STANFORD, Calif. – When Washington State took the floor for pregame warm-ups at Maples Pavilion, only eight players went through the customary layup lines, shooting drills and stretching routines.
Another contingent of Cougars, not much smaller in size, surrounded the perimeter of the court and looked on, wearing team-issued hoodies and sweatpants.
With three rotational players and a walk-on center all nursing concussions, WSU knew a shortened bench would provide a tall obstacle on the road against Stanford. And perhaps that thought infiltrated the Cougars’ collective headspace even before a basketball ball was tipped, because for the next 40 minutes, mighty Stanford threw one hefty punch after another at a WSU team that hardly looked like it wanted to be poked Thursday night in the Bay Area.