Preview: Cougs host Arizona looking for second Pac-12 win
Wednesday could be Valentine’s Day for the Washington State men’s basketball team as they seek to snap a frustrating seven-game losing streak.
Premier defender and shot-blocker Valentine Izundu, sidelined for WSU’s entire 7-game losing streak with a foot injury, has been ‘greenlighted’ for action when the Cougars square off against No. 23 Arizona (15-5, 5-4) Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Beasley Coliseum.
Izundu is averaging 2.7 blocks per game, 15th in the nation and third in the Pac-12, and should boost Washington State’s defense around the basket. In fact, WSU blocked 2.5 more shots per game with Izundu in the lineup (5.8 per game) than without him (3.3 blocks per game).
Opponents are averaging 86.3 points per game without Izundu in the lineup. In games with Izundu, WSU’s opponents were averaging 70.9 points per game.
“Valentine is a game day decision,” Kent said Tuesday before practice. “We’ll see how he responds in practice. It’s nice to have him back out there and have him get up and down the floor. He has the green light to play. But I‘m going to wait and make the decision at game time.”
Wednesday’s game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks with Ted Robinson (play-by-play) and Steve Lavin (color analyst) on the call. Matt Chazanow will have the call on the Washington State IMG Radio Network.
Washington State (9-12, 1-8) is looking for its second Pac-12 win of the season.
“Our guys come to practice and battle every day and they battle in the games,” Kent said. “But they have to understand how to win and learn how to close out games.”
Kent has been pleased with the improvement shown by the WSU defense since he altered the starting lineup by installing Brett Boese, Junior Longrus and Ny Redding into the first five as a way to enhance communication on defense.
“I went to a more vocal lineup because a big problem we were having on defense is we weren’t communicating enough,” Kent said. “So, I just took the guys that talked the most in practice and (put them in the starting lineup). It looks like a veteran lineup, but it’s really the guys that give us more energy and conversation. It has helped everybody understand how important it is to communicate on defense.”
COUGARS VERSUS WILDCATS: The Cougars have lost eight straight games to the Wildcats, including the last four games in Pullman. In the first meeting between the two teams this season, WSU fell, 90-66, on Jan. 16 in Tucson. The Cougars’ last win over Arizona came Feb. 6, 2010 at Beasley Coliseum in a 78-60 victory. WSU is 1-3 this season against teams ranked in the AP Top 25.
Entering this week, Arizona was ranked 24th in the nation in scoring offense (81.5 ppg), 34th in three-point field goal percentage (.384) and 65th in free throw percentage (.725). The Wildcats rank 14th (116.9) in offensive adjusted efficiency according to KenPom.com.
“Arizona is a very physical basketball team,” Kent said. “They play with an enormous amount of confidence. They are very good both offensively and defensively. We’re going to need the mentality of understanding how hard we have to play on a possession by possession basis for 40 minutes.”
CHANGING UP THE LINEUP: Through 21 games this season, WSU has used eight different starting lineups. Nine different Cougars have gotten at least three starting nods this season as junior Ike Iroegbu is the only Cougar to start all 21 games this season. Kent recently altered the starting lineup to boost WSU’s defense with Izundu absent.
LAST OUTING: WSU dropped its seventh-straight game and split the season series with UCLA by losing, 83-50, last Saturday at Pauley Pavilion. Junior Ike Iroegbu led WSU with 16 points, the third straight game he has led the Cougars in scoring and the ninth time this season. Iroegbu added 4 rebounds and two assists.
PAC-12 SCHEDULE (Feb. 3-4)
Arizona at Washington State, 7 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)(2/3)
Arizona State at Washington, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)(2/3)
Colorado at Oregon, 6 p.m. (FS1)(2/4)
UCLA at USC, 7:30 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks)
(2/4)Utah at Oregon State, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)(2/4)
(WazzuWatch Publisher Scott Hood contributed to this story)
