SEATTLE — There was undoubtedly celebration in Pullman — again.
The Washington State Cougars, who would love nothing better than to be on the NCAA tournament bubble, may well have put the Washington Huskies onto it late Sunday night by completing the cross-state sweep.
WSU’s 80-69 win over UW left the Huskies in a somewhat familiar position of the desperate coed still looking for a date to the dance. Just like last season, Washington can’t afford another loss — even if it comes in the Pac-10 tournament.
“It is devastating,” UW senior Justin Holiday said after getting swept by the Cougars in the season series. “It’s disappointing, especially at home. You don’t want to lose at home. When you’re backs are already up against the wall, you don’t want to do that.”
The loss drops UW (18-9 overall, 10-6 in conference) out of contention for an outright Pac-10 title and — even more important — leaves the Huskies wondering whether they’ll be invited to the field of 68 that is the NCAA tournament. Once considered a lock for the Big Dance, UW might need another deep run in the conference tournament just to get considered.
“I think we have to go out and win the Pac-10 tournament,” said Holiday, the only UW player who was brought into the interview room after the loss. “Even if we don’t (have to win the tournament to secure an NCAA bid), I think we still have to win it anyway — to be sure. Last year, that was our situation: we had to win it just to be sure. And I think it’s the same this year.”
The key stretch in Sunday’s game came during a controversial five-point play by the Cougars three minutes into the second half, allowing WSU to stretch a narrow halftime lead into a 38-23 advantage. But the Huskies were way out of synch before, and after, that point.
The Cougars kept their poise despite a furious UW rally in the second half and used solid free-throw shooting (32 of 36) to keep the Huskies from coming all the way back.
WSU (18-10, 8-8) led by as many as 21 points in the second half, and the game got a bit chippy down the stretch. UW’s Venoy Overton and WSU’s Marcus Capers had to be separated with 1:50 remaining, after Overton reacted to a hard foul to teammate Matthew Bryan-Amaning by shoving Capers from behind.
That was one of the few times UW showed much of a fight before being on the wrong end of another Apple Cup sweep — the eighth overall, and the fourth by WSU, since 2003-04.
UW hung around for most of the first half, despite horrid shooting (8 of 36 from the field, 1 of 13 from 3-point range, and 0 of 2 from the free-throw line) and the lowest first-half point total (17) of the Lorenzo Romar era. The Huskies trailed 24-17 at the half, then fell behind 33-23 on a drive by WSU’s Klay Thompson with 17:20 remaining.
Twenty-six seconds later, Cougars big man D’Angelo Casto got fouled dribbling across the lane, only to take another dribble and shot after the whistle. The ball went in, and Casto was inexplicably rewarded for the basket and a free throw. The sequence led to a Romar technical foul for arguing vehemently with the decision to count the continuation basket, and a pair of Thompson free throws capped off the five-point trip and gave WSU a 16-point lead.
The Cougars (18-10, 8-8) put their foot on the gas from there, eventually leading 55-34 midway through the second half.
The Huskies used a press and a trio of 3-pointers in a 69-second span to outscore WSU 16-4 and pull within six points, but the Cougars’ free-throw shooting kept UW from making any serious threat.
The Cougars hit 13 of 16 free throws over the final 3:48, but they had put their stamp on the win well before that.
Just like in Pullman, where UW lost 87-80 on Jan. 31, the Huskies appeared mystified by the Cougars’ zone defense. In both games, Washington settled for too many 3-point shots. The Huskies went 8-for-27 from behind the 3-point arc Sunday, including 1-for-13 in the first half.
Bryan-Amaning couldn’t do much against the zone in either meeting, with a combined 22 points on 4-of-19 shooting.
“They didn’t just zone me today,” he said Sunday night. “They didn’t just sit in a zone. Every time I caught it, I had two people around me.”
Bryan-Amaning also said that the loss leaves UW in the familiar position of needing to win out just to secure a tournament bid.
“Just because of how many losses we have this season,” he said, “and also the way everyone in the media looks at the Pac-10.”
Romar said he didn’t know what the loss might do to the Huskies’ tournament chances but did offer: “I don’t think it advances us, that’s for sure.”
For the Cougars, the win didn’t necessarily move WSU markedly closer to a tournament bid, either. But it was a step in the right direction toward the proverbial bubble.
“We desperately needed it,” Cougars coach Ken Bone said of Sunday’s win.
WSU’s Thompson led all scorers with 26 points, including 13 free throws. But his most impressive line may have come after the game, when he was asked what the win meant for Cougar Nation.
“It felt good seeing (the fans) leave the gym two minutes early,” he told a Fox Sports Northwest television camera late Sunday night, while a scattering of WSU faithful stuck around to celebrate at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. “We’re not fair-weather fans like that.”
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