Washington State-UCLA: Cougars Prepare for Bruins

Washington State begins the second swing through conference play, hosting the UCLA Bruins Thursday evening in blustery Pullman.

The game will match two teams on streaks going the opposite direction. WSU has dropped two games in a row while UCLA has won four consecutive contests.

When these two teams met down in Los Angeles, UCLA was in complete control of the game for the first 35 minutes. A run by the Cougs fell short, handing them their first loss of the season.

Coach Tony Bennett has had more good things than bad to say about the loss to Stanford last Saturday. Unless you’re part of the those who have recently boarded the Cougar Bandwagon, Coach Bennett isn’t blowing smoke up your Jockey shorts.

WSU played solid basketball in the Stanford game. Stanford is a team that is on the rise and has all the signs of being at least a Sweet 16 team.

Then again, this hiccup in the record of WSU of late aside, the Cougs look as though they are a legitimate Sweet 16 team.

There’s little doubt that Bennett and his staff will have WSU prepared for UCLA, clearly an Elite Eight team. The Cougar seniors need to do their part as well. They will need to maintain the poise of the entire team, and they know that. After the loss to Stanford, Kyle Weaver said, “I think our butts got tight.”

Nice way to point out the problems WSU had at the free throw stripe with the game on the line.

What needs to happen for WSU to defend their house?

The play of Aron Baynes needs to return to the form he showed prior to last week. Baynes might have hit a rough spot, but he's hardly forgotten how to play basketball.

Robbie Cowgill has played very well the past two games. There’s no reason to believe that won’t continue to be the case. Cowgill hasn’t been much of a threat to score, but he’s been brilliant on defense.

Finally, Daven Harmeling needs to relax on offense. He’s a pure shooting talent. That isn’t forgotten overnight. But his talent can be limited by pressing. Relax!

Washington State still has yet to play a game where everyone is hitting on all cylinders. Given their overall record, that’s pretty amazing. Thursday night would be a great time to put it all together. The Cougs have been consistently strong on the defensive end of the court. Against the Bruins, it’s going to take a complete game on offense to win.

Coach Ben Howland brings his Bruins into Pullman on a very nice roll. Both of the Arizona teams visited Pauley Pavilion last week. Both left town suffering from losses where they were totally dominated by UCLA. In Arizona and Arizona State, we’re talking about a couple of teams that are in the hunt for a birth in the NCAA Tournament.

Translation: They are good.

As good as UCLA is, they aren’t getting as much love from the media as other excellent teams across the country. Media bias? Who cares? Match the Bruins up against any team in Division I and the smart money will be on UCLA.

So are the Bruins going to arrive in Pullman overconfident? Don’t bet on that. The aggressive way they have been attacking the Pac-10 won’t be left in dorm rooms back in Westwood.

This should be a very good game. It could be another Pullman Classic. WSU knows how to beat good teams. They just have to stay focused and relaxed. Play within themselves. Feed off the energy of the Zzu Cru. Play with their passion, not the desires of others.

Prediction: WSU 74 - UCLA 71

GO COUGS!!!