Washington State Cougars men's basketball
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For current information on this topic, see 2007-08 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team |
| Washington State Cougars | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| University | Washington State University | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conference | Pac-10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Pullman, WA | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Head Coach | Tony Bennett (2nd year) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Arena | Beasley Coliseum (Capacity: 11,566) |
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| Nickname | Cougars | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Colors | Crimson and Gray
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| Uniforms | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| NCAA Tournament Champions | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1917 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| NCAA Tournament Final Four | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1941 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Conference Regular Season Champions | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1917,1941 | |||||||||||||||||||||
The Washington State Cougars Men's Basketball team represents Washington State University and competes in the Pacific Ten Conference (Pac-10) of NCAA Division I.
The Cougars play their home games at Beasley Coliseum, which has a capacity of 11,566.
Men's basketball is the second-most popular sport at Washington State, although its popularity is rapidly increasing after the 2006-2007 season. The Cougar basketball team holds the dubious record of participating in the lowest scoring championship basketball game in Division I history, losing to Wisconsin 39-34 in the 1941 national championship game. In 1917, the Cougars won their only basketball National Championship. The team played to large crowds in the late-1970s when George Raveling was head coach. At that time, the Cougars were among the Pac-10 conference's top teams. The 1990s saw a major decline in support as the team floundered. However, there was the beginning of a resurgence under coach Dick Bennett. The 2004-2005 season saw a large increase in student support as the team finished within a few wins of a .500 record (along with a stunning upset win at eventual Elite Eight team Arizona). Bennett retired at the end of the 2005-2006 season and was replaced by his son, Tony. Before becoming coach, Tony Bennett spent three seasons as an assistant to his father, the last two as associate head coach.
In 2007, following a win against then-No. 7 Arizona, the Cougars appeared in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since 1983. Picked to finish last in the Pac-10 in a pre-season media poll, the Cougars surprised everyone by finishing second in the conference and peaking with a No. 9 ranking. The Cougars were picked as a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament and beat Oral Roberts 70-54 in the first round. The Cougars then lost to Vanderbilt in the second round 78-74 in double overtime. Their final record was 13-5 in the Pac-10 and 26-8 overall, which tied a school record for most wins. That season, the Cougars swept rival Washington, Arizona, Arizona State, USC, Oregon State, and California. In the tournament, the coaching staff wore a pin saying TAY, which stood for Turn-Around Year. After the season, Coach Tony Bennett received the Naismith Coach of the Year award, the highest honor for a college basketball coach. The Cougars are expected to repeat in the 2008 NCAA Tournament with the majority of their team returning and new recruits signing on.
In the 2008 NCAA Tournament No. 4 seed Washington State matched up against No. 13 Winthrop University and annihilated them in the second half after a 29-29 tie at the half to finish 71-40, far beyond the 9 point margin they were favored by. [1]
The second round put them up against No. 5 seed Notre Dame who was favored by 2.5 points but the Cougars surprised the media (playing the name game isn't the best way to determine a potential winner) and ended the game 61-41, holding the Fighting Irish well below their average points allowed (the sportscasters that picked Notre Dame to win didn't take into account that the Cougars defense was currently third in the nation for points allowed per game (57.1) for an average of 40.5 points per game allowed during the tournament) With the first two rounds in Denver down with a "W" the Cougars they go to North Carolina for the Sweet Sixteen.
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