Basketball heads to the desert to face Arizona
WASHINGTON STATE (14-10, 7-10)
at Arizona (15-8, 9-8) | Thr., Feb. 25 | 8 p.m. PT
Live Stats | Statbroadcast
Watch | FS1 (Beto Duran & Corey Williams)
Listen | WSU IMG Radio Network (Matt Chazanow & Craig Ehlo)
OPENING FIVE
> The Cougs close out the regular season with three games in the desert beginning with a rematch against Arizona, at Tucson, as WSU looks to avenge a 2OT loss to the Wildcats when the Cougs missed 18 free throws to let Arizona steal the win. Since that game the Cougs are shooting 74.3% (197-265) from the line with Kunc (88.9%), Williams (87.0%), and Abogidi (85.3%) leading the way.
> For the first time since 2011-12 the Cougs pulled off the weekend sweep of the Bay Area schools beating Cal, 82-51, and Stanford, 86-75 3OT, to close out their home schedule. Against Cal, the Cougs took home their biggest win in Pac-12 play since 1993. Against Stanford, the Cougs picked up their first 3OT win since 1982.
> Sophomore Noah Williams was named the Pac-12 POW as well as the NCAA and USBWA National POW after scoring a program record 72 points over the weekend. He became the first Coug to drop 40 in a game since Klay Thompson in 2011.
> Freshman Andrej Jakimovski did his best Luka Doncic impression over the weekend averaging 11 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 9 assists per game while hitting 5-of-11 from deep.
> WSU has thrown around its size in the paint as the Cougs enter the game grabbing 38.0 rpg, the best season average in nearly half a century since grabbing 40.0 rpg in 1975-76. Additionally, the Cougs are averaging 3.6 blocks per game, posting 3+ bpg for the first time since 2015-16.
GAME INFORMATION - AT ARIZONA
The Cougs hit the road for the final three regular season games as they head to Arizona to take on the Wildcats in Tucson. Arizona stole a 2OT victory at Pullman to start 2021 as the Cougs missed 18 free throws to allow the Wildcats to take the victory. The Cougs look to snap a three-game skid against the Wildcats and pick up their first win in Tucson since Feb. 9, 2019 when WSU downed Arizona, 69-55 to complete the desert sweep.
LAST TIME OUT - VS STANFORD
WSU 85 - STAN 76 (3OT) | Feb. 20, 2021 | Pullman, Wash.
Behind a 40 point effort from Noah Williams, the Cougs outlasted the Cardinal in a 3OT instant classic, snapping a nine-game skid against Stanford and earning a weekend sweep of the Bay Area schools for the first time since 2011-12. After playing even through 50 minutes, the Cougs dominated the third overtime, shutting out the Cardinal en route to a 9-0 period.
WILLIAMS NAMED PAC-12 POW, NATIONAL POW
For the first time in his young career, sophomore Noah Williams took home not only the Pac-12 Player of the Week award, but also was named the NCAA and the USBWA National Player of the Week after leading the Cougs to a sweep of the Bay Area schools. Williams becomes just the third Cougar men's player to earn the USBWA's top weekly honor.
The stellar sophomore put together one of the most epic scoring weekends in program history scoring a combined 72 points, the most by a Coug over a weekend series surpassing Bennie Seltzer's record of 68 set in 1993. He became just the fifth Coug all-time to score 30+ points in back-to-back games and the first since Seltzer. After scoring a then career-high 32 points against Cal Thursday, Williams beat his own mark with a 40-point effort against the Cardinal Saturday, the first 40+ point performance for a Coug since the legend Klay Thompson's 43-point performance in 2011. His 40 points were the most points scored by a Pac-12 player this season and the most scored in a conference game since 2016.
BAY AREAD SWEEP
For the first time since 2011-12 the Cougs pulled off the weekend sweep of the Bay Area schools beating Cal, 82-51, and Stanford, 86-75 3OT, to close out their home schedule. The Cougs did it in very different ways handing Cal its worse loss in the all-time series while the Cougs took home their biggest win in Pac-12 play since 1993. The win also matched the largest win in the two-year Kyle Smith era thanks to an impressive 51.7% shooting including a season-high 22 assists.
Against Stanford, the Cougs struggled early to get their shots to drop but hit their groove late to come up with their first 3OT win since 1982. The win snapped a nine-game skid against the Cardinal and guaranteed at least a .500 or better record for WSU for the second-straight season.
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