Washington State hoops notebook: Cougars take three-game winning streak into historically difficult road trip

Jan. 18—PULLMAN — Riding a hot streak, Washington State looks to pick up a resume-boosting win or two this week during a road trip that's been historically unpleasant .

WSU (9-10, 4-4 Pac-12) visits Utah for a 6 p.m. tipoff Thursday at Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. The Utes (12-7, 5-3) are on a three-game skid, but they sit at No. 64 in the NCAA NET rankings. WSU meets No. 61 Colorado at the CU Events Center at 3 p.m. Sunday.

The Cougars are 1-18 on the road against Utah and Colorado since the schools joined the Pac-12 in 2011. Last season, WSU notched its first win at Utah.

WSU is on a three-game winning streak. The Cougars, ranked 71st in the NET, are aiming for two Quad 1 victories this week. Road wins against top-75 NET teams are classified as Quad 1 — the most significant wins in the eyes of the NCAA. WSU is 1-6 in Quad 1 games this season.

WSU scored its first Quad 1 win of the year — and one of the team's most impressive results in program history — on Jan. 7, beating fifth-ranked Arizona by 13 points in Tucson. The Cougars followed with a home sweep of the Bay Area schools, blowing past Cal 66-51 before eking out a 60-59 victory on Saturday against Stanford.

Injury update

WSU played its past two games without TJ Bamba, who is dealing with a hand injury. The junior guard, a captain and the team's leading scorer (15.1 points per game) is questionable to return this week.

"I think we might have him this week," coach Kyle Smith said Tuesday, "but we're not out of the woods there. I'm hoping."

Smith commended Bamba's "leadership on the bench" during wins over the Golden Bears and Cardinal.

"Sometimes, guys get hurt and they can be detached and feel sorry for themselves," he said. "He was anything but that. That helps a lot when you got your captain blowing wind in your sails."

If Bamba is unavailable, the Cougars will likely start true freshman Kymany Houinsou for the third consecutive game. A 6-foot-6 native of France, Houinsou has scored 15 points, doled out six assists and grabbed six rebounds over the past two games.

"He's made a lot of progress in the last four weeks, and you can see it growing, his confidence," Smith said of Houinsou, who is averaging 5.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and two turnovers per game, and shooting 44.6% from the field. "I didn't think many people noticed how much better he is defensively. He obviously has the dimensions and the length and athleticism, but he's just become a really good defender. And he's just being a more confident offensive player. We're playing through him a little more."

Cougars prepare for rematch with Utes

Utah slipped past WSU in Pullman with a 67-65 overtime victory on Dec. 4, but the Cougars have made marked improvements since then while the Utes are on a season-worst three-game slump.

"I think our freshmen have grown up a little bit," Smith said, referring to Houinsou, Spokane native guard Dylan Darling and 7-footer Adrame Diongue. "Andrej (Jakimovski) is playing with a bad toe and he had a really good game (versus Stanford), so hopefully, he can handle success and move down that path, and DJ (Rodman) is playing really well. So, I like to think that we're better."

Jakimovski, a junior forward, missed the first 10 games of the season, including the first matchup versus Utah, with a foot injury and struggled to find his shooting touch in his first seven games, hitting 4 of 21 attempts from 3-point range . The North Macedonia native had a breakthrough game against Stanford, shooting 5 of 6 from deep and posting a season-high 17 points to help the Cougars stay ahead by a slim margin and hold on for the win.

Rodman shot 0 of 7 from the field in the first game with Utah. But the senior forward has become a game-changer as the season has progressed. He is in the midst of a career-best stretch, averaging 15.2 points and six rebounds, and shooting 55.5% from beyond the arc over the past six games.

Diongue, the backup to standout center Mouhamed Gueye, has seen his role expand recently. The four-star recruit from Senegal snagged 11 rebounds, six offensive, in 27 minutes over the past three games.

WSU was also missing guard Jabe Mullins during its first game against Utah due to an injury. Mullins ranks fourth nationally and first among high-major players with a 48.75% mark on 3-point attempts. Four other Cougars are shooting 33% or better on 3-pointers.

"It puts a lot of pressure on teams when we've got that many guys who can make shots," Smith said.

The Cougars lead the Pac-12 in 3-point makes (8.9), attempts (24.2) and percentage (37%). WSU's long-range numbers were streaky throughout the first two months of the season. The first Utah game marked a low point as the Cougars went 4 of 30 on 3-pointers. But WSU is shooting at an efficient clip in recent weeks — 40.3% from distance over the past six games.

The Cougars have made strides in their ball-handling abilities, too. Turnovers were an issue earlier this season, but WSU has committed fewer than 10 in three of the past six games.

"We've done a much better job of taking care of the ball," Smith said. "When we take care of the ball, we get better shots. There's a comfort level to it.

"A lot of it is Mouhamed. He's really done a great job. ... He had games with six turnovers. I just watched the Utah game and they were physical with him ... but he's learned to really adjust to that. I think that's made us better, and getting healthy. Taking care of the ball and getting healthy I think have been two key things."

Gueye is averaging 13.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. The 6-11 sophomore posted one of his seven double-doubles of the season in the first game against Utah, recording 20 points and 11 rebounds.

One matchup to watch will be Gueye versus Utah 7-footer Branden Carlson, who played just 19 minutes in the first matchup because of foul trouble. Carlson is averaging 16 points and 7.5 rebounds per game .

"We were a little fortunate in the home game, because Carlson had foul trouble," Smith said. "He's a guy that's getting 17 points, 11 boards, two blocks and shooting I think 39% from the 3 since we played them."

Extras

—Utah averaged 55 points in its past three games, double-digit losses to Oregon, UCLA and USC. The Cougars were missing their best perimeter defender in Bamba during the past two games, but still put together their two best defensive efforts of the year against Pac-12 competition, in terms of points allowed.

—The Utes boast the No. 26 defense in the nation, according to KenPom.com, while Colorado ranks 20th . WSU's offense is ranked 54th and its defense 78th on the analytics-tracking site.

—The Cougars are efficient 3-point shooters and proficient 3-point defenders. WSU is limiting Pac-12 opponents to a 27% rate on 3s. Overall, the Cougars rank first in the Pac-12 and 18th nationally in 3-point attempts allowed per game (17).

—Guard Justin Powell ranks second in the Pac-12 and 30th nationally with a 2.7 assist/turnover ratio. The Tennessee transfer is averaging 10.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and a team-best 2.9 assists per game.

"He's transforming who he is as a player by defending better, rebounding more and doing the little things," Smith said.