WSU

Great win for the Dawgs tonight in Pullman. The Huskies defeated the Cougars, 59-52, and kept a small amount of hope alive for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament field.

Matthew Bryan-Amaning (17 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks) has had games when he’s scored more points, but it’d be hard to argue with the assertion that this was his best game as a Husky. In the first half, the man from the U.K. looked as good as any player on UK, KU, or any other team in the country.

Isaiah Thomas had 13 of his 22 points in the second half and helped the Huskies overcome a big run by the Cougars early in the second half that briefly saw the Huskies lose the lead.

After dominating the first half, going into the locker room up 35-21, the Cougars started the half with a 25-9 run, whipping the Wazzu crowd into a frenzy.

As the Cougars took a 46-44 lead with about seven minutes left, the frenzied crowd celebrated the very real possibility that the night could end in a win for the hometown team. But, three-pointers by Scott Suggs and Thomas gave the Huskies a lead which they would never relinquish.

Observations and analysis:

Matthew Bryan-Amaning’s first 12 or so minutes tonight were the best stretch of his Husky career. Seeing him do it against DeAngelo Casto, the Pac-10′s most underrated player and a (future) legit pro prospect, was encouraging. MBA’s M.O. has so commonly been to play better against bad competition, so this was a true breakthrough for him.

Scott Suggs, minus his shooting, is a very mediocre ballplayer. He’s got the raw materials, but this is a big offseason for him. Lots of work to do.

We can’t turn the ball over 19 times if we’re going to try to win the Pac-10 Tournament.

Now that the Huskies are eliminated from the conference race, I say, root root root for Cal. The more comfortable the Bears feel with their at-large bid hopes, the less likely they’ll bring the heat to the Pac-10 Tournament.

If I’m voting for Pac-10 Player of the Year, I’ve got to pay some attention to the fact that Quincy Pondexter (seven points, seven rebounds tonight) only averages 14.4 points in road games, right?

I don’t mean to be negative, but you heard it here first (and I imagine you’ve thought this as well): Abdul Gaddy, Isaiah Thomas, Justin Holiday, Tyreese Breshers and MBA, with V.O. first off the bench, is not a Pac-10 championship lineup. We need Terrence Jones and another big body.

If the Huskies win their next two, they’d have to go into the Pac-10 Tournament as a semi-favorite. They’d be on a six-game winning streak, finally in possession of a legitimate third scorer, with the highest ceiling of any team competing in Staples that week not called the “Lakers.”

Next up, Oregon on Thursday at 7 PM. No TV, so be sure to get batteries for those transistor radios! (Am I the only one who still uses a transistor radio?)

Thanks for coming!

Ted S. Warren / AP

I’d call it a statement game, but you know how I feel. . . It’s probably just about how you feel. Nothing the Huskies do at Hec Ed really matters until they prove they can do it on the road.

That said, I’d rather win by 28 than by eight. And, I’d rather see the Huskies attack a zone correctly than not. And, I’d rather see Justin Holiday’s Inspector Gadget arms shutting down Klay Thompson in a game that featured two conference Player of the Year candidates.

Here’s some more thoughts on the Huskies’ (dare I say it. . .? okay, fine) impressive win over the Cougs yesterday:

I can’t help but start with a criticism of the Husky bigs. This was the second straight game in which a big man not grabbing a rebound firmly enough led to a dumb turnover. A rebound came into Matthew Bryan-Amaning’s hands, and he just let it fall through, the ball rolling out of bounds. GRAB the ball!

If you have any question about who to root for in today’s Pac-10 Sunday tilt, the answer is Arizona, kind of. The Wildcats are 5-3, alone in 2nd place. Cal is 6-2, in first. If Cal wins, they’re two games ahead in the loss column, of the entire conference. Catching them will be difficult, even if the Huskies finish 8-1. If the Wildcats win, though, we’ll have two 6-3 teams sitting atop the conference, leaving the Huskies and four other teams two games back. So, go Cats!

I try to avoid getting on the refs, because good or bad, both teams play the game with the same refs. But, what’s up with Quincy getting tackled by James Watson and all three officials missing it? That didn’t say much for the caliber of referee in the Pac-10.

By the way, any refs out there reading? I have a bunch of ref-related questions, and think we could do a very fun feature out of an interview with a high school or college ref. Please shoot me an email if you’re reading this…

So, next year, I’m thinking Isaiah will almost certainly be our leading scorer. But, the heart of our team, and the leader? Ladies and gentleman, introducing, senior guard, Venoy Overton. Right?

Wanna hear something interesting about Venoy? In person, when he’s talking to the press, he’s got one of the quietest speaking voices I’ve ever heard. Who knows how he is in familiar, comfortable circumstances, but I’m always amazed by the difference between Venoy’s on-court demeanor the quiet, unassuming kid who comes out to talk to the media.

Speaking of Venoy, really nice examination of his fouling tendencies, and whether he belongs in the starting lineup at Seattle Sportsnet, which does a fantastic job covering the local sports scene.

I know what I said earlier, but if we can beat the Arizona schools next week, we’ve got to be capable of getting a few wins on the road, right? (Dammit, optimistic Josh! I told you to stay asleep until we hit the road for the Bay Area!)

I love how the team works to get Brendan Sherrer the ball when he checks in, and he’s got two points in each of the last two games. What about taking a similar approach with a guy like Justin Holiday, Clarence Trent or Darnell Gant late in a big game? Run the offense with one of those guys essentially “playing” Quincy Pondexter, and get a few possessions to see how these guys look trying to create their own offense. I’m just curious.

Klay Thompson can shoot (generally, but not yesterday), but he’s not an NBA guy yet. He might lead the country in scoring next season, though.

The quality difference between DeAngelo Casto and Matthew Bryan-Amaning is not all that big, but it’s the difference between what the Huskies have and what the Huskies need.

Thanks for coming!

The Washington Huskies (4-5, 14-7 overall) defeated the Washington State Cougars (4-5, 14-7 overall), 92-64, on Saturday afternoon at Hec Ed.

The least you should know:

The game was a tale of two halves if there ever was one. The Cougars led 40-36, and outplayed the Huskies in the first half. The Dawgs, though, won the second half 56-24 and turned the game into a blowout with several minutes left.

Quincy Pondexter had 19 points in the first half and finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Isaiah Thomas has only two points in the first half, but propelled the Huskies in the second, finishing with 19 points.

Washington defenders, particularly Justin Holiday, held super-scorer Klay Thompson to seven points on 2-15 shooting.

To read the rest of the game post (for free, of course), please click here to go over to UDubSports.com.