The 2021-22 Washington State Cougars’ season came to a close in the NIT semifinals, following a blowout loss to the Texas A&M Aggies 72-56 on Tuesday night.
Trailing by just six at the half, WSU (22-15) was outscored by 10 in the second half as Texas A&M (27-12) dominated offensively in the paint and suffocated the Cougars on the other end.
With two top 32 defensive teams — according to Kenpom — going at it in Madison Square Garden, offense was hard to come by early on. Texas A&M threw double-teams and all kinds of defensive pressure around the perimeter, causing WSU to score just seven points in the first seven minutes and create a flurry of takeaways for the Aggies.