exhibition game
Wazzu keeps exhibition game in one place: 3 stories so far. The section currently leads with “Hoop dreams are fading, and the Huskies just lost the Apple Cup fight”, “Lobos run wild as Cougs get smoked 92-64 in Albuquerque exhibition”, and “After 108 years, Cougs-Huskies hoops goes exhibition only”. The Huskies just lost the Apple Cup fight, and not even Isaiah Thomas hanging from the rafters could save them. The Lobos ran wild in The Pit on Sunday, and there's no polite way to say it: the Cougs got smoked 92-64. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every exhibition game story on Wazzu, newest first.
Hoop dreams are fading, and the Huskies just lost the Apple Cup fight
The Huskies just lost the Apple Cup fight, and not even Isaiah Thomas hanging from the rafters could save them. Washington State went into Seattle and walked out with an 84-80 exhibition win, which is nice, but the whole thing felt a little hollow. This used to mean something. Three hundred and one games between these two schools, one of the oldest series in college hoops, and now it's an exhibition that might not even happen again. Thomas tried to explain the rivalry to a UW roster full of fresh faces from outside the state. His logic was simple: if they win, they get it. If they lose, they don't. They lost. The Cougars took control with a 13-2 run in the second half, capped by an alley-oop dunk from Ronnie Harrison. Wazzu's own LeJuan Watts, who has now lost to his former team twice, summed it up best: there's no little brother thing at Washington. The underdog drive lives on the other side. But here's the part that stings. WSU coach David Riley is begging for a real game next year, and UW coach Danny Sprinkle is politely saying his Big Ten schedule is too tough. The Cougars are hitting the road against High Point and Duquesne while the future of the Apple Cup sits in someone else's hands. That August Apple Cup in Pullman next year sounds great, but the bigger question is whether this series survives the conference realignment mess at all. Go Cougs.
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Lobos run wild as Cougs get smoked 92-64 in Albuquerque exhibition
The Lobos ran wild in The Pit on Sunday, and there's no polite way to say it: the Cougs got smoked 92-64. That's not a scrimmage score. That's a statement. New Mexico's Jake Hall, the Mountain West Freshman of the Year, put up 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting and made it look easy. The Lobos started with an 8-2 run, then buried WSU with a 16-0 surge in the first half. By midway through the second, the Cougs were down 42 points. That's not a bad afternoon. That's a fire drill. Uriah Tennette hit a three to open the game, and Ronnie Harrison answered with a layup to make it 3-2. That was the last time it felt close. The Lobos went on a 16-point tear in four minutes, and WSU never recovered. Isaiah Watts? Not in the box score we have here. The bright spots: Nate Houston led the Cougs with 14 points and two assists. Harrison added 12 points, four boards, and four assists. But that's cold comfort when you trail 80-38 at one point. It's an exhibition. That matters. But it's also The Pit, and the Lobos looked like a team that knows who it is. The Cougs looked like a team still figuring that out. If you want a better taste of where this program is headed, check out our piece on Owen Eshelman's first start giving Wazzu its best FBS offense yet. That's the kind of story that reminds you what's possible. This one?
After 108 years, Cougs-Huskies hoops goes exhibition only
For the first time since 1917, the Cougs and Huskies won't play a regular-season basketball game. That streak, 301 games, is on pause. Instead, they'll meet for an exhibition in Seattle this October. It feels wrong to type that. Both coaches agreed to a two-year extension after the Pac-12 fell apart, but talks for this season fell through. David Riley wanted to keep it going. Danny Sprinkle said it wasn't that important to him, then later said he'd keep it if it benefitted UW. He's 2-0 in the rivalry, so maybe that colors his view. It colors mine too. This one stings because the game would have been fascinating. The Huskies poached two of Riley's former guys, LeJuan Watts and Steele Venters, out of the portal. Watts played for Riley at WSU last year before bouncing to Texas Tech and then to UW. Venters followed Riley from Eastern Washington to Gonzaga and now to Seattle. That's a lot of subplots for an exhibition. The nonconference slate still has some juice, Duke in Palm Springs, LSU on the road, and Eastern Washington in Spokane. And the athletic department made a smart hire in Tyler Mariucci from Fresno State, a guy who knows how to raise money in a new conference. That matters more than ever. For more on how Cougs are making moves in basketball, check out our piece on Riley's mystery big man, Mohamed Sankhe. Big French kid, 6-10, and the last piece of the roster. Go Cougs.