Each time Washington State played California, the Cougars were expected to win comfortably. And each time, the game was ... not all that comfortable, including last night’s 66-59 victory in the opener of the Pac-12 tournament.
None of the three games were closer than four points in the end, and, according to kenpom.com, WSU’s win probability didn’t drop below 58% in any of them — meaning, at no point in any of the games was WSU expected to lose, given the relative quality of each team.
WSU also didn’t win any of the games by double digits, which means that it rarely felt like it was as easy as the stats suggested, and that’s largely because of Cal’s style — which is neither effective nor aesthetically pleasing.