Cougars-Huskies: Season Finale in the State of Washington

The Washington State Cougars close out their regular season schedule tomorrow evening against cross-state rival Washington. Friel Court will be the scene of the contest with tipoff set for 4:30pm.

There’s plenty at stake for both teams.

 The Huskies would love to stop the recent domination by the Cougs over them. Six losses in a row. Frankly, they’re just getting tired of losing to WSU. Period.

If the Dawgs can pull out a win against the Cougs, they would probably have a much better row to hoe in the Pac-10 tournament next week. Win, they probably face Oregon State with their potential 20 game losing streak. Yikes! Lose and they face a strong Cal team that is itching to bang on someone. Washington split their season series with the Bears, both games high scoring affairs. On the other hand, in 2008, everyone beats the Beavers.

Looking at the record for the Huskies coming into this game, it’s easy to detect a trend. Their play doesn’t follow a trend. This is a team that on one night, gets blown out by USC on their own court then comes back to defeat Pac-10 Champ UCLA by 10 points just two nights later. Following that rousing victory over an NCAA #1 seed, the Dawgs travel to Eugene and lose to the Ducks. Continuing the inconsistency, they defeated an excellent Arizona team (one that beat the Cougs in Pullman two nights later), but lose to ASU on their home court.

This edition of Husky basketball begs the question, “Who are those guys?”

Here’s an answer to that question. The Huskies are a pretty young squad, placing four freshman and a couple of sophomores on the roster. They are a team with talent, great coaching and promise. And if you’re a Cougar fan, they are a very dangerous arch-rival.

In recent weeks, Washington State has been coming out strong to begin games. They faded against both Arizona and Stanford, resulting in loses. When you look at the entire season, both of those games stand out as unique. The Cougs pattern over the schedule has been just the opposite. If they are to handle business against Washington, they cannot let the Dawgs believe they can win. Frustrating the Husky offense early and often will be the key to the game.

Let me repeat myself. Frustrating the Husky offense is the key to this game. They have plenty of offensive firepower to come from behind. Should they jump out to a lead, they can run any team off the court. WSU will be no exception if that becomes the case.

Saturday will also be a barometer for the Cougar bandwagon. With school out for spring break, just how many Zzu Cru members will hang around to support their team? Their basketball team has practiced hard and played their hearts out this season. True fans should honor that commitment by turning Friel Court into a frenzied madhouse of Zzu Cru mania. We’ll have to see about that. One thing you can count on, Coach Tony Bennett and the team will certainly hold up their end of the bargain for Cougar Nation.

Next week is Pac-10 tournament time at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Derrick Low, Kyle Weaver, Taylor Rochestie, Aron Baynes and Robbie Cowgill will have a truly enjoyable trip to LA-LA Land on the heels of a regular season victory.

Prediction: WSU 66 - UW 58

GO COUGS!!!