UC Riverside @ Washington St. preview
Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum
Last Meeting ( Nov 27, 2011 ) Washington St. 63, UC Riverside 64
Washington State has had a little more than a week to savor its first back-to-back wins of the season. And, now, with classroom finals complete, the Cougars will get back on the court Sunday afternoon when they host UC Riverside.
Sunday’s game also tips off a stretch of four straight home games which will put the wraps on Washington State’s non-conference season. It’s been an up-and-down season, overall, for the Cougars and new coach Kyle Smith who are still feeling things out. “Defensively – being our mantra – we’re trying to get there; we’re not deviating from that,” Smith said Tuesday during his weekly news conference. “… We’re playing a little better offensively. (We’ve been) turning it over more than we have, but I think that’s a byproduct of trying to play the right way with more purpose.” Meanwhile, UC Riverside, of the Big West Conference, comes to Pullman on a bit of a roll, having won five of its last six games since starting the season 2-2.
TV: 4:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
ABOUT UC RIVERSIDE (7-3): The Highlanders also have had more than a week since their last game – a 74-40 win over Division III Cal Lutheran on Dec. 6. Playing at one of the most deliberate paces nationally (333rd out of 353 Division I teams in KenPom.com’s adjusted tempo rankings), UC Riverside is averaging 65.4 points with one player, 7-1 center Callum McRae (11.4 points) averaging double figures. McRae also is averaging a team-most 8.2 rebounds while guards Dragan Elkaz (8.3 points), George Willborn (8.1) and Dominick Pickett (8.0) are all contributing at least eight points per outing.
ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE (5-4): Sophomore forward CJ Elleby has been far and away the Cougars’ best player, ranking third in the Pac-12 with a 20.1-point average and pacing the team with 6.2 rebounds. Guard Isaac Bonton (13.0 points), a junior college transfer, is the only other player averaging double digits while forward Jeff Pollard is averaging 9.1 points and 4.9 rebounds. The Cougars are only shooting 38.6 percent from the field, including 28.3 percent from 3-point range, but are tops nationally with only 9.4 turnovers per game and rank sixth with a plus-7 turnover margin.
TIP-INS
1. This will only be the fourth true home game in Pullman this season for Washington State, which has played four neutral-site contests and two road games.
2. We could see a matchup of 7-1 centers Sunday as Smith said he is hoping to get more minutes for freshman Volodymyr Markovetskyy (3.0 points, 3.2 rebounds in five games).
3. Led by Callum and Willborn (6.2 boards), UC Riverside has a plus-7.7 rebound margin, which is tied for 33rd best nationally.
PREDICTION: Washington State 68, UC Riverside 65