11. Washington State Cougars
Early on in the 2018-19 campaign, playing at home has treated Washington State well. The trend continued on Tuesday night.
The Cougars were able to outlast Cal State Northridge by a score of 103-94 thanks to Robert Franks, who chipped in 22 points, and a monster game off the bench for freshman CJ Elleby, who led WSU with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists.
Coming into the matchup with the Matadors on Tuesday, Elleby was only averaging 8.5 points per game. If he can continue to produce off the bench for the Cougars and help take some of the scoring load off of Franks, then WSU’s offense should continue to flourish.
Another thing worth noting for the Cougars is how well the offense flowed against CSUN. As a team, WSU collected 27 assists compared to the Matadors 19. Both Ahmed Ali and Isaiah Wade were a big part of that as they each finished the night with six assists.
The only loss of the season for the Cougars came with Franks sitting out with a left foot injury against Seattle U. When healthy, he can be one of the best players in the Pac-12 and if his teammates around him continue to contribute, don’t be surprised if you hear some noise out of Pullman come March.
Washington State will have a chance to pick up their first road win of the young season as they head down to Las Cruces to take on the New Mexico State Aggies this Saturday.