COUGARS AND HUSKIES GAMEDAY
WASHINGTON STATE (9-7 OVERALL, 1-3 PAC-12) AT WASHINGTON (10-6, 3-1)
4 p.m., Alaska Airlines arena
TV: Root Sports. Radio: 950-AM, 102.9-FM
Series: The two teams first started playing in 1910 and Washington holds a 172-100 advantage over the Cougars. The Huskies are 99-35 in games played in Seattle. However, Washington State won both regular season games last season, including an 80-69 win at Alaska Airlines Arena. But the Huskies did get a measure of revenge in the Pacific-10 Conference tournament, defeating the Cougars, 89-87.
PROBABLE STARTERS
With player's name, position, points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, field goal percentage and free throw percentage:
WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS
Reggie Moore, G, 9.4 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 5.4 APG, 39.8 FG Pct., 73.3 FT Pct.
Marcus Capers, G, 5.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.7 APG, 56.6 FG Pct., 62.5 FT Pct.
DaVonte Lacy, G, 9.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.2 APG, 41.4 FG Pct., 76.0 FT Pct.
Brock Motum, F, 15.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.1 APG, 55.6 FG Pct., 70.7 FT Pct.
Charlie Enquist, F, 5.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 0.4 APG, 72.0 FG Pct., 79.3 FT Pct.
WASHINGTON HUSKIES
Abdul Gaddy, G, 8.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 4.8 APG, 43.0 FG Pct., 65.1 FT Pct.
Terrence Ross, G, 14.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.8 APG, 45.9 FG Pct., 73.7 FT Pct.
Tony Wroten, G, 17.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.3 APG, 49.8 FG Pct., 53.8 FT Pct.
Desmond Simmons, F, 6.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.2 APG, 46.8 FG Pct., 62.5 FT Pct.
Aziz N’Diaye, C, 7.9 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 51.6 FG Pct., 40.5 FT Pct.
Scouting report: If a few things went in a different direction, the Huskies could be the team with the 1-3 conference record and the Cougars could be 3-1.
But neither team has played consistently since conference play started. The Huskies are still searching for consistent defense. It seemed like they had made progress in recent weeks, but they regressed against Seattle University.
Washington State continues to be a mystery. The Cougars looked solid in a win over Oregon State and then lost at Utah when they couldn’t make free throws. Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar is wary of the Cougars’ talent, knowing that Reggie Moore is capable of taking over games, while 6-10 forward Brock Motum might be the most improved player in the conference. Moore, who played at Rainier Beach, seems to play at another level in Seattle. He’s good at getting to the basket off the dribble and that’s been Washington’s biggest defensive weakness.
It will be interesting to see how Washington matches up with Motum. Freshman Desmond Simmons seems like the best candidate. Despite being three inches shorter at 6-7, Simmons plays physical and is athletic enough to stay with Motum when he goes to the perimeter.
The Cougars have played a lot of 2-3 zone, something the Huskies have been known to struggle with, even with shooters Terrence Ross and C.J. Wilcox. If the Cougars do go man-to-man, either senior Marcus Capers or freshman DaVonte Lacy would probably draw the duty of guarding Tony Wroten.
Next for UW: Thursday vs. California, 5:30 p.m., Alaska Airlines Arena
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