Washington State Basketball: 6 Reasons the Cougars Will Make the NCAA Tournament

After a lackluster start to the 2011-12 season, the Washington State Cougars have responded with five consecutive wins and seem to be heading in a new, positive direction with one non-conference game remaining before their Pac-12 schedule commences.

WSU lost four games in November, including a disappointing one-point loss to UC Riverside. Since that game, the Cougars have reeled off five straight wins by a combined total of 122 points (24.4 points per game).

Washington State looks to continue its winning ways against 6-4 Pepperdine on Thursday.

Here are six reasons why the Cougars will head into their Pac-12 schedule with an 8-4 record and earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament in March.

The 6'10", 245-pound junior forward has upped his scoring average from the 2010-11 season by 6.9 points (from 7.6 to 14.5 ppg). 

Motum has the green light to shoot the three-ball, and though he has only made six triples so far this season, Washington State benefits from having a trusted three-point shooter in their tallest starter.

Motum is averaging 6.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game—both numbers are twice as high as they were last season.

Motum hails from Brisbane, Australia, and has made numerous appearances with Australia's U19 national team in various competitions.

He will have to keep up his 58-percent shooting and continue to be a presence in the paint.

The man is turning things around for Washington State. After a 16-15 record in 2009-10 and going 22-13 a year later, Ken Bone has the program on a steady incline.

Bone coached at Seattle Pacific University for 12 years, amassing a 251-97 record. He then spent time as an assistant with the Washington Huskies before heading to Portland State.

As PSU's head coach, he led them to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in the final two years of the four he spent there. He was selected as the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year in 2007-08.

Coach Bone teaches great zone defense and likes a quick style of offensive play. He is an exceptional personnel manager and has shown that through this season's first 11 contests.

Washington State fans were hoping that Moore would develop a little maturity during the offseason. He definitely seems to have done so.

In the spring, Moore was suspended for a game for possession of marijuana. His play on the court was inconsistent, demonstrated by his 35.2 percent field goal percentage.

This season, Moore is averaging over 31 minutes on the floor per game. He leads the Pac-12 in assists per game and is scoring 9.4 points per game on top of that.

If Moore returns to his freshman-year form, he will be an incredible asset for the Cougars.

The Washington State bench has put up 258 points so far this season, accounting for more than 32 percent of the team's total production.

This effort is led by freshman guard DaVonte Lacy, who is averaging 8.8 points per game. He also contributes on the defensive end of the floor, averaging a steal a game.

Along with Lacy, sophomore forward D.J. Shelton also produces off the bench. He averages 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds for the Cougars.

In order for the Cougars to continue their recent success, they will need sustained production from their bench.

Senior guards Faisal Aden and Marcus Capers are big keys for the Cougars. Both are 6'4", which gives WSU a size advantage at these positions.

Aden is averaging 15.1 points a game and shooting 41.7 percent from three-point range. He missed three games with a knee injury, but scored seven points on Dec. 18 in the game against Western Oregon—his first since Nov. 30.

Capers has played all four years at Washington State. He is averaging 5.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

This senior leadership will be needed on a team that is relatively young.

The Pac-12 has generally had an uninspired start to the 2011-12 season.

No Pac-12 team is ranked in the AP Top 25. This not only gives Washington State opportunities to win more games, but also to make a run at the conference championship.

Of course, if you can secure an NCAA Tournament berth by winning your conference championship, the regular season does not matter.

If WSU can get off to a good start in the Pac-12, they have a chance to do some serious damage in the conference this year and earn acceptance into the national tournament as well.