Washington State lets chip fall ... right on Oral Roberts
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Scott Sutton stalked off the court after junior swingman Yemi Ogunoye, whose careless inbounds pass, intercepted by Washington State, helped pull the favorite within two at the half.
Oral Roberts, a No. 14 seed, hadn't played a perfect game but was up six points with five seconds remaining before the break. The Cougars then scored two short buckets, the latter on a play that should've never occurred. Little guys can't afford to give up points. Not at the line, not on dumb fouls, and certainly not on bad inbounds passes.
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| Kyle Weaver's steal and subsequent dunk at the end of the first half keys the Cougars' romp. (AP) |
Washington State can relate.
"Our kids have had to eat a lot of dirt," first-year coach Tony Bennett said following his team's 70-54 victory in East Regional first-round action. "Once they tasted success, they liked what it was like and wanted more."
To achieve more, Bennett insists his team must play with massive amounts of passion. He calls that one of the primary principles of his program, which he inherited from father Dick Bennett after assisting him for three seasons. There are no can't-miss NBA prospects on his roster, so he convinced his team that unless it work harder than its opponents, it's going to get beat.
It sounds real good, but all coaches aim to get their teams to play harder. The reason Bennett pulls it off is because his team has seen its shortcomings firsthand.
The Cougars had not enjoyed a winning season in 11 years, and no one could've predicted that things would turn out as they have. Thursday's victory tied a school record (26), adding to the magical run that saw them finish second in the Pac-10 behind only UCLA.
Still, as I was reminded very quickly upon entering the Washington State locker room, the non-believers are still waiting for them to fail, and Oral Roberts was the perfect foil. The Golden Eagles were talented and dangerous enough to make all the success Washington State has enjoyed this season end up bitter-sweet.
"We heard everyone was picking Oral Roberts," point guard Derrick Low said, accepting my apology. "It just makes us remember where we've been. I think our mentality is just that much tougher because of what we've gone through."
A lackluster first half, aided only by a big final minute, helped put things in perspective. Bennett went in and told his team, "this is not who we are." Defensively, they were porous. Offensively, they were out of sync. It looked like the same old Washington State that had lost at least 16 games the 10 previous seasons.
"We decided to get out there and get stops, and play like we do," said Low, a native Hawaiian who has emerged as WSU's top scorer. "We've earned this high seed, we've earned the right to be the favorite. It was time to play like it."
There's an edge to Washington State, and even though junior Kyle Weaver doesn't feel his team has joined the ranks of the nation's best just yet, he can't deny that after Oral Roberts supplied his team with momentum entering the break, it smelled blood. The weaker team was shaken, and the natural next step was to put it down.
