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Say no more, WSU good again: Other notes

Submitted by administrator on Wed, 12/12/2007 - 19:31

How much attention would Washington State basketball be getting if it were located in the East? Or in Los Angeles? It's not a complaint, simply a thought, because the Cougars, despite their success last season, still are making noteworthy accomplishments that are not being noted.So let's go for a spin around West Coast basketball to see what is happening, beginning with Washington State.The Cougars are 9-0 and ranked No. 7, and perhaps the biggest story about the Cougars is that the Cougars no longer are a big story, having gained acceptance as a national power (it still looks funny to see it in print). Maybe the media merely have run out of ways to say the Cougars play great defense.The latest example came last Wednesday when the Cougars beat then-No. 19 Gonzaga 51-47 at the Bulldogs' McCarthey Athletic Center. It was only Gonzaga's second loss at that 4-year-old building and its first when the Bulldogs were ranked.Gonzaga was limited to 19 first-half points, its lowest output for a half since 1996, before Gonzaga had made a big national name for itself. Gonzaga shot 25.9 percent from the field, the first time in six seasons the Bulldogs shot worse than 30 percent and no one is quite sure when the Bulldogs had a worse shooting game.Matt Bouldin, Gonzaga's leading scorer, was 0-for-9 from the field and went scoreless, thanks primarily to the defense played on him by WSU's Kyle Weaver.-- STANFORD: Brook Lopez might be in uniform for the Cardinal in Sunday's exhibition game against the College of Idaho. He can't regain athletic eligibility until the fall-term grades are posted and it's uncertain when that will be. He should be available for next Wednesday's home game against Santa Clara.Swingman Fred Washington will miss a game or two after undergoing minor knee surgery, but he should be back for the start of the Pac-10 season Jan. 3.-- CAL: There's no question the Bears are a much better team with Jerome Randle on the court, if only because he's hitting 56.3 percent of his three-point tries. His turnover total is mounting, however. He had nine against Kansas State and is averaging 5.4 turnovers for the season, second highest in the country.-- ARIZONA: Lute Olson says he will return to coach the Wildcats next season, but some in Tucson think Olson, who will be 74 in September, has coached his final game. Arizona is lucky to have Kevin O'Neill, who was a head coach at Marquette and Tennessee and more recently was a head coach in the NBA.-- UCLA: After averaging 20.2 points for the first five games, Kevin Love has averaged 12.3 for the past four. That's not unusual for a freshman, though. USC's O.J. Mayo was averaging 23.6 points over the first five games, and 16.5 in the four games since then. Michael Beasley of Kansas State was at 30.0 points a game after five games, and has averaged 18.8 in the last four. Memphis' Derrick Rose was scoring at 19.8 points a game through the first four games, and is averaging 10.7 in the three games since.-- SANTA CLARA: The Broncos lead the nation in field-goal percentage (54.1) and are fifth in three-point shooting (45.6 percent). What makes those numbers more significant is that Santa Clara has played its past seven games on the road. In fact, if the season-opening home game against Division II Cal State Monterey Bay had not been shoehorned into the schedule, the Broncos would be leading the nation in three-point shooting as well.-- BYU: Why would a player who is averaging 4.3 points lead the team in playing time? Because senior Ben Murdock has 45 assists and 12 turnovers while solving the Cougars' concern about the point-guard spot after the departure of Austin Ainge. Murdock had only one turnover against the Louisville press in BYU's 78-76 win over the then-No. 6 Cardinals. However, BYU blew a 10-point halftime lead in Saturday's 68-61 loss to Michigan State.-- OREGON STATE: C.J. Giles, who transferred from Kansas last season, was eligible to play for the first time this season Tuesday, and he should give the Beavers a defensive lift.-- USC: Yes, it's true: The Trojans lost 65-44 on Sunday to Fresno Pacific, an NAIA school that had lost its previous two games to The Master's College and Vanguard. But for one thing, it was an exhibition game, and for another, none of the Trojans' starters played. Fresno Pacific's coach is Jim Saia, who was USC's interim head coach before Tim Floyd was hired.(E-mail Jake Curtis at jcurtis@sfchronicle.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)