Preview: No. 18 WSU faces UW with Pac-12 title hopes still alive
Mar 6, 2024, 10:41 AM | Updated: 2:53 pm
Jaylen Wells of the WSU Cougars in action against UCLA on March 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
(AP Photo/Young Kwak)
UW Huskies (16-14, 8-11 Pac-12) at No. 18 WSU Cougars (23-7, 14-5 Pac-12)
Thursday, 6 p.m. (pregame 5:30 p.m.)
Radio: Seattle Sports 710 AM; Seattle Sports app; SeattleSports.com
BOTTOM LINE
No. 18 Washington State faces Washington after Jaylen Wells scored 27 points in a 77-65 WSU victory over the UCLA Bruins.
No. 18 WSU’s pursuit of rare Pac-12 hoops title full of storylines
Entering this final game of conference play for WSU, the Cougars trail No. 5 Arizona (23-6 overall, 14-4 conference) by just a half-game for the Pac-12 lead. If Washington State beats UW, Arizona must win both at UCLA on Thursday and at USC on Saturday to clinch the title, as a tiebreaker would go to the Cougars, who beat the Wildcats in both of their meetings this season.
The Cougars are 15-1 on their home court. Washington State ranks eighth in the Pac-12 with 12.4 assists per game led by Myles Rice averaging 3.8.
The Huskies are 8-11 in conference games. Washington is 7-5 when it wins the turnover battle and averages 11.3 turnovers per game.
Washington State makes 46.9% of its shots from the field this season, which is 2.7 percentage points higher than Washington has allowed to its opponents (44.2%). Washington scores 13.9 more points per game (81.0) than Washington State allows (67.1).
WSU among teams that can send history-rich Pac-12 hoops out with a bang
TOP PERFORMERS
Andrej Jakimovski is shooting 34.1% from beyond the arc with 2.0 made 3-pointers per game for the Cougars, while averaging 10.3 points and 5.6 rebounds.
Keion Brooks Jr. is averaging 21.3 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Huskies.
LAST 10 GAMES
WSU Cougars: 9-1, averaging 74.0 points, 36.1 rebounds, 11.8 assists, 4.9 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 45.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.8 points per game.
UW Huskies: 5-5, averaging 82.5 points, 35.8 rebounds, 16.9 assists, 6.0 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.2 points.
Details on where rising WSU, Gonzaga landed in this week’s AP top 25
