After the Break, the Cougars Break Away

Washington State 71, Winthrop 40

DENVER, March 20 -- By the time it ended -- mercifully, for Winthrop -- few who did not witness it would have believed that Washington State's dismantling of the Eagles was tied at halftime. Even some of Winthrop's players, judging by their blank stares as the final seconds ticked away, seemed unable to fathom what had just happened.

Washington State's runaway second half ensured 13th-seeded Winthrop would not spring a first-round NCAA tournament upset for the second consecutive year and gave the fourth-seeded Cougars a stunning 71-40 victory at Pepsi Center. Washington State will face the winner of George Mason-Notre Dame on Saturday.

The Cougars (25-8) held Winthrop scoreless for the first 6 minutes 41 seconds of the second half and opened on a 25-4 run that turned a 29-29 nail-biter at halftime into a brutally efficient blowout. The Eagles (22-12) scored 11 points in the second half while Washington State made 11 of its first 14 shots and shot 65.3 percent in the second half.

"I told our guys at halftime, 'It's one of two things, you're either scared or you're being overconfident," Cougars Coach Tony Bennett said, "And I said, 'You'd better figure out which one it is and make a change.' "

Washington State led by as many as 34 points, at which point the crowd became more interested in hearing the Duke-Belmont score during timeouts. But it was at one point a fiercely contested game, and no one could be credited more for the dull finish than Washington State guard Kyle Weaver -- center Aron Baynes's game-high 19 points notwithstanding.

Shortly before halftime, Weaver switched on to Winthrop 6-foot-7 senior forward Taj McCullough, who had scored 15 points in the game's first 19 minutes. Once Weaver smothered him, McCullough's night took a downturn. He finished with 17 points and made only 1 of 3 second-half attempts.

"The shots we were taking were good looks," McCullough said. "But it was like a lid was on the basket and they were bouncing out."

In the first half, the Cougars and Eagles turned each possession into a valued commodity. Each team crawled up the court and bored its way into the defense, expending as much of the shot clock as it needed to find a shot it deemed suitable.

The pace and discipline of each offense prevented either team from pulling away. Of the game's first 36 points, 20 were scored in the lane. Only two points in the first 20 minutes were scored on fast breaks. Neither team led by more than four, and the lead changed 12 times before the first half ended.

So when Washington State scored the first nine points of the second half, its lead was practically insurmountable. But the Cougars kept piling on.

Last year, the Eagles advanced to the second round with as a No. 11 seed with a first-round victory over Notre Dame. This year, though it seemed possible for a while, the result could not have been more different.