Matthew Goetzfried
The Washington State Cougars will be in Tucson on Thursday to square up against the Wildcats. The Cougs are coming off two quality home wins against Stanford and Cal. After losing Klay Thompson, the expectations were low for the Cougars but they have managed a decent 11-8 record. At 3-4 in the Pac, Wazzu is still looking for their first conference road win. Their 2 previous wins may be their best but they also have some embarrassing losses to Utah and UC Riverside.
The most consistent part about this team has been their atrocious rebounding. They are among last in the conference only grabbing 33.2 per game. In a game against Washington earlier this year, the Cougars were out boarded 22-4 on the offensive glass and 46-24 overall. Wazzu may struggle on the glass but they can be a very potent offense. The Cougars are top three in the conference in, field goal percentage, assists, free throw percentage and three point percentage.
Wazzu is led by 6’10 junior Brock Motum. He is the Cougars most efficient player; he rains 57% from the field and 40% from downtown. Motum is a very sound fundamental player; he makes good cuts and can step out for the three creating openings in the defense. This year Motum is managing 15.4 points to go along with 6.3 boards a game.
Also putting up a nice stat line of 15.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game is Faisel Aden. Aden is coming off a monumental week in which he was named Pac-12 player of the week. He dropped 33 on Stanford and then finished off Cal with 24. Although he has been hot, Faisel is a guy who can fall in love with his shot even if they’re not falling for him. If this 6-4 senior gets hot, he’s hard to cool down not to mention he can make some very tough shots.
Running the show for Wazzu will be 6’1 junior guard Reggie Moore. Moore is one of the best point guards in the Pac. He really knows how to distribute the ball; he averaging 5.5 dimes a game which is second in the conference. In addition to Moore, keep a heads up for 6’3 freshman DaVonte Lacey. Lacey has had spurts of huge success but hasn’t managed to produce on a consistent basis. This season he is averaging nearly 10ppg, 2rpg and 2 apg.
This Wazzu team is one that has shown they can compete, but I don’t see that being the case Thursday night at McKale. The Cougars may have just nabbed two wins against top conference teams but they haven’t executed well when on the road. Their morale may be high, but it’s time to break them down. I fully expect Solo to snag a double double and will look to Nick Johnson to be my breakout player. I’d love to see him come out hot after a poor shooting performance against Colorado. My prediction; Arizona 73-61
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