WSU 90, Idaho 67

The Cougars improved to 3-0 with yet another beatdown of the Vandals in a series that simply has not been competitive in a while. WSU continues to move up in the tempo-free metrics, climbing to No. 97 at kenpom.com and No. 83 at barttorvik.com.

• Recap at Cougfan

• Box score

• Line o’ the night: LeJuan Watts with 16 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists.

• One stat to tell the tale: Idaho shot 5-of-24 from beyond the arc. It’s not the reason the Vandals lost — WSU’s 2-point defense and second-half scoring outburst did the heavy lifting there — but it definitely helped the Cougs out while they were finding their sea legs in the first half.

Highlights

Three Thoughts

1. Improving defense

We know these guys can score points — dropping 90+ in three straight games to start the season is quite the eye opener, no matter the opponents. But can they defend? Things are definitely trending in the right direction.

The rankings at kenpom.com and Barttorvik.com are both based on adjusted efficiency¹ , but only bart provides that “adjusted efficiency” metric for each game, which enables an apples-to-apples(ish) comparison of each performance. Not only was this the first game where the adjusted defensive efficiency was under 1.0 points per possession, it was the third consecutive game in which it dropped.

I’m not going to pretend that the defensive number was 100% all about what the Cougs were doing on this night, given that Idaho bricked a fair number of open looks from 3. But after the shambolic performance on that end in the opener against Portland State, it’s reassuring to see that things are getting better. Because whatever you think the ceiling for this team is, it’s almost certainly is tied to what they can or cannot do on the defensive end.

2. Welcome, ND Okafor!

Relatedly, this game included the debut of Okafor, who missed the first couple of contests with an injury. I thought all along that he would provide a dimension on the interior that we just didn’t have with Ethan Price and Dane Erikstrup, and he showed that immediately: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal in 18 minutes. To be honest, this was the perfect landing spot for him — Idaho doesn’t have the size in the paint to compete with an athletic big man at 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds — and I’d even go so far as to say that it sure felt like his impact on the game was even bigger than his stat line.

Again, three games into the season, we’re looking a lot at what these initial performances mean for the future, and Okafor’s presence — even if only for 15 to 20 minutes a night — will be critical. Friend of the podcast Alyssa Charlston-Smith said on the TV broadcast that Price and Erikstrup are basically 6-11 wings, and that’s accurate from both an offensive and defensive standpoint. Erikstrup, in particular, struggles with foot speed and positioning on defense. Being able to mix in Okafor gives David Riley another weapon to deploy against opponents who might be taking advantage of that.

The offense changes a bit when Okafor is in the game, since it takes a shooter off the floor. But Nate Calmese proved adept at running pick and roll with Okafor, who got a couple of easy finishes at the rim because of that.

3. Sharing the sugar

Ostensibly, the Cougs’ best scorer is Cedric Coward. He scored just 4 points on three shot attempts … and WSU dropped 90 anyway, thanks to five players scoring in double figures. That’s actually down from the first two games, where six players scored in double figures in each of them.

It was Calmese who led the way with 18 points this time, which is funny, because he started very, very slowly — 16 of his points came in the second half. Once he heats up, he sure is fun to watch, and I think what I loved most about what he did was that it was his defense — where he had 3 steals — that seemed to get him going offensively. You love to see that kind of energy.

As for Coward, he just doesn’t seem to feel compelled to force himself upon the offense. He absolutely could do that — he has the talent — but he trusts that if teams are locking in on him, his teammates will do the damage. There will be nights where he needs to force the issue, but this wasn’t one of them, and having your best player buy in so fully to an egalitarian offense is a hell of a thing to watch.

Up Next: Iowa Hawkeyes

Time for the first large test of the season, as the Cougs travel to Moline, Illinois, on Friday for what kenpom calls a “semi-away” matchup with the Big Ten opponent — the arena is just an hour’s drive east from the Hawkeyes’ campus.

When most people think “Big Ten basketball,” they think slow, bruising battles. Iowa is the primary exception to that rule: The Hawkeyes, under Fran McCaffrey, are very much offense first, second, and third, having posted a top 20 adjusted offensive efficiency on kenpom in seven consecutive seasons. Iowa also has been in the top quartile of Division 1 in adjusted tempo in that time — they will have no qualms about getting into a track meet with the Cougs. It’s a matchup of styles that should be very fun to watch (presuming you like points), and it will provide a considerable stress test for WSU’s improving defense.

The Cougars will be the underdogs, but I think that’s also part of the point of scheduling this game: It presents a massive, massive opportunity for their NCAA resume, as Iowa at a “neutral” site will almost certainly be a Quad 1 contest. Pick up this one to move to 4-0, and you can safely start considering what would be needed in WCC play to get into the tournament without the WCC’s auto bid.

Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PT on the Big Ten Network. No need for ESPN+ this time!

1  How many points per possession you’d be expected to score/give up against an average Division 1 opponent.