Washington State 86, Southern 47

The return of basketball season... and the return of happy charts!

(There appears to be a glitch in the game flow chart... see if you can spot where it is)

It was an unexpected start to the 2010 season for the Cougs. Reggie Moore was out with a wrist injury (he reported on twitter that he'll be back soon... although his status for Idaho is uncertain), and DeAngelo Casto was held out of the starting lineup because he was late to a class. Still, after a shaky start that saw Southern take an early 11-8 lead, the Cougars got hot and ran away with an easy, 39 point victory.

Faisal Aden led all scorers with 18, proving yet again he may be the man to take some of the scoring pressure off of last year's big three (Casto, Klay, Reggie). Joining Aden in double figures were Motum (14), Casto (16) and Thompson (15).

Marcus Capers had 15 rebounds. Fifteen!

Patrick Simon also netted nine points (including two threes) in his Cougar debut.

Player of the Game: DeAngelo Casto - This is how you control a game from the post. Even when you're coming off the bench (side note: that's why you get to class on time). 16 points on 80% shooting (4 for 5) and made a nice living at the free throw line (8 for 11). Throw in 5 rebounds and a block for good measure. All in a tidy 16 minutes.

Unsung Hero: Brock Motum - Forget Thames, Motum may have been the real catch of Tony Bennett's last recruiting class. In 24 minutes: 6 of 6 from the floor (2 of 2 from three), 5 boards, 14 points, just 1 foul and 1 turnover. If we can get even half that efficiency out of Motum in Pac-10 play, we may have something special.

It was over when... Time ran out in the first half. WSU used a 30-3 run in the opening period to explode to a 41-18 halftime lead, and the rest was icing on the cake.

Stat of the game: The Cougs held Southern without a field goal for a 15 minute stretch in the first half, according to the Spokesman's Josh Wright. Coach Bone and Hironaka have been preaching better defense all summer. Let's hope this is a sign of things to come.