Cougars do a number on the Fighting Irish

DENVER -- Nobody completely shuts down Notre Dame big man Luke Harangody, the Big East Conference’s player of the year.

Washington State instead settled for slowing down the high-flying Fighting Irish.

Derrick Low scored 18 points and Kyle Weaver added 15 as the Cougars won a clash of styles, beating Notre Dame, 61-41, Saturday in the second round of the East Regional.

The fourth-seeded Cougars (26-8) held Harangody to 10 points, half his average, and limited the Irish to half their scoring average as well.

Harangody got his usual double-double, his 19th, by also grabbing 22 rebounds, but he had to work hard for everything he got and he was flustered on the offensive end -- double-teamed, banged and bumped every time he got his hands on the ball.

Washington State is headed for Charlotte, N.C., and a regional semifinal against either North Carolina or Arkansas.

The only other time the Cougars won twice in the NCAA tournament was in 1941, when they got to the title game, losing to Wisconsin, 39-34.

Fifth-seeded Notre Dame (25-8) had been averaging 80.6 points. Washington State allowed 80 points just once all season, in an 81-74 loss at UCLA on Jan. 12.

The Irish’s previous low for points came Nov. 18, when they lost to Baylor, 68-64.