When watching the WSU men’s basketball team, a few things are obvious. The team is tall, physical and strong, but that is not the strength of their team.
Most teams that boast the height, strength and physicality that Wazzu does would place an emphasis on it every game. They would win games in the paint, outrebounding their opponents, and physically outmatching any team that came their way. Not the Cougars.
Counterintuitively, the Cougs’ strength is their shooting. WSU is third in the West Coast Conference in three’s, and second in the WCC with their .363 percentage from deep.
Meanwhile, in rebounding, the team is sixth, right in the middle of the pack. They are sixth in offensive boards, seventh in defensive boards and fifth in rebound differential. Consistently, the Cougs have been an average team at grabbing rebounds. Last Saturday against Saint Mary’s, rebounding played a big difference. The Cougs were outrebounded by six and allowed Saint Mary’s to put up 18 second-chance points.
The Cougars do get credit for leading the WCC in blocks. That would not be possible without the height of Dane Erikstrup and ND Okafor. However, it is appearing more and more that the Cougars’ strength is not their strength, and rather, it is a weakness.
The Cougs are not using their height and physicality to dominate the paint, but they are victims of it when it comes to fouls. WSU has been called for 425 fouls this year, averaging 19.3 per game. They ranked 331st in fouls per game. In the WCC, only San Diego commits more. In fact, only 11 teams in all of college basketball have committed more total fouls than WSU.
When the Cougs do try to play into their physicality, all too often they end up being whistled for it. It is actively hurting their chances on the court, giving free points to their opponents and forcing them to sit starters for long periods of time in the second half to make sure they do not foul out.
The Cougars would be wise to emphasize discipline in the paint, making sure that when they do go in for the block or steal, they are careful not to make a mistake. Simply being big and strong is not enough to win basketball games, and the Cougars are finding that out.
