Washington State 93, Portland State 69
by Jeff Nusser on Dec 19, 2009 9:31 PM PST
in WSU Cougar Basketball
23 comments
SBN RECAP
Well, we didn't quite get to 100, but we got close.
To be honest, I'm not really sure what to make out of this game. On the one hand, it was nice to see us take a lead on a team, extend it, and then not let them shoot their way back into it. We did a lot of good things, there's no doubt about that, and the fact that it came after an entire week off for finals is all the better.
But this game was built on a ridiculous shooting night, one that won't be duplicated all year. And while the defense was decent, it was just pretty much the same thing as usual -- lost track of too many shooters, failed to clean up on the defensive glass effectively.
I guess maybe just the best policy is to not look a gift horse in the mouth, and just be happy that we killed a team that had been playing well as of late. Wins are wins right now -- just ask any other team in the conference. But I'm also ready to see how we stack up against another challenging opponent.
Basically, I'm ready for LSU on Tuesday and Pac-10 play the following week.
Something I noticed that's worth keeping an eye on. James Watson took Charlie Enquist's minutes, and did a good job. He scored six points and grabbed a couple of rebounds and played generally solid defense in 12 minutes. Yeah, I'd like some stronger defensive rebounding out of him, but he's already made some big strides this year. I like it.
Player of the Game: Nikola Koprivica. There are very few things better than a redemption story, and it looks like Koprayitsa is finally writing his. For as much crap as Koprazitsa took from all of us last year, he has found new life under Ken Bone, and tonight was his capstone moment: a career high 23 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field -- including an absurd 5-of-5 from 3 -- and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Kopripizza was the picture of perfection, and it couldn't have happened to a better guy. Even if this is the best it gets for him this year, he'll always have this.
Unsung Hero: Reggie Moore. I talked before the game about needing a big offensive night from him, but that became moot when Nik went off. So, all Moore did was dish out 12 assists against ZERO turnovers. That's some good point guard play right there.
It was over when... Nik hit the second of two 3s in a two minute span to take a lead that had been whittled down to 15 with 9:22 to left and stretch it back out to 24 with 7:27 to go. That was all she wrote.
Stat of the Game: Watching the game on TV, I knew the Cougs had great ball movement, but I had no idea how good. On a typical night, the Cougs assist on 56 percent of their baskets. Tonight? Just 25 assists on their 33 field goals -- 75.8 percent. Wow.
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I didn't see the game quite as bad as you did
They did shoot ridiculously good from three point range, but some of that was because they were moving the ball so well and finding the open man. This was a passing clinic. This is PSU and not a Pac 10 school, but if they pass that well they will win a lot of games this year. They will have a lot of easy shots.
I also thought there was an improvement in the defense as well.
I didn't mean to make it sound bad
I just meant to convey that perhaps it was a little fluky, that’s all.
by Jeff Nusser on Dec 19, 2009 10:42 PM PST up reply actions
That is fair
I just was over joyed with the way they passed today. This is the second game that Moore had double digit assists. I loved how WSU penetrated and got the easy shot or passed out for an open shot. This team is so much better offensively than it as been the last few years.
Plus, Nik. Is this the real Nik the last few games? OK, maybe we cannot expect perfect shooting Nik, but this is somewhat what we all thought we were getting when he was a freshman. You can just see the confidence this year.
I think Bone has done wonders for Nik and Abe’s shooting confidence. They know if they miss a shot, they are not going to be back on the bench. I really do not think that we would be seeing this production if Bennett were still coach.
You are right though, the real test will be this Tuesday in Seattle and I will be there.
Yeah, maybe I downplayed that too much
I mean, we’ve been clamoring for better halfcourt play all year, and we got it last night. That game only had 66 possessions.
Agree with the defense
Yes, they did better, but it was also inconsistent. It may be due to the fact that they were switching up the defense a bit, but either they didn’t shut the lane down or they lost track of shooters. They couldn’t figure out how to do both.
I liked that they were switching everything to start with since we have athletic bigs, but the problem was that we left the lane wide open and gave up a ton of drives. This is the one thing you cannot do in a pack, or pack-like, defense. Sure we blocked some layins, but we also gave up uncontested ones, too. When we adjusted and started hedging, we would again lose shooters and give up open looks for three.
They shot 33% from deep and it could’ve been worse because they did miss a lot of wide open shots.
"For as much crap as Koprazitsa took from all of us last year"
speak for yourself :)
Hear, hear
I thought the exact same thing. I would never dump on a WSU player.
OK, I went back and looked at your Nik-related comments
And I forgot that you were basically the only reader that wasn’t consistently bashing him.
I'm sure there were others
But most were pretty effusive in their criticism of him. And I think most was deserved — 78.0 offensive rating, 29.0 TO rate — but some of it was pretty over the top.
I thought Koprivica would breath through last year
I felt pretty stupid as the year went on. He just looked out of his element last year. No confidence, making terrible decisions, shooting terrible. He’s had a pretty impressive turnaround this year.
Different coach, different results
Same for Abe
i watched the game at the joker yesterday
the game’s still sitting on my dvr. i’ll probably run it tonight.
Over in Kirkland? I used to watch a game there every once in a while
when I used to live in Bothell.
Funny, I was at a Xmas party
with all my college friends just up the road form the Joker during the last part of the game.
by TiltingRight on Dec 20, 2009 7:33 PM PST up reply actions
I am not afraid I pointed out his bad play.
However, I never booed him while at a game nor have I ever called him names or called for his head.
Let’s face it, for whatever reason his play stunk. He struggled shooting and handling the ball. He was essentially a walking turnover. Maybe TB’s system had to do with it, maybe his knee recovery, I don’t know, but he is shooting and handling the ball much better.
BTW: This game was some of the best ball movement we had all year. Look at how KT really looked to distribute when he penetrated early in the game. Really caused PSU fits. Also, DC was playing some inspired ball.
by ptowncoug3012 on Dec 20, 2009 3:39 PM PST up reply actions
Great News for Jerome Harrison fans!
over 30 carries, 287 yards, and 3 tds in a Cleveland win – nice to see the former Coug get the opportunity and perform BIG!
Brown
For those wondering, Vince says the Cougs allow 13 to travel on their dime and Brown hasn’t been one of them. Some players decided to make their own way to the game, but he was not one of them. Odd he wouldn’t decide to go when I bet a walkon or two did.
Guess we’ll see with him, but I’m not sure he’ll be around.
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