The Cougs take Manhattan

The Cougs left for New York on Saturday, gearing up for their semi-final match-up with Wichita State and fortunately separating themselves from their pot dealer at least for a couple of days.

I know, the jokes are getting old. But that’s never stopped me before. The argument, of course, still rages as the suddenly “holier-than-thou” husky fans have come out of the woodwork to express their “outrage” about Bill Moos’ reinstatement of DeAngelo Casto, conveniently forgetting their own Scoreboard, Baby past and their own Venoy Overton present. Of course, while the argument is a good one, the outrage is laughable.

Either way, the squad is at full strength and save for any misgivings in the Big Apple, they will take on a tough Wichita State team at 4 p.m. PDT on ESPN2.

If you’re like me, the only thing you know about Wichita State is that they are also a WSU. For the record, we were first, becoming WSU in 1959 whereas they did not change their name from the Municipal University of Wichita to WSU until 1964. Now isn’t that the single most interesting tidbit you’ve heard all day? Feel free to throw that around to your buddies while watching the game and watch their heads explode in excitement.

Other than the above, there is some information regarding the “the other WSU” that you may actually be interested in, including the fact that they are 27-8 on the season and went 14-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. That record was good enough for second place behind Missouri State.

The Shockers have been a pretty impressive team all year long, losing by just four points against UConn, beating Tony Bennett’s UVA squad by 12, and beating LSU by one. They also lost by one point to Final Four crasher Virginia Commonwealth back in February.

In the NIT, the fourth-seeded Shockers crushed Nebraska 76-49, beat Virginia Tech in OT 79-76 and then out-lasted College of Charleston in the quarterfinals 82-75.

They employ a very even offensive attack and utilize their entire bench. And when I say “utilize” I really do mean it. There are a whopping 10 players who have played in over 30 games and average over 13 minutes per game. By comparison, the Cougs have only six players who’ve played in 30 games and seven who average more than 13 minutes. So, the Shockers have a deep bench and substitute a lot.

Leading the Shockers is 6-8 forward J.T. Durley, a 236-pound senior who averages 11.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. At 9.6 points per game, junior guard David Kyles leads the backcourt coming off the bench. 6-5 junior guard Toure Murry leads the starting guards with 9.3 points per game.

The Cougs and the Shockers have only met once, with the Shockers winning 83-64 way back in December of 1960.

Starting Lineups

The Other WSU:

G – Joe Ragland 6-0 193, Jr. 7.1ppg

G – Toure’ Murry 6-5 197, Jr. 9.3ppg

G-F – Graham Hatch 6-4 206, 5.9ppg

F – Gabe Blair 6-8 235, 6.5ppg

F-C – J.T. Durley 6-8 235, 11.4ppg

America’s Team:

G – Reggie Moore 6-1 180, So. 9.1ppg

G – Marcus Capers 6-4 185, Jr. 5.9ppg

G – Klay Thompson 6-6 202, Jr. 22.1ppg

F – Brock Motum 6-10 230, So. 7.7pg

F – DeAngelo Casto 6-8 255, Jr. 12.1ppg

The team was able to take in some sights and meet the media and you can check out some pics here . Ken Bone spoke at the NIT luncheon yesterday and here are his comments:

Go Cougs, let’s get to the finals!!!!!