What Washington State's head coach said on Gonzaga matchup: 'They're one of the best teams in the country'

The Bulldogs and Cougars rekindle their in-state rivalry Saturday at the Kennel

Washington State Cougars head coach David Riley. / James Snook-Imagn Images

Washington State men's basketball head coach David Riley knows a rowdy crowd will be awaiting him and the Cougars at the McCarthey Athletic Center this Saturday when they take on their in-state rival Gonzaga.

Students will be back in the Kennel after a 52-day hiatus to see the Bulldogs (13-4, 4-0 WCC) and Cougars (13-3, 3-0 WCC) square off for the first time in nearly a decade. The two schools have met on the hardwood 150 times before, but their first meeting as West Coast Conference competitors will be for more than just in-state bragging rights.

In addition to entering the matchup undefeated in league play, both teams have NCAA tournament implications at stake. Gonzaga can strengthen its case as a top-10 team in the NET Rankings, while WSU has a chance to significantly boost its ranking with a second quadrant 1 win.

Here's what Washington State's head coach had to say about the matchup with the Zags, via The Cougars Basketball Hour.

What he's seen from Gonzaga this season:

"A typical Gonzaga team. Really well-coached, aggressive defensively, physical inside. They’re one of the best teams in the country and it’s gonna be a fun game."

On preparing his team for the crowd noise at the Kennel:

“We got to be ready for the crowd noise. I think that’s something we gotta be ready to adjust to. We’ve played in some loud environments — you can take that Boise [State] game, the Iowa game, the UW game — some of the louder environments in the country and I thought we’ve learned how to adjust to that a little bit. But besides that we just got to be us. I think what’s exciting about watching the film of that USF game is that, yeah we won the game against a really good team but there’s so much controllable stuff that we got to continue to grow in. That’s just kind of our mindset right now: We’re gonna go compete every night and make other teams prove it and that we’re gonna stay focused on ourselves.”

On WSU staying composed despite injuries to key players:

"I think that's just a credit to these guys' competitiveness ... the poise that we're showing in games is because of the fire that we went through in the fall, like every single day this fall, it seemed like life or death. We had guys walking out of practice just not wanting to talk to anybody. They'd be pissed off in weights later that night. It's a real thing when we're competing like this, and I think that's allowed us to be poised for when we need it most."

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

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