Washington State hoops notebook: Cougars trending upward coming off historic win

PULLMAN – It’s been an up-and-down season for Washington State’s basketball team, but the Cougars captured a historic accomplishment last weekend and set their season on a favorable trajectory.

WSU claimed perhaps its most impressive regular-season win of all time on Saturday, upsetting fifth-ranked Arizona in Tucson. It was the Cougars’ first road win over a top-five opponent in program history, and their first top-five victory since beating No. 4 UCLA in Pullman in 1983. It also snapped the Wildcats’ 28-game winning streak at the McKale Center.

The Cougars return home hoping to build upon their breakthrough in the desert, and sustain the program’s upward trend.

“We really do keep it pretty even-keel,” WSU coach Kyle Smith said Tuesday when asked about avoiding a letdown on the heels of a momentous win. “It’s a great challenge to see if we can handle success.

“You’re going to get a lot of pats on the back … and it’d be easy, at their age, to kind of puff up and feel good about yourself. There’s a fine line between being confident and arrogant. I remind them that we’re 7-10. We got a lot of work to do.”

WSU (7-10, 2-4 Pac-12) hosts California at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Beasley Coliseum. The Cougars are seeking their fifth consecutive win over the Golden Bears.

Cal (3-13, 2-3) began its season 0-12 but won back-to-back games last week. The Bears toppled Colorado (11-6, 3-3), then shot 16 of 22 from 3-point range in a rout of Stanford.

“Cal is playing really well, too,” Smith said. “In their last four games, they are playing (like) a top-20 program, maybe even higher. I feel like we’re kind of the same way. We’re playing a little better, but our record through that stretch of tough games didn’t really reflect it.”

Strength of schedule

The Cougars have played the fifth-most difficult schedule among all teams in the country, according to KenPom.com’s analytics.

They lost well-matched nonconference matchups on the road against Boise State, UNLV and Baylor – top-60 teams in the NCAA’s NET rankings – and went 1-2 at the Diamond Head Classic holiday tournament in Hawaii.

“We’ve all had parts of our season where it goes south,” Smith said. “We just went through a part down in Hawaii.”

WSU’s first six conference games came against some of the best teams in the Pac-12. The Cougars missed narrowly on a few significant wins. They fell in overtime to Utah on Dec. 4, squandered a sizable lead in a one-point loss to No. 11 UCLA on Dec. 30 and couldn’t complete a late rally against Arizona State in a 77-71 defeat Thursday.

But WSU has shown encouraging signs of its potential, particularly during its past four games – a home split with the Los Angeles schools and a road split with the Arizona programs. The Cougars handled USC, ranked No. 75 in the NET, on Jan. 1 and outperformed Arizona for the bulk of the game. The Wildcats were held to season lows in points and field-goal percentage (31.7%).

The Cougars, ranked 70th in the NET, led by as many as 18 points early in the second half and withstood a surge from Arizona, which cut the deficit to five points with under 5 minutes remaining.

“We’ve been in that situation about three times,” Smith said of closing out tight games. “The end of the UCLA game … the end of the Baylor game, and going back to Boise – that game was even with about 4 minutes to go. This one, we were up five, but it easily could’ve gone (bad). We were in a lull and Arizona’s really good. … You gotta step up and make some plays.”

Powered by its two team captains, WSU didn’t stumble down the stretch this time. Junior guard TJ Bamba shook free from a scoring funk and hit two difficult shots inside, then made a clutch assist to center Mouhamed Gueye for a corner 3 – Gueye’s fourth 3 of the season, which beat the shot-clock buzzer and essentially clinched the result.

“That’s a good shot for us at the end of the clock,” Smith said. “ ‘Mo’ makes more of those at practice. That (shows) the evolution of Bamba.”

Bamba, who was known most for his perimeter defense last year, is pacing WSU this season in scoring at 15.1 points per game. He hasn’t been too productive over the past four games, averaging 9.3 points in that stretch, but several other Cougars are providing impressive numbers.

Gueye on the rise

Against Arizona, the Cougars’ 6-foot-11 sophomore added another standout performance to his pro resume. Matched up against a couple of the nation’s most formidable frontcourt players, Gueye scored 24 points (10-of-22 shooting from the field) and pulled down 14 rebounds to spearhead the upset.

Gueye averaged 7.2 points and 5.5 rebounds as a true freshman last season and put himself on the NBA radar. He declared for the NBA draft, trained with pro clubs, then elected to return to WSU for another season.

“Being the main, featured guy is really a big jump,” Smith said. “I think he’s gonna finish strong from here on out. The talent, in February and into March, usually emerges. I think he’s on his way.”

This year, Gueye has settled into a starring role and become one of the Pac-12’s top players. He is averaging 14 points and 8.8 rebounds per game – 16.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in conference play – and has recorded seven double-doubles. In Pac-12 play, Gueye leads all conference players with 59 rebounds and 25 offensive boards.

Gueye made improvements to his jump shot, ball-handling and passing abilities this season.

“He’s getting more comfortable. We’re playing through him, and I knew that’d take some time,” Smith said of Gueye, who had 10 assists against two turnovers in the past three games. “He’s being more assertive offensively. It’s only his fourth year of basketball, and learning how to score comes from repetition. He has a good skill set and he’s learning on the fly. You can see his confidence grow.”

Cougars light it up from 3

WSU is putting up 3-pointers at a high rate and knocking them down at an efficient clip.

The Cougars lead the Pac-12 in 3-point attempts (25.8) and makes (8.9) per game. They rank 10th among high-major programs in made 3s. WSU has attempted a conference-high 412 3-pointers – 34th nationally – and is shooting 36.7%, good for second in the Pac-12 and 66th in the country.

WSU shot 45 of 111 (40.5%) on 3-pointers over the past four games and went 12 of 28 in the win over Arizona.

Guard Jabe Mullins has emerged as WSU’s ace from 3-point range and one of the nation’s elite long-range shooters. The junior Saint Mary’s transfer ranks second nationally and first among Power Six players with a 51.4% mark on 3-pointers. Mullins, who is averaging 12.4 points per game this season, went 16 of 26 on 3-point attempts over the past four games.

“It was a little eye-catching, the first three weeks (of practice) … he was shooting 60%,” Smith said of Mullins’ 3-point proficiency. “Is this a fluke? It’s not.”

Guard Justin Powell and forward DJ Rodman have also been sharp from beyond the arc in recent games.

Powell went 9 of 16 from 3 over the past three games, totaling 37 points.

Rodman shot 12 of 24 on 3-pointers in the past four contests.

Rodman on a tear

The Cougars’ lone senior scored 62 points and averaged 6.5 rebounds over the past four games, shooting 52.6% from the field during the most impressive stretch of his career.

Rodman made a name for himself early in his career with “hustle plays.” He dives on the floor for loose balls, pursues rebounds aggressively and is always pesky on defense. Rodman leads the team with 19 charges taken and 14 steals, and is second behind Gueye with 31 offensive boards.

“He’s a two-way player,” Smith said of Rodman. “He really understands defense. His ability to take charges can end possessions. His ability to rebound is terrific. Then he can make a shot. Even when he wasn’t making shots, he was still moving the needle (in the plus/minus stat column). Now that he’s making shots, you can see we’re having some really good results.”

Rodman, a 6-6 wing, is averaging nine points and 5.6 rebounds per game this year, and shooting 42.2% from the floor and 34.7% on 3-pointers. He has surpassed his season high for made 3s with 25. Rodman went 23 of 56 in 2020-21, but had a down year last season, shooting 28.4% on 3-pointers.

“You can tell he’s got a confidence (now),” Smith said. “I felt like he was there a little bit at the end of his sophomore year. Junior year, he played great, just didn’t shoot the ball as well. … Maybe him getting a little bit bigger of a role (has helped). I think he’s really enjoyed taking on that responsibility.”

Rodman appeared in 80 games, starting 12, in his first three collegiate seasons. He has started 15 games this season.