Gonzaga, WSU riding high

Before last week, neither Gonzaga nor Washington State had done a lot to rouse attention as basketball teams headed anywhere good this season.

But their respective stocks look decidedly more bullish as they meet Wednesday night at Gonzaga's McCarthey Athletic Center.

The Zags are 5-1 and dovetailed a solid, albeit losing, effort at Michigan State with the championship of the Maui Invitational, taking out Colorado, Wisconsin and Cincinnati.

"It was a pretty good three days," said Zags assistant Ray Giacoletti. "I think we're maybe a little tougher than we had thought. If you can rebound and beat a team like Cincinnati, you're making good strides. You talk about Big East, smash-mouth basketball, they epitomized it."

WSU (6-0), meanwhile, won the Great Alaska Shootout, blowing past two unheralded opponents before flattening San Diego, 93-56, in the final behind a 43-point effort from sharpshooting Klay Thompson.

The Cougars outscored former Zags assistant Bill Grier's USD team in the second half, 54-24.

"I tried to dissect: Did we play that well in the second half, or was it because Klay shot it that well?" said Ken Bone, the first-year WSU coach. "All in all, I think we're doing a nice job, buying into what we're trying to teach — although we all know things get a lot tougher."

After Wednesday's game, the Cougars travel to Kansas State (5-1) for part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.

WSU's one-sided win for the Alaska title came against a USD team that had beaten Oklahoma and Houston in the tournament and caused one national Web site to wonder whether the Cougars might be a threat to compete for third place in a down season in the Pac-10.

If there was any doubt that Thompson, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, was WSU's lead dog, the game against the Toreros erased it. He's averaging 28.3 points, shooting 56.8 percent on threes and, with 41 free-throw attempts, already has eclipsed his opportunities of last year at the line.

"When we say, 'Look to shoot,' he understands that," Bone said.

The Zags have undergone a drastic makeover, with 7-foot Robert Sacre and Elias Harris willing to bang inside, contrasting with their perimeter-oriented big men the past couple of years.

Gonzaga, which has a plus-7.2 rebounding margin, out-rebounded Cincinnati by five after the Bearcats held a 90-58 edge on the boards in beating two ranked teams, Vanderbilt and Maryland.

The Zags' veteran guards have been a key factor. Matt Bouldin averages 18.2 points to lead the team, with Bainbridge product Steven Gray second at 16.4.

Gonzaga ended WSU's two-year win streak in the series with a blowout victory last season in Pullman.

Saturday, the Zags host Wake Forest, 4-2 after Tuesday night's 69-58 road loss to Purdue.

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com