CBI 2012: Pittsburgh and Washington State Must Play Team Ball Without Stars

Pittsburgh and Washington State don't have much star power as they head into the defining game of the CBI championship series on Friday.

And with the likelihood that Ashton Gibbs and Brock Motum won't play, the team that wins will undoubtedly be the team that plays the best ball as one.

Both teams played without their stars on Wednesday in the best-of-three series. Reggie Moore was the big player for Washington State, scoring 18 points. But it's no wonder that Pittsburgh won the game, 57-53, given that they had three different players score in double figures and had 14 assists in the game.

Pittsburgh is a slightly better rebounding team and a better defensive team than Washington State, but that's really not what it comes down to when the two teams face each other on Friday. In a close series, it really comes down to who wants it more and which players surprise.

In Wednesday's game, sophomore forward Talib Zanna came off the bench to rack up team highs of 14 points and eight rebounds. The Panthers' bench outscored the Cougars' second-stringers, 23-11. Starters Tray Woodall and Lamar Patterson, among the Panthers' top-four scorers this season, had five assists apiece.

Motum has been a bigger player for Washington State this season than Gibbs has been for Pittsburgh. He's averaged 18.0 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 55 percent from the floor. In that sense, the Cougars can't afford to be outplayed as a team by the Panthers. If anyone needs a team effort on Friday, it's the Cougars.

Focus on the ball movement and bench play on Friday. That will likely be the determinant of the CBI championship.

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