Washington State 2007 NCAA Tournament Capsule

Washington State Cougars - Pac-10 (25-7, 13-5)

Seed: #3 - East Region

RPI: 26

Big Wins: 12/30 at USC (58-55), 1/6 Arizona (77-73), 2/1 at Arizona (72-66)

Bad Losses: 12/2 at Utah (55-69), 1/13 at Stanford (68-71), 3/9 vs USC (61-70)

Last NCAA Appearance: 1994, First Round loss to Boston College

Coach: Tony Bennett (First NCAA appearance)

Probable Washington State Starters:

• Kyle Weaver, Junior, Guard, 11.5 ppg, 4.5 apg, 5.5 rpg

• Derrick Low, Junior, Guard, 13.6 ppg, 2.1 apg, 2.1 rpg

• Daven Harmeling, Sophomore, Forward, 9.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg

• Ivory Clark, Senior, Forward, 8.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.4 bpg

• Robbie Cowgill, Junior, Forward, 7.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg

Key Roleplayers for Washington State:

• Mac Hopson, Sophomore, Guard, 4.4 ppg, 2.0 apg

• Taylor Rochestie, Sophomore, Guard, 4.4 ppg, 1.8 apg

• Aron Baynes, Sophomore, Center, 4.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg

Why They Can Surprise:
You can never argue against the system. Coach Tony Bennett has taken over the reigns at Washington State from his father Dick Bennett and immediately put his stamp on the program. Sure they only score 66.5 points per game, but that is about ten more than last year. And the defense has not slipped at all.

The tremendous ball control and the meager 10.3 turnovers per game can be credited to the backcourt of Kyle Weaver and Derrick Low. Weaver will do a bit of everything and leads the team in assists and reboundingand is the best defender on the squad. With a little more consistency on the outside shooting, Weaver would be a superstar, but he can still score by getting to the basket and averages 11.5 points per game. Low is the outside shooter and will take all the big shots for WSU.

Why Washington State Can Disappoint:
Offensive rebounds are as rare in Pullman as sunny days in December. Seldom will WSU outrebound anybody. The Cougars do not even attempt to get many offensive rebounds, since it is more important for them to get back on defense. Even giving up an offensive board is not that big of a deal as long as it does not lead to an easy bucket. The opposition still has to try and break down the defense and WSU has no problem playing tough D for 70 seconds.

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Who To Watch:
Daven Harmeling, Ivory Clark and Robbie Cowgill are not the most intimidating frontcourt in the Pac-10, but they excel in the Cougars style of play. Cowgill has some smooth moves under the basket and, like most Cougars, can step outside and hit the mid-range jumper or find an open teammate. The overall depth for Washington State is not great, but Aron Baynes provides a big body, and the occasional big game, off the bench.

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 66.7 (213th in nation, 8th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 58.8 (14, 1)

Field-Goal Percentage: 46.9 (54, 4)

Field-Goal Defense: 40.3 (30, 2)

Free-Throw Percentage: 71.0 (106, 5)

Rebound Margin: -2.6 (259, 8)

Assists Per Game: 14.0 (128, 6)

Turnovers Per Game: 10.4 (3, 1)

Joel’s Bracket Says: Second Round loss to Vanderbilt

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