Greetings Cougar Nation!
For those of you not familiar with my weekly ramblings on all things Cougar related for the Daily Evergreen, my name’s Adam Lewis. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with a group of bloggers that I’ve been reading since I became virtually enamored with Washington State athletics at the age of 13. That being said, a big thank you goes out to Sean Hawkins and the group of guys here at WSU Football Blog for giving me this opportunity. Needless to say, I was pretty excited when I heard the news I was joining the team.
As a part of the new team of writers, I’d like to take a look at the upcoming sports weekend from a local angle. With the Coug hoopsters in another must-win game against Oregon, the Seahawks defending their home turf against the defending Super Bowl Champions and a fellow Northwest team playing for the BCS National Championship, it is weekends like these that reassure me that my total obsession with sports is justified. So without further ado, here are my thoughts on this weekend’s games.
Weekend Predictions:
NCAA Hoops:
WSU vs. Oregon
The Oregon Ducks stroll into the Palouse fresh off an 87-69 beating at the hands of the Huskies Thursday night. However, the game was actually closer than the score indicated as Oregon played the Huskies tough for the game’s first 32 minutes.
The Cougars, for the first time since a monumental win against Baylor in the Diamond Head Classic, regained some of their early-season swagger in a mildly sloppy 84-70 victory over Craig Robinson’s Oregon State Beavers last night at Beasley Coliseum.
By all accounts, the Cougars should blow the Ducks right out of Whitman County. Oregon is ranked the 114th best team in the country by kenpom.com while WSU is tabbed at 36th. The site gives Dana Altman’s squad just an 8% chance of pulling off the upset. If only things were that simple….
Last season, the Cougars lost three times to a very average Oregon team. Say what you want about how the Cougs lost two of those games, (E.J. Singler tip-in that sent a game into OT and an Anthony Brown technical foul for stepping onto the court early) but WSU played some of their worst basketball against the worst team in the conference.
Saturday night’s regionally televised contest, however, should be a different story. The Cougars match up very well with a team that has a shallow pool of talent. Outside of Joevan Catron, Oregon has struggled to consistently play well offensively. Their eFG% ranks just 294th nationally. If DeAngelo Casto can limit Catron’s touches, and the Cougars continue to guard the perimeter with an intensity that was absent during the entire Tony Bennett era, I think we will win this one going away.
Final Score:
WSU 94 – Oregon 72
UW vs. OSU
How on Earth can anyone get an accurate gauge of how good the 2011 version of the Oregon State Beavers actually are? They have already lost to Seattle U, Texas Southern and Utah Valley. On the other hand, they throttled Arizona State at home and upset a very talented Arizona team. They played moderately well against a desperate Cougar team on the road, and Craig Robinson said pre-game that he actually had to tell his team to reduce their level confidence level.
That being said, the Huskies are rolling despite the loss of Abdul Ghaddy. LoRo said recently that true freshman Terrence Ross might be the best shooter he has ever coached, and after watching the kid go off against Oregon last night, I think he might be right. However, I think the Huskies could really struggle against the Beavers and the different looks they show on the defensive end. The Beavers play a tough 1-3-1 trapping defense that forces the second most turnovers in the nation. No longer possessing a true point guard, the Huskies, who have an elevated sense of their own playing abilities, may overlook the Beavers and stud freshman guard Roberto Nelson. With this notion in mind, I’m going to go out on a huge limb and say the Beavers upset the Dawgs in a weekend that delights Cougar fans across the country.
Final Score:
UW 68 – OSU 71
Now that you are already questioning my credibility to write for this blog after picking the Beavers to pull out a game that kenpom.com gives them a 2% chance of winning, I’m probably going to alienate another large sum of readers by picking the Seahawks to win tomorrow. Hell, if I’m right on one or both of these games, I’ll look like a genius!
But after reading my idol’s column today on Seattlepi.com, I couldn’t help but believe the Hawks are going to pull one out of there backside and upset Drew Brees and the defending Super Bowl Champions. That’s right, Cougar alumnus Jim Moore outlined twelve reasons why the Seahawks will win, and I can’t help but think he is right. After all, it’s tough to not see eye-to-eye with a syndicated columnist who enjoys throwing back a few PBR’s/whiskey sours as much as I do. In addition, I just can’t see how a team featuring Julius Jones as their starting running back could win a road playoff game. Julius Jones is to running backs what poor, undersized Mike Ledgerwood is to the Cougar defense.
So here’s to Olindo Mare kicking a 54-yard field goal as time expires to send the Hawks to the divisional round while making ESPN “analysts” regret doubting the motivation capabilities of Pete Carroll.
Final Score:
Seachickens 24 – Saints 21
From these predictions, you might notice that I sometimes see the sporting world through crimson-tinted lenses, or you might simply think I’m completely nuts. Both assumptions may be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Seahawks and Beavers have a legitimate opportunity to catch sports fans throughout the Northwest by surprise. That’s all for now. Here’s to a great weekend!
Go Cougs!
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