No. 10 Washington State Meets Eastern Washington Friday

Cougars open season after reaching second round of NCAA Tournament last season

Nov. 9, 2007

While Eastern Washington has a new coach in Kirk Earlywine, No. 10 Washington State also has something new - expectations.

Coming off their best season in school history, the Cougars begin the learning process of being a preseason favorite when they host the Eagles on Friday night.

Tony Bennett exceeded all expectations in his first year in Pullman, finishing as runner-up in the Pac-10 Conference after being picked for last and claiming the school's first NCAA tournament berth since 1994. After notching its first tournament win since 1993, the Cougars lost in the second round but finished with a school-record 26 victories.

With four returning starters, Bennett's team entered the AP Top 25 preseason rankings for the first time in school history and were tabbed for a second-place finish in the Pac-10. Guards Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver - both first team all-conference selections in 2007- headline a Washington State team that adhered to defensive principles learned under Dick Bennett - Tony's father - while executing well on offense.

"I hope the predictions are more accurate this season than last," the younger Bennett quipped at Pac-10 media day. "We acknowledge the fact the expectations are there, but we're not going to dwell on them.

"Our key will be dwelling on the process of doing things the right way practice-by-practice and game-by-game.

Low and Weaver were the only players in double figures for Washington State last season, averaging 13.7 and 11.2 points, respectively. The Cougars scored only 66.9 points per game, but averaged just 10.4 turnovers and limited opponents to just 59.5 points per game.

While the senior-laden backcourt may not put up big numbers, Bennett is confident their maturity will keep his team on the same type of even keel as last season.

"I like my team because we have veterans, guys with Pac-10 experience under their belt," he noted. "We rely on our experience. There is no substitute for juniors and seniors. We are right on that line, if we're not playing well, we're susceptible."

"This has always been my goal and I've prepared myself for this for 22 years," said Earlywine, who signed a three-year contract in June. "It's very humbling because there are only 325 Division I jobs and not everyone gets this opportunity. I'm very excited to work at a school I'm so familiar with."

Earlywine's job could have been slightly easier had Rodney Stuckey not made himself available for the NBA draft. The guard averaged 24.4 points and totaled 1,438 points in his two seasons with the Eagles - 15-14 last season - before declaring and was picked 15th overall by Detroit.

Small forward Kellen Williams is the leading returning scorer at 8.4 ppg, but a bigger concern for Earlywine is a lack of healthy bodies. The Eagles will likely dress only seven players for this game since freshman forward Petar Milasinovic has an ankle injury and point guard Adris DeLeon is still awaiting clearance from the NCAA regarding his junior college transcripts.

"If we had all of our bullets, I'd feel a little bit better," Earlywine said after his team routed Division III school Pacific 91-49 on Saturday.

This is the first time the intrastate rivals are meeting since Washington State won 91-72 on Dec. 5, 1998. The Cougars lead the all-time series 50-11, and have won 18 of the last 19 games between the teams.