‘Kills’ have given Washington State incentive to play defense under Kyle Smith

PULLMAN – So far, Kyle Smith has made good on one of the only promises he delivered last spring when formally accepting the job at Washington State: teach the Cougars how to play defense.

Before Smith could do that, though, he had an important prerequisite: make sure they were excited about playing defense.

While they’re only two games into a long, grueling Pac-12 Conference schedule, the Cougars have already seen their defensive numbers skyrocket, carrying an adjusted defensive efficiency rating of 96.6 (102nd nationally), according to KenPom, after finishing the 2018-19 season with a rating of 110.2 (284th).

WSU carries a 10-5 overall record after 15 games, as opposed to the 7-8 mark Ernie…