COUGARS

Bad crowd watching bad basketball. Is that too mean? It seems appropriate to me. Most people here are spectators, not fans, which makes it awfully quiet and dull. But what the hay, the teams aren't giving them much to cheer about. Except DeAngelo Casto, the focus of our story this morning. He's come to play and he's controlling the paint on both ends. That should mean good things for the Cougars, but the guards aren't doing their part on the offensive end. The three starters and Faisal Aden are 4 of 22 combined. Good USC defense? Physical, but not spectacular. It's the Cougars, standing around, not cutting, not working hard on that end, making them easy to guard. If that continues, they'll lose. On the other end, playing mainly zone, WSU has been pretty effective. USC has missed some open looks, but the Cougars have gotten hands up and into most shots. USC is shooting 43.5 percent. We'll be back after the game.

---

---