The first home tilt of 2022 for Washington State men’s basketball (10-7 overall, 3-3 conference) highlighted the highs and lows in Year 3 of the Kyle Smith era. Defensive dominance and promising showings by young talent was paired with inexplicable scoring droughts and late-game emotional collapses. The Cougars split the weekend with a 57-62 loss to Stanford (10-5, 3-2) but avoided the sweep with a bounce back win over California (9-9, 2-5) by a score of 65-67.
Looking to recreate the magic from last season’s 3OT victory over Stanford, the Cougars got off to a fiery start on defense and led for the entirety of the first half.