Washington State Basketball Gameday Huddle: Fresno State Bulldogs
By Josh Davis
It’s a Sunday morning and I’m still in football mode with the Seahawks playing later today and bolting for the playoffs. But it’s time to focus on basketball as well. The Cougars play Fresno State at Noon, meaning I’ll need to find some way to watch two separate screens at once for a half hour or so.
Looking at Fresno, the Bulldogs are 5-3 and if you’re just looking at results it seems as if they have had a very similar season to that of Washington State so far. their 3 losses are by 3, 8 and a 2 point loss to then No. 24 ranked Texas. I fully expect another very close game here, just hopefully not a heartbreaking decision.
The Cougs need another big game from Lacy, who stepped up big time against Gonzaga coming off of an injury. However, I also think they need to rebound defensively and they’ll need a 3rd Cougar to step up and score in the nine to twelve range. Dexter Kernich-Drew is the primary candidate, if he could knock down a couple 3’s when he gets the opportunity.
On the defensive end, Allen Huddleston will need to be contained. He’s the only Bulldog averaging double digits, with 12.5 per game and the Dogs love to slow down the pace. This means the Cougars will need to employ a different strategy then they did on Wednesday, when they were in a similar “slow down and maximize possessions” mode. They need to speed it up today and get it into the mid 70’s.
A couple of side notes. Redshirt senior Mike Ladd will get his first and only shot at his old team today, remember he was a Fresno State transfer a few seasons ago and he decided to move to WSU. Two years ago the Cougars beat Fresno, in Fresno, behind 28 from Faisal Aiden. Ladd was in his transfer season and could not play in the game.
Go Cougs… And Hawks!