The WSU men’s basketball team hosts Pacific on Thursday and plays at Gonzaga on Saturday in what will be their hardest opponent of the season.
The week’s preparation has been more focused on Thursday’s game against Pacific, according to LeJuan Watts.
“Practice today was just focused on Pacific,” said Watts during a press conference on Tuesday. “(We) take it day by day and game by game.”
With the threat of No. 18 Gonzaga looming, it would be easy for the Cougs to take Pacific a bit more lightly. The Tigers (5-13) are ranked 297th on the KenPom rankings and 307th on the NET rankings.
“We made a rule today,” said Nate Calmese. “We can’t say the word Gonzaga for the rest of the week until we play them.”
However, the Cougs understand the difficulty of a full season in the WCC, and despite the Tiger’s lackluster record, they could still pull off an upset. The Cougars can not afford any bad losses if they want a chance at making the NCAA tournament, and they understand the importance of taking every game seriously.
Coach David Riley expressed a similar sentiment, saying he wants the team to focus on the here and now.
“When we start talking about those goals and talking about the future, that’s when we start getting lost,” said Riley.
As they prep to play Pacific, the Riley is continuing to emphasize the bench. Kase Wynott, Parker Gerrits and ND Okafor are the only three scholarship players on the bench, as four injuries have left Wazzu decimated. Despite not scoring much, Riley praised them for working hard and making an impact in other ways.
“We’ve had games where they’ve all stepped up,” said Riley. “All three of them are really new to the system…it’s gonna take a little bit of time of them understanding where to find their spots.”
The Cougars would appreciate more points from the bench, especially with Isaiah Watts still out with a left hand injury. Asked about the injury, Riley was uncertain about when he will return, but sounded optimistic that the Cougs could get him back by February.
“We’re waiting on a couple more results,” said Riley. “Hopefully in the next few weeks.”
As they wait to get Watts back, the rest of the team has stepped it up a notch in his absence. The Cougars are off to their best start since the 2006-07 season and are tied with Gonzaga for second place in the West Coast Conference. Now ranked 65th by the NET and 71st by KenPom, they are building a case for the NCAA tournament.
Among those who have stepped up have been Calmese, who has emerged as a team leader in the absence of Watts and Cedric Coward. Calmese, who transferred from Washington after averaging around ten minutes a game there, came to WSU looking for more playing time, and the chance to showcase his talent.
“Can’t thank David Riley for that enough,” said Calmese. “My goal is to prove that I can do it at a higher level, and I think that’s what I’m doing now.”
Looking ahead to Gonzaga, it is easy to see why the game will be tough. Gonzaga is ranked No. 18 by the AP Poll, but that is probably giving them less credit than they deserve. Despite having four losses, the Bulldogs (12-4) are ranked seventh by both the KenPom and NET rankings. All four of their losses came against Quad 1 opponents, which WSU is not. According to KenPom, the Bulldogs have the seventh-best offense in the country, with a rating of 123.4. WSU’s offense is ranked 90th, at 111.1.
The environment in Spokane will be one that the Cougs are not as accustomed to. The arena is smaller, only holding 6,000 fans, but will be packed and loud.
“First thing is it’s loud,” said Riley. “We gotta be able to communicate, we gotta be able to point and talk.”
Watts agreed, saying that the Cougs are expecting to not be able to hear much on the court.
“It’s gonna be a good game,” said Watts. “One of those games we gotta prep to have signs for offense.”
First, the team has to get past Pacific, and according to Calmese, that is the biggest thing occupying the minds of the Cougs.
“[We’re] trying to find a way to have a good practice,” said Calmese. “Not worry about what we have in front of us.”
