Quick Recap: Cal falls to Red Hot Cougs

Washington State takes down the Bears, 84-65

I’m not going to argue that Cal played particularly well in Pullman against Washington State. Fardaws Aimaq, playing in front of family, looked tight and couldn’t finish off shots he would typically sink. Cal’s perimeter ball handlers were uncharacteristically loose with their passes. When the offense finally got going in the 2nd half, the defense couldn’t buy a stop.

But the main character on Thursday night was not Cal, it was the best story in the Pac-12, and the hottest team in the Pac-12. Washington State is now 9-1 in their last 10 games, with wins over Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and Oregon. They are just a half game behind Arizona for 1st place in the conference. Their best player is probably Myles Rice, who couldn’t play last season because he was fighting Hodgkin's lymphoma. If Myles Rice isn’t their best player, it’s Isaac Jones, who played three years of community college ball.

The Cougars are poised to make their first NCAA tournament since 2008 under Tony Bennett, and if they upset Arizona on the road next Thursday, they will be slight favorites to end the season as the regular season conference champs.

This is a roundabout way of saying that what we saw on the court on Thursday I think was more about what Wazzu is doing rather than what Cal was doing.

For about 15 minutes, Cal kept things close with excellent defense. But Wazzu got a couple of run outs on bad perimeter passes, Madsen got T’d up arguing a foul no-call, and the Cougars opened up a lead late in the half. And then, in the 2nd half, Washington State got whatever they wanted on offense, putting up 48 points on great shooting from everywhere on the floor. It wasn’t a contest.

If you’re looking for glimmers of good news amidst a tough defeat, you’ll note that Rodney Brown had an excellent game with 11 points and 4 assists in extended minutes. Any signs that Brown is ready to carry a heavier load is a big deal, as Cal will need players ready to step into larger roles next year.

Cal will have to pick themselves up for a short turnaround against Washington on Saturday. The Huskies blew up Stanford by 20 tonight, so avenging perhaps the most painful defeat of the season will be no easy task.