No cupcakes here, Washington coach says about Wright State

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By Marc Katz, Staff Writer Updated 10:17 AM Monday, November 16, 2009

SEATTLE — A lot of in-season basketball tournaments hosted by big-name teams include the big-name team and three pastries Dick Vitale likes to call cupcakes.

That’s not the way Washington Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar looks at Wright State, Belmont and Portland State, the three other teams in the Athletes in Action Classic that began Friday, Nov. 13.

“If you don’t do well, the only people who will understand are the other coaches,” Romar said prior to his first game, against WSU. “People don’t understand how good Wright State is, and how sound they are fundamentally.”

Romar knows most people around this mountain-and-water-surrounded city have heard of Portland State, which is located only a few hours south, but Belmont and WSU?

All four teams in the tournament won at least 20 games last season and three of them — Wright State excepted — went to postseason tournaments. Washington and Portland State played in the NCAA. Belmont played in the new CollegeInsider.com tournament.

Nashville-based Belmont beat Portland State 74-67 in Friday’s opener.

“Maybe the nation isn’t aware of how good these teams are,” Romar said, “but anyone who understands, they know this is no walk in the park. Last year we played several teams that people thought weren’t that good, were cupcakes, but they were in the NCAA tournament, like Cleveland State, Portland State. I wouldn’t be surprised if the teams playing in this tournament are in the NCAA tournament.”

Huskies upset before

Washington, defending Pac-10 champion, was surprised in its opener last season when Portland won 80-74. That may have had something to do with where the game was played, in Portland.

The Huskies know something about the Horizon League, where WSU plays, because Cleveland State came out and lost 78-63 to the Huskies, only later winning the HL tournament and qualifying for the NCAA. Friday night was WSU’s first meeting with Washington.

WSU knows Belmont

While the Raiders haven’t played Washington or Portland State, they have met Belmont three times. There was a rare home-and-home series with the Bruins in 2005, with each team winning at home, then WSU beat Belmont in Chattanooga at the Dr Pepper Classic in 2007, in overtime. Portland State, tonight’s WSU opponent, has been to two straight NCAA tournaments and returns five letter winners and two starters, 6-7 senior Jamie Jones and 6-8 junior Phil Nelson.

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