How can WSU pull off an upset over No. 8 Arizona on Saturday?

PULLMAN – It would be hard to overstate the importance of Washington State’s latest win.

The Cougars didn’t just take down USC on the road Wednesday night, holding on for a 72-64 win. They earned their first win in the Galen Center in nine years. They got a top performance from forward Isaac Jones, who scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half. And they did so before one of their bigger opportunities of the season.

That comes Saturday, when No. 8 Arizona makes its final trip to Pullman . How can the Cougars pull off the upset? Here are a few keys.

1. Get another solid game from Jones

Jones looked like a man possessed against USC. He did it all. Turned and scored on post entries. Took his man off the dribble. Rolled to the rim off pick-and-rolls. Outside of his midrange game, which he’s shown flashes of this season, Jones put together one of the most complete outings of his WSU career.

The Cougars could use some of that against the Wildcats. If he returns to the starting lineup – WSU coach Kyle Smith gave wing Jaylen Wells the nod over Jones against USC – Jones will likely be matched up against Arizona forward Keshad Johnson. Jones will have some height on Johnson. Can he make it count?

He could do so by expanding his game a tad. He has demonstrated an ability to knock down a 15-foot jumper. If he has that going Saturday, it’ll open up the rest of his game – and the rest of the Cougars’ offense.

2. Play the game at its pace

This one will pit teams that prefer to play at two drastically different speeds. Arizona ranks No. 7 in the country in adjusted pace, coming in with a KenPom ranking of 75.0. WSU checks in at No. 277, with a mark of 66.8.

In simpler terms, the Wildcats want to speed it up and the Cougars want to slow it down.

For WSU, the easiest way to do that is to make shots, get back and set its defense. The Cougars created the blueprint against the Trojans. WSU shot an efficient 47% from the floor, allowing it to get back on the other end. USC recorded just four points in transition. The Trojans also finished with just 0.941 points per possession.

That’s the kind of offensive efficiency the Cougars will need to play against the Wildcats. It will require some shot-making. Wing Jaylen Wells and guard Isaiah Watts provided that against USC. Myles Rice did as well, finishing with 12 points. WSU will need that and more against Arizona.

“Myles settled down a little bit, too, in that second half. That helped a lot,” Smith said on the radio after his group’s win over USC. “He was a little anxious, which, you know, he’s learning. On the road, he struggled out in Colorado and Utah a little. Today, he played better. Played (like a) veteran.”

3. Stop UA from big scoring runs

Part of what has helped the Wildcats start the season 12-3, including 3-1 in conference play, has to do with their scoring runs. They’ve posted the following ones:

• 20-2 against Cal

• 13-0 against Colorado

• 12-0 against Utah

UA has logged scoring runs of 10-0 or more 20 times this season, which trails only Houston (21) among Division I clubs.

In those stretches, they’ve played stingy defense, forcing opponents to miss and getting out on breaks. This goes back to the way WSU will need to make shots to stop Arizona from speeding the game up – but it’s also important because when the Wildcats get going, it’s hard to slow them down.

4. Win the battle on the glass

One byproduct of WSU’s tall lineups, ranking fourth nationwide in average height at 6-foot-7, is its ability to grab offensive rebounds. The Cougars are 13th in the country in offensive rebound percentage, pulling down 32% of their misses. Big men like Oscar Cluff and Rueben Chinyelu hit the glass hard and give their team second chances.

Arizona cleans up 79.9% of opponents’ missed shots, which ranks third in the country. Posts like Oumar Ballo (8.9 rebounds per game) and Johnson (5.9 rpg) have keyed that effort, leveraging their size and igniting transition opportunities, the kind the Wildcats parlay into their scoring runs.

That’s what makes the Cougars’ rebounding, a real strength this season, so important this weekend. Wing Andrej Jakimovski’s offense has come and gone, so he’s responded by going to the glass, averaging 6.1 a game. That may come in handy, as will Jones and his 7.4 rpg.

5. Make enough 3s to spread the floor

Foundational to WSU’s success this season, at least in most cases, has been whether it’s shooting the ball well enough to unlock its interior game. The Cougars want to play through Cluff, Jones and Chinyelu. For those guys to have enough space to operate, they need their perimeter teammates to give them the opportunity.

That means making shots. It’s why freshman guard Isaiah Watts’ presence is a game-changer – his ability to knock down catch-and-shoot 3-pointers prevents defenders from collapsing into the paint. Same goes for Rice, Wells, Jakimovski and guard Jabe Mullins.

That’s the case for any opponent WSU plays, but particularly against the Wildcats, whose defense ranks No. 5 nationwide in efficiency.