Washington State-Arizona: Cougars out for Revenge

Washington State will play host to the Arizona Wildcats Saturday evening on Friel Court in Pullman, Wash.

The rematch will give the Cougars an opportunity to avenge the sound thrashing they endured in Tucson just a couple of weeks ago. WSU was dominated by 12 points for its worst loss of the season.

Things went from bad to worse after that road loss. Though the Cougars managed a one-point victory over ASU two days later, they went on to lose three straight. WSU played well in those three losses, but they were losses just the same.

The Cougs continue to play outstanding basketball, coming off a resounding victory over Arizona State. That’s been the difference the past two weeks. WSU is playing well and winning instead of coming out on the short end of the score despite playing good, solid basketball.

Arizona finds itself backed into a “must win” situation after its loss to Washington, Thursday night.

The Huskies employed a basic strategy to defeat the ‘Cats: Slow down Jerryd Bayless. Shutting down Bayless isn’t realistic. The freshman guard is an offensive phenom. He still scored 22, but was limited to 1-for-7 shooting from three-point land. Usually sure handed, Bayless was also forced into seven turnovers. The other top offensive player for Arizona, Chase Budinger, was slowed down as well. He suffered through a 3-for-10 night from the field, very un-Budinger-like.

If the 'Cats are going to determine their fate for an NCAA tournament berth, they need to win four out their final five games to get to 10 Pac-10 conference wins. Finishing with nine wins might gain them an invitation, but that’s “iffy."

After facing No. 17 Washington State tomorrow, Arizona returns home to host No. 6 UCLA and the very dangerous USC Trojans. They close out their tough conference schedule on the road against the Oregon schools.

Washington State is looking to conclude conference play in a very strong way. They have four Pac-10 games left including tomorrow’s contest. Their season record is 21-5, which assures them a second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament.

Make no mistake; Coach Tony Bennett will not be playing things conservatively. He knows just how important confidence is to a player and losing does nothing to boost confidence. That’s a fact the Cougs discovered during their three straight losses.

Prediction: WSU 65 - Arizona 59

GO COUGS!