Cougars thrilled to host Pitt

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Panthers 2nd Big East team to visit Pullman




The opportunity to continue their season was motivation enough for the Washington State Cougars to accept a bid to the College Basketball Invitational.

And after winning three games ? the most recent one without leading scorer Brock Motum ?WSU is being rewarded for its resiliency.

That is, if you consider a best-of-3 series against a Big East team a reward. But from a prestige standpoint, the Cougars are proud to host Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. tonight in the opening game of the CBI?s championship series.

Why shouldn?t they be? After all, Pitt is about to become just the second current member of the Big East to play a game in Pullman, and the first since that conference was formed in 1979.

DePaul is the only current Big East team that has played a game here, losing 83-69 to WSU on Dec. 11, 1974.

?Pullman?s not a fun place to play,? for a visiting team, senior forward Abe Lodwick said. ?It?s not an easy place to get to, either, so I understand why a lot of programs don?t come. It?ll be fun having a team with a big name on their chest coming in. We definitely want to represent ourselves and our school as best we can against them.?

?Playing Pitt here, it?s a big-name school coming in and giving us some publicity over on the East Coast for recruits and stuff,? said freshman guard DaVonte Lacy. ?I think it?s a real good opportunity for us and hopefully we take advantage of it.?

The latter may be difficult without Motum, who leads the team in scoring at 18 points per game. Coach Ken Bone said the junior forward has a ?very slim chance? to play after spraining his right ankle early in WSU?s 72-55 semifinal win over Oregon State last week.

Motum, who hadn?t practiced all week when he met with reporters on Saturday, was still in a walking boot and on crutches. He said he?s doing everything he can to make it back in time for the game, but that if he can?t go, the goal will be to get healthy in time for Game 2 on Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

The Panthers (20-16) were ranked 10th in the AP?s preseason poll, but they lost their first seven conference games with starting point guard Tray Woodall sidelined by an abdominal injury. Pitt, which defeated Butler in the semifinals, is 12th in the nation in rebounding margin, but hasn?t played particularly well in any other area.

Bone described them as ?an Arizona team that rebounds like Washington.? Pitt is led in scoring by senior guard Ashton Gibbs, who averages 15.5 points per game.

Keeping the Panthers off the glass will be one of WSU?s top priorities. But the Cougars (18-16) also need offensive contributions similar to what they received from players like Lodwick last week if Motum can?t play.

Lodwick set career highs with 23 points and 12 rebounds in Motum?s absence against OSU, making 5 of 8 from 3-point range while playing 35 minutes. That performance came two days after he set a career high against Wyoming with 16 points.

?I think he?s just extremely relaxed,? Bone said. ?He?s having fun, going out and hooping and not worrying about anything.?

?My confidence has been able to grow a little bit over the first part of this tournament, and it?s been a lot of fun,? Lodwick said.

Win or lose, the fun will continue on Wednesday with a 4 p.m. game at Pitt. A third game, if necessary, would be played in Pittsburgh on Friday.

For now, WSU is simply relishing the opportunity to run with one of college basketball?s big boys. But a CBI championship would make things even more worthwhile.

?It would mean a lot,? Bone said. ?It?s not like hanging an NCAA banner, but we?ve won three more games, we have at least two more to go, and we are peaking at the right time of the year.?

 

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CBI Finals: Washington State Likely Without Star Brock Motum Against Pitt On Monday






Pitt takes on Washington State on Monday night and it's looking as if they'll have a significant advantage as the Cougars will be without star Brock Motum.

Motum, the Pac-12's leading scorer and the team's leading rebounder isn't likely to play in the first matchup.

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Motum became injured early in the team's victory against Oregon State on the road in the semifinals and didn't return with a sprained ankle. Now, the reports are that he's unlikely to return for the first game of the finals.

He's on crutches and his coach admits there's a 'slim chance' of him playing. Many coaches don't like divulging important information regarding injuries in hopes of keeping opposing teams off balance. Such an admission could be a trick to catch Pitt of guard, obviously, but I don't think that's the case. I mean, come on - it's the CBI.

If Motum doesn't play, it'd be unfortunate, but an advantage for Pitt. He's a 6'10" forward that can score, rebound, and step out and hit threes. The flip side is that Washington State did just fine without him in the last game, blowing out Oregon State on the road. Still, if you're a Pitt fan, it's hard to think the Cougars are a better team in his absence.

As for the rest of the tournament, it sounds as if there's a better chance he plays in Game 2.

--Cardic Hill

 

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As CBI finale approaches, Pitt looks to future





Pitt is getting ready for college basketball's version of "We got next."

The College Basketball Invitational championship ? and its rare best-of-three finals ? is hardly the do-or-die postseason format the Panthers are used to playing.

"It's more like a pick-up game than a college basketball game," junior point guard Tray Woodall said.

Pitt is two wins away from turning a disappointing season without an NCAA Tournament bid into a trophy and some momentum heading into the offseason. The Panthers (20-16) visit Washington State (18-16) at 10 p.m. Monday in the opener of the CBI championship series. Game 2 is Wednesday at Petersen Events Center. If necessary, Game 3 will be Friday at the Pete.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said he will approach the series like he does quick turnarounds in Big East play. The Panthers left on a commercial flight for the West Coast on Saturday and worked out at Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash., before making the 80-mile trip to Pullman.

"It's obviously something different than we've never been involved in," Dixon said Friday. "But we are looking forward to it."

Washington State, which finished 7-11 in the Pac-12, likely will be without its best player. Brock Motum, an all-conference forward and the league's Most Improved Player, is questionable with a sprained ankle. Third-year coach Ken Bone said there was "a very slim chance" the 6-foot-10, 245-pound junior from Australia will play today.

Motum, who is averaging a team-best 18.0 points and 6.4 rebounds, hasn't practiced since being injured in the opening minutes of the Cougars' 72-55 victory at Oregon State in the CBI semifinals.

Pitt sophomore forward J.J. Moore, who scored 14 points Wednesday in Pitt's 68-62 overtime victory at Butler in the CBI semifinals, returned to New York this weekend for a family emergency but joined his teammates in Spokane on Sunday and is expected to play Monday night.

Pitt avenged last year's NCAA Tournament third-round loss with the come-from-behind victory at Butler. The Panthers got a late Lamar Patterson 3-pointer to help force overtime in sweltering Hinkle Fieldhouse. Before the rally, Pitt was 0-16 this season when trailing with less than five minutes to play.

"I think we responded in a tough atmosphere," Dixon said. "We came back. That was something we didn't do as well as we wanted this year."

Pitt is running more set plays for its returning players. That includes Patterson, who had 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists against Butler.

"It's definitely a good look for next year," Woodall said. "We are getting ready."

 

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Pitt Vs. Washington State: Ray Fittipaldo Answers Questions




FROM PULLMAN ? With the rare occasion of a Big East team coming to town, we decided to ask Ray Fittipaldo, the Pittsburgh beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, to answer a few questions about the Panthers. He obliged.

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A lot was expected out of Pitt this year, as with most seasons. In short ? what happened?

Fittipaldo: ?Point guard Tray Woodall missed six weeks with an abdominal injury from December through mid January during which time the team lost eight consecutive games. The Panthers also had their starting center, Khem Birch, transfer in mid-December. He wasn't a great player, but he was a good shot blocker and had a defensive presence. There were a myriad of other problems, too, such as poor defense and no inside presence on offense, but the injury to Woodall and the transfer are the two biggest reasons.?

Do you get the sense Pitt is excited to be playing in the CBI?

Fittipaldo: ?I wouldn't say excited, but the players and coaches definitely wanted to keep playing. They felt like they were playing their best basketball near the end of the season when they were healthy, and they didn't want to end the season on a sour note. They had played in 10 straight NCAA tournaments, and the Pitt athletic director felt like playing in the CBI was the right thing to do. Jamie Dixon has a lot of freshmen and sophomores, and he wanted to see them in some different situations. He has changed some things on offense with three sophomores and a junior leading the team in scoring in their first three CBI games. Seniors Ashton Gibbs and Nasir Robinson were Nos. 1 and 3 on the team in scoring before the CBI. They are Nos. 4 and 5 in the CBI games.?

How much has Pitt relied on owning the offensive glass to win games this season?

Fittipaldo: ?Not as much as one would think from the stats. I know Pitt is one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country, but the Panthers actually don't score off many of those rebounds because they have subpar post players. They get a ton of offensive rebounds, but they haven't hurt teams with second-chance points.?

What?s been the team?s biggest weakness?

Fittipaldo: ?A tie between perimeter defense and the lack of inside scoring punch. Dixon's teams have always been good or great when he has an NBA-caliber center (Chris Taft, Aaron Gray, DeJuan Blair). He likes to play inside-out to open up shooting lanes for his guards. That wasn't the case this season and it hurt the offense. But the inability of the guards to defend has been a huge problem, too. Gibbs can't defend anyone.?

How is the team handling the trip out here, from a logistics standpoint?

Fittipaldo: ?Pitt flew out commercial (Southwest) Saturday afternoon through Denver. They were going to practice at Gonzaga Sunday and Monday before busing to Pullman Monday for the game. Dixon knows Mark Few. They are friends. Few practiced at Pitt before the Zags' NCAA games last week. After the game, they are spending the night in Idaho and chartering back the next day.?