Wednesday night’s game in Corvallis was already going to be a big one for both the Washington State Cougars and Oregon State Beavers. The Cougars sat in a three-way tie for fourth in the WCC standings with Pacific and San Francisco at 6-5. The Beavers sat just a game back at 5-6. By the time the game reached halftime in Corvallis, both Pacific and San Francisco had lost in upset fashion. And just to add to the chaos, the number one team in the WCC and the AP Poll’s number six team, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, was upset by the Portland Pilots.
With the Cougars leading by as much as 17 in the second half, they looked primed to take full control of the fourth spot in the WCC standings. Instead, the Beavers came roaring back, outscoring the Cougars 51-30 in the second half to snatch this one away, defating WSU 74-64.
Tonight was a prime opportunity for WSU (11-13 overall, 6-6 in conference) to gain some huge ground in the standings, especially with the lead they had in the second half. The seeding in the WCC obviously matters a lot, and a loss tonight could be the difference between WSU only having to win three games in the conference tournament to make it to the big dance and having to win four games. Instead of being up a full game on the rest of the pack, they are now in a four-way tie for that four seed.
WSU controlled the game early, playing with a ton of energy. N.D. Okafor shut down the post, swatting away a trio of shots in just the first five minutes. Offensively, the treys were falling early as Rihards Vavers opened the game up with a three-pointer, and Glass gave WSU an 8-2 lead on a three-pointer. While they were able to score eight points within the first five minutes, it took WSU nearly 10 minutes to score another eight points. Thankfully, their defense was holding their own on the other end, which kept OSU from taking full advantage of WSU’s scoring woes. The Beavers could only get a lead out to four. WSU began clawing their way back in, starting at the charity stripe. A foul on a three-point attempt by Vavers got him a trio of free throws, which he calmly cashed in all three. Jerone Morton followed suit with a pair of his own free throws to flip the lead back to WSU. Olavi Suutela answered with a layup, but WSU countered by finally starting to find some rhythm offensively. Adria Rodriguez knocked down a free throw that started an 11-0 run for WSU. In that run, Glass cashed a pair of threes, while Simon Hildebrandt and Morton each tacked on layups. The Beavers were finally able to interrupt the run with a pair of charity stripe shots, but Eemli Yalaho and Morton answered with a three-pointer each to push the lead out to 14. Despite the deficit, OSU was able to end the half on a high note with a last-second trey to head to the half down 11.
The Cougars opened the final half by keeping the Beavers at arm’s length for the first five minutes. Then, OSU’s Josiah Lake II went on a personal 7-0 run to breathe some life into Gill Coliseum. This run proved to be the beginning of the end for WSU. While they were able to get four back at the free throw line, the Beavers immediately punched back with an 11-0 run to pull all the way back within a point. A few minutes later, another 10-0 run pushed the Beaver lead all the way out to eight. The Beavers ended up pulling away in the remaining seconds to stun WSU with a 10-point win.
In just nine minutes of gametime, WSU went from being comfortably up to regressing to the worst versions of themselves. The hot three-point shooting had suddenly vanished, and in its place were empty possessions. Either by a miss or a turnover. The Cougs were able to get away with those offensive struggles early on as the Beavs struggled out of the gate as well. You can’t get away with those lapses when the other team shoots 53.1% from the field in a half. After the Cougars had taken that game-high 17-point lead, the Beavers outscored them 47-20 over the final 16:49. KenPom had WSU at a 95.5% chance to win early in the second half.
On top of all of this, WSU looks forward to the remainder of their schedule, and it is daunting. Three matchups with teams currently sitting in the top 40 in KenPom. WSU had to have it tonight.
The Cougars will return home on Saturday to welcome in the now WCC-leading Santa Clara Broncos.
