The Cougars take on San Francisco tonight in the WCC quarterfinals. Here’s how they could pull off the dramatic upset win.
Key to victory #1: Play with pace!
During the Cougs win over San Francisco in Pullman in early January, WSU started the game hot and got off to a similar hot start in the second half. They played with pace, which is how they scored 92 points, en route to an 11-point victory. It was a similar route to the way they beat Loyola Marymount last night.
Oppositely, in their loss at San Francisco, it was the Dons who controlled the pace and slowed the Wazzu offense to just 51 points. The Cougars will need to score to win. They do not have the defense to overcome a bad offensive showing.
Key to victory #2: Take advantage of injuries
For once this year, the Cougars can finally say they are healthier team on the court. Sure, they are missing Cedric Coward, but at this point, they have been without him for 25 games. They are used to it. San Francisco, on the other hand, is missing all-conference point guard Marcus Williams. Williams has been hurt for about a week. He missed their game against Gonzaga last week, which turned out to be their only home loss of the season.
The Cougars will need to take advantage of the Dons’ less-experienced point guards if they want a chance to steal the game.
Key to victory #3: Nate Calmese stays hot at pointguard
Calmese ran the Wazzu offense as good as he ever had last night against LMU. He scored 22 points, dicing through the Lions defense and taking advantage of open lanes to the rim. He also dished the ball out well, limited mistakes, did not turn the ball over and helped the Cougars spread the offense to maximize their scoring potential.
All that led to a 96-point game for WSU. They will look to replicate that against the Dons.
Key to victory #4: Rihards Vavers continues to be clutch off the bench
Vavers has been on a serious heater. In the past four games, he’s made ten three-pointers, shooting at an over 50% rate. He just put together a career-best 16 points against LMU, and also came up with some big-time rebounds.
If Vavers can stay hot, he gives the Cougs something they have not had for most of the season; a true weapon off the bench.
Key to victory #5: Nobody gets in early foul trouble
It’s no secret that the Cougars have struggled in second halves this year. They blew leads against Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, Pacific and Iowa, and nearly blew leads against San Diego, Pepperdine, Boise State and Northern Iowa. One reason the second half has been such an issue for WSU is because all too often, starters have been in foul trouble early, and have had to spend the majority of the second half on the bench.
Avoiding early foul trouble, particularly for LeJuan Watts and Dane Erisktrup, will be essential if the Cougs want to play a strong second half.
