aren’t good, they still have talent, and that talent can overcome mediocre coaching and and bite you at any time1.
Reply