by A.J. Coltrane
The WSU Men’s Basketball team defeated UW last night, 80-69. WSU led by as much as 21 before the Huskies pulled to within 6 points with 4:04 to go. Had the Cougars played with better fundamentals late in the second half the score would have never would have gotten that close.
I think the Cougars may have “exposed” the Huskies somewhat.
UW’s 6’3″ guard Abdul Gaddy is out for the year with an ACL injury, suffered in early January. He had been playing 23 minutes per night, averaging 8.5 points and 3.8 assists.
Last night the Huskies distributed the guard minutes as follows: 5’9″ Isaiah Thomas, 35 minutes; 6’0″ Venoy Overton, 26 minutes; 6’5″ C.J. Wilcox, 19 minutes; 6’6″ Terrence Ross, 13 minutes. The two tall guards are both freshmen — they combined to go 1 of 11 from the floor. As for the short guards: 5’9″ and 6’0″ are both generous height estimates. I’d guess they’re really closer to 5’7″ and 5’10”.
The Huskies have been successful this season using their small guards to penetrate and either dish or score.
Here’s the Huskies Achillies Heel:
The Cougar guards measured 6’1″, 6’4″, 6’4″, and 6’6″.
The Cougars played a 2-3 zone defense, packing their defenders into the paint. Their guards played an extra half-step off of UW’s quick little guards. This made it very difficult for the UW guards to penetrate, and if they attempted a 3-pointer the Cougs were able to use their relative size advantage to challenge the perimeter shots. The Huskies went 1-13 on 3-pointers in the first half — they didn’t shoot well from anywhere all night: 8-27 from 3, 15-24 from the line, and 33% overall from the floor.
If history repeats itself in the NCAA Tournament, the Huskies are going home.
FlatbreadGarden 