vs Arizona
- Thread starter Rich Lewis
- Start date
Ultimate miracle BANKED DEEP DESPERATION MADE 3 by Arizona talk about BUTSHETLUCK
Passed the test with flying colors. Rice has ice water in his veins.
Yes gave up way too many offensive rebounds(near record), BUT to be fair Arizona has one of the best, if not the best FRONT COURT in the nation, and is #8, and Arizona WORKED HARD for those rebounds.
It's not like WSU did that vs a 1 win team with a 6-0 tall player as tallest player.
Sometimes no matter how good you are or how hard you work, etc, sometimes you either get out rebounded an or give up a lot of offensive rebounds
I think their experiences in the last couple of minutes of the Colorado and Oregon games served them well down the stretch in the USC and Arizona games. They'd been there before and knew how to handle it.
I think Isaac Jones has a good chance at P12 Player of the Week. 26 points with 11 rebounds against USC. 24 and 13 against Arizona.
Agree. We seemed to keep playing better together. This is a big one for sure though.
Gotta' think so!
Rice was clutch from the line in this game. I expected good things from Wells, but he's improved. He didn't have a good shooting game, but defense has improved and he made some good passes. Played 39 minutes today.
When he banked in that 3 some really bad memories came into my head. I don't remember the exact years but at home against Arizona Damon Stodamire banked in a 3 late in the game to turn back the Cougs and in the Bennett years an Oregon guard (maybe Brooks) banked in a 3 to take a win away from the Cougs. Fortunately this one came out right. A really gutsy win. I wasn't really very high on this team but in the last 3 games (Oregon-USC and Arizona) I thought we played very well. Only lost to Oregon because they couldn't miss from 3. I like the combination of Rice and Wells in the backcourt and Jones has been great down low.
I think that Stoudamire game was about 1994. We had some good teams in those days but between Stoudamire, some ticky -tack calls, and a bunch of morons throwing stuff, we just couldn’t get past UA and UCLA.
After looking at PAC 12 schedule again, to go 3-3 vs Utah, Colorado on the road to open, start PAC 12, then 13-3 Oregon at home that should have, would have beat, if not for Oregon NOT missing, and then USC on road, and Arizona at home.
Quite the MURDERER's row in early PAC 12 schedule.
I don't know why, understand why that about 90% of time WSU gets the toughest PAC 12 teams, on the road, with a rare exception where get toughest PAC 12 team at home early, after the earlier toughest PAC 12 road games, to start, begin, PAC 12 conference play.
Usually that usually causes injuries or for the soul, mentality, confidence, etc, of WSU's team to be CRUSHED, where WSU's team usually goes on to only win about, between about 11,12,13,14,15,16 wins, etc, and at best 16,17,18,19 wins, etc.
But this year seems, is probably, has been different so far. WSU has made it through the extremely tough start of the PAC 12 schedule 3-3, and has survived, come out tougher, better, and semi likely to do well in all the semi somewhat semi easier PAC 12 games to come and 13-7, 12-8, 11-9, in conference, tied for 3rd at best, 4th, at average, 5th, 6th at worst, finish about 20,21,22 wins - 9,10,11 losses, and then win 1,2 PAC 12 tourny wins to goto 21, 22, 23, 24 wins, then either NIT Champion, or bubble into NCAA, as a 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th seed, make it to 2nd round, at average or Sweet 16 at extreme best, first round elimination at worst, with about 22,23,24,25,26,27 total wins by end of postseason by, at, end of season.
Have to give credit to Kyle Smith, that DESPITE INJURIES, EXTREMELY TOUGH PAC 12 SCHEDULE STARTS, BAD LUCK, TRANSFER PORTAL, NIL, RECRUITING DISADVANTAGES, PAC 12 DISINTIGRATION, GETTING LEFT BEHIND, DISTRACTIONS, ETC.
NO WSU COACH HAS EVER HAD IT HARDER then Kyle Smith, and DESPITE that, NO WSU COACH HAS EVER HAD IT HARDER AND CONTINUED TO RECRUIT SO AWESOMELY, AND CONTINUED TO DO AS WELL DESPITE HAVING IT THE HARDEST.
Quite the MURDERER's row in early PAC 12 schedule.
I don't know why, understand why that about 90% of time WSU gets the toughest PAC 12 teams, on the road, with a rare exception where get toughest PAC 12 team at home early, after the earlier toughest PAC 12 road games, to start, begin, PAC 12 conference play.
Usually that usually causes injuries or for the soul, mentality, confidence, etc, of WSU's team to be CRUSHED, where WSU's team usually goes on to only win about, between about 11,12,13,14,15,16 wins, etc, and at best 16,17,18,19 wins, etc.
But this year seems, is probably, has been different so far. WSU has made it through the extremely tough start of the PAC 12 schedule 3-3, and has survived, come out tougher, better, and semi likely to do well in all the semi somewhat semi easier PAC 12 games to come and 13-7, 12-8, 11-9, in conference, tied for 3rd at best, 4th, at average, 5th, 6th at worst, finish about 20,21,22 wins - 9,10,11 losses, and then win 1,2 PAC 12 tourny wins to goto 21, 22, 23, 24 wins, then either NIT Champion, or bubble into NCAA, as a 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th seed, make it to 2nd round, at average or Sweet 16 at extreme best, first round elimination at worst, with about 22,23,24,25,26,27 total wins by end of postseason by, at, end of season.
Have to give credit to Kyle Smith, that DESPITE INJURIES, EXTREMELY TOUGH PAC 12 SCHEDULE STARTS, BAD LUCK, TRANSFER PORTAL, NIL, RECRUITING DISADVANTAGES, PAC 12 DISINTIGRATION, GETTING LEFT BEHIND, DISTRACTIONS, ETC.
NO WSU COACH HAS EVER HAD IT HARDER then Kyle Smith, and DESPITE that, NO WSU COACH HAS EVER HAD IT HARDER AND CONTINUED TO RECRUIT SO AWESOMELY, AND CONTINUED TO DO AS WELL DESPITE HAVING IT THE HARDEST.
Washington State knocks off No. 8 Arizona behind clutch shot-making and timely defense
Greg WoodsJan. 13, 2024 at 8:04 pm
By
The Spokesman-Review
PULLMAN — Jaylen Wells could barely keep the smile off his face as he positioned his iPhone.
“Wait for it,” the Washington State wing said to his Instagram Live audience. “Wait for it.”
In the Cougars’ locker room after their 73-70 upset of No. 8 Arizona on Saturday afternoon, there hung an excitement, a restless anticipation for the arrival of head coach Kyle Smith. WSU players gathered in a circle.
Then Smith walked into the middle, in perfect position for players to spray him with water, shouting and laughing in jubilee. They jumped and screamed, flinging water every which way, basking in the glow of a statement win over a blue-blood program.
It was that and more for WSU (12-5, 3-3 Pac-12), which got a key 24 points and 13 rebounds from forward Isaac Jones and 18 points from star guard Myles Rice, who plunged the dagger in the Wildcats with a mid-range pull-up for a 71-67 lead in the final seconds. He finished it off with two free throws, sealing Washington State’s first home win over a top-10 foe in four years.
“That was just a really great effort by our team,” Smith said. “Especially defensively. They’re such a high-octane, potent team. A big part of that is not turning it over against them. I think we only had nine turnovers. That was huge.”
The Cougs, who also got 11 points and seven rebounds from Wells, led almost the entire way. They took a 34-30 lead into halftime. They used a 6-0 lead to open an eight-point lead in the opening minutes of the second half. They responded to every Arizona push with one of their own, nursing a 51-55 lead in the final eight minutes.
That’s when Arizona threatened to take control. The Wildcats scored six straight to take the lead, 57-55, a triple from transfer guard Caleb Love falling through the net. Love totaled 28 points. He looked poised to singlehandedly stave off this loss.
The Cougs never blinked. Jones got to the rim for a basket. Wells followed with an off-balance jumper. Then Rice joined the attack, parlaying his quickness into a dribble-handoff opportunity, curling around a screen from Oscar Cluff to can a critical triple. That gave the Cougs a 62-59 lead as the clock ticked closer to 3 minutes left.
“We never got rattled. We never worried,” Rice said. “We just banded together.”
From there, it was all about shot-making for WSU, which provided it in bushels. Wells connected on a pair of free throws. Then Rice went back to the pick-and-roll with Cluff, whose screen pried open Rice, who faded to his left, rose up and drilled it.
Arizona called timeout. Rice jogged to the other end of the court, bathing it in, soaking in the ecstasy of the 3,564 fans in attendance on this frigid Saturday evening.
“Everybody on the team knows: I work on mini-pulls. I work on mid-range jumpers probably more than a lot of people do,” Rice said. “I trust my work. I trust my craft. These are the moments that you dream out, beating a ranked team at home, when you’re in your driveway, counting down 5, 4, 3, 2, and you shoot it. It was just amazing to do that in front of these fans.”
For Washington State, the importance of this win comes in the way it might provide an even sunnier future. The Cougs are trying to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008, which is one of the country’s longest droughts. They can get there by racking up more Quad-1 wins like this one, their second of the season after downing Boise State last month. (Depending on how opponents fare the rest of the season, quadrants can change.)
The Cougs need as many as they can get. WSU’s strength of schedule ranks No. 60 in the country, per Ken Pom, which means the Cougs need to capitalize on meaningful opportunities like these.
“I think it just goes to prove that we can compete with anybody in the country,” Rice said, “no matter whether it’s on the road, at home, at a neutral site. We got the guys in the locker room, the coaches in the locker room as well to go out there and do what we need to do — and our fans support us 100%.”
It also might go to show the gem the Cougs pulled over the Idaho border in Jones. He spent the first two years of his career at Wenatchee Valley College, a junior-college in central Washington. Then he transferred to Idaho, where he played last season, earning Big Sky Newcomer of the Year honors for recording dominating performance after dominating performance.
Encouraging showings, to be sure, but jumping from the Big Sky to the Pac-12 is a leap of faith. Could Jones hang with Power Five athletes?
So far, Jones hasn’t just answered yes. He’s scrawled it in permanent ink across every box score, where he’s logged five double-doubles as a Coug, three in conference play.
“I think it’s huge because it’s part of who I am. Like, I got a chip on my shoulder,” Jones said. “A lot of them think I shouldn’t be here, or that I’m a fluke and I just get lucky. They were telling me in the game, I can’t score without getting fouled — and I was like, bro, I got 20. So I think it’s huge.”
For WSU, this win will go down as one of the most rousing of the season, a satisfying victory and a night to celebrate — but to the Cougs, it’s also a sign of what they’re capable of. They can prove this wasn’t a fluke by beating Stanford on Thursday and Cal on Saturday.
Soon enough, maybe Wells won’t feel compelled to go live on Instagram after wins like these. Maybe they’ll start to feel normal.
Greg Woods on Twitter: @GregWWoods. Washington State beat writer for The Spokesman-Review
What, no mention of maybe the greatest shot rejection I have ever seen? Dude goes up for a slam and Coug defender blocks it with one hand and just yanks the ball away from him, still in one hand, never losing control of it. Outstanding!!!Washington State knocks off No. 8 Arizona behind clutch shot-making and timely defense
Greg WoodsJan. 13, 2024 at 8:04 pm
By
The Spokesman-Review
PULLMAN — Jaylen Wells could barely keep the smile off his face as he positioned his iPhone.
“Wait for it,” the Washington State wing said to his Instagram Live audience. “Wait for it.”
In the Cougars’ locker room after their 73-70 upset of No. 8 Arizona on Saturday afternoon, there hung an excitement, a restless anticipation for the arrival of head coach Kyle Smith. WSU players gathered in a circle.
Then Smith walked into the middle, in perfect position for players to spray him with water, shouting and laughing in jubilee. They jumped and screamed, flinging water every which way, basking in the glow of a statement win over a blue-blood program.
It was that and more for WSU (12-5, 3-3 Pac-12), which got a key 24 points and 13 rebounds from forward Isaac Jones and 18 points from star guard Myles Rice, who plunged the dagger in the Wildcats with a mid-range pull-up for a 71-67 lead in the final seconds. He finished it off with two free throws, sealing Washington State’s first home win over a top-10 foe in four years.
“That was just a really great effort by our team,” Smith said. “Especially defensively. They’re such a high-octane, potent team. A big part of that is not turning it over against them. I think we only had nine turnovers. That was huge.”
The Cougs, who also got 11 points and seven rebounds from Wells, led almost the entire way. They took a 34-30 lead into halftime. They used a 6-0 lead to open an eight-point lead in the opening minutes of the second half. They responded to every Arizona push with one of their own, nursing a 51-55 lead in the final eight minutes.
That’s when Arizona threatened to take control. The Wildcats scored six straight to take the lead, 57-55, a triple from transfer guard Caleb Love falling through the net. Love totaled 28 points. He looked poised to singlehandedly stave off this loss.
The Cougs never blinked. Jones got to the rim for a basket. Wells followed with an off-balance jumper. Then Rice joined the attack, parlaying his quickness into a dribble-handoff opportunity, curling around a screen from Oscar Cluff to can a critical triple. That gave the Cougs a 62-59 lead as the clock ticked closer to 3 minutes left.
“We never got rattled. We never worried,” Rice said. “We just banded together.”
From there, it was all about shot-making for WSU, which provided it in bushels. Wells connected on a pair of free throws. Then Rice went back to the pick-and-roll with Cluff, whose screen pried open Rice, who faded to his left, rose up and drilled it.
Arizona called timeout. Rice jogged to the other end of the court, bathing it in, soaking in the ecstasy of the 3,564 fans in attendance on this frigid Saturday evening.
“Everybody on the team knows: I work on mini-pulls. I work on mid-range jumpers probably more than a lot of people do,” Rice said. “I trust my work. I trust my craft. These are the moments that you dream out, beating a ranked team at home, when you’re in your driveway, counting down 5, 4, 3, 2, and you shoot it. It was just amazing to do that in front of these fans.”
For Washington State, the importance of this win comes in the way it might provide an even sunnier future. The Cougs are trying to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008, which is one of the country’s longest droughts. They can get there by racking up more Quad-1 wins like this one, their second of the season after downing Boise State last month. (Depending on how opponents fare the rest of the season, quadrants can change.)
The Cougs need as many as they can get. WSU’s strength of schedule ranks No. 60 in the country, per Ken Pom, which means the Cougs need to capitalize on meaningful opportunities like these.
“I think it just goes to prove that we can compete with anybody in the country,” Rice said, “no matter whether it’s on the road, at home, at a neutral site. We got the guys in the locker room, the coaches in the locker room as well to go out there and do what we need to do — and our fans support us 100%.”
It also might go to show the gem the Cougs pulled over the Idaho border in Jones. He spent the first two years of his career at Wenatchee Valley College, a junior-college in central Washington. Then he transferred to Idaho, where he played last season, earning Big Sky Newcomer of the Year honors for recording dominating performance after dominating performance.
Encouraging showings, to be sure, but jumping from the Big Sky to the Pac-12 is a leap of faith. Could Jones hang with Power Five athletes?
So far, Jones hasn’t just answered yes. He’s scrawled it in permanent ink across every box score, where he’s logged five double-doubles as a Coug, three in conference play.
“I think it’s huge because it’s part of who I am. Like, I got a chip on my shoulder,” Jones said. “A lot of them think I shouldn’t be here, or that I’m a fluke and I just get lucky. They were telling me in the game, I can’t score without getting fouled — and I was like, bro, I got 20. So I think it’s huge.”
For WSU, this win will go down as one of the most rousing of the season, a satisfying victory and a night to celebrate — but to the Cougs, it’s also a sign of what they’re capable of. They can prove this wasn’t a fluke by beating Stanford on Thursday and Cal on Saturday.
Soon enough, maybe Wells won’t feel compelled to go live on Instagram after wins like these. Maybe they’ll start to feel normal.
Greg Woods on Twitter: @GregWWoods. Washington State beat writer for The Spokesman-Review
Does he have Connie Hawkins sized mitts? (reference for all you old guys out there, was he fun to watch or what?)
Never forget that whenever Arizona or UCLA showed up back in those days so did Richie Ballesteros or Charlie Range or a couple of other whose names I can't think of. The only chance we had to beat them back then was to beat the hell out of them. Anything remotely close the refs were gonna take it away.
