I'll start with saying I'm insanely jealous of all the CougCenterites that are currently wobbling into Joe Abli Stadium with their bellies full of tailgating deliciousness. Screw you guys.

This is a bit of a historic day for the WSU Spring game, with an actual crowd over 10,000 expected to show up. Leach is predicted to run 80-100 plays, so the fans will certainly be rewarded with their time.

To catch up on "What to watch for" check out Brian's spring game post from this morning. For coverage all around the interwebs, head over to Mark's Hot Cougar Action. This is easily the most anticipated spring game since I started at WSU in 2003. I wouldn't be shocked if it was the most anticipated ever.

Just another tip of a cap to Bill Moos for pulling the trigger on Mike Leach and bringing excitement to the fanbase. It should be a fun day for all involved. The game coverage begins at 12:30. It will be televised on SWX in the Spokane area and streamed live at http://www.swxrightnow.com/category/184301/swx-live-video.

Go Cougs!

The game is already well into the first half, but there was some wanting for a thread on twitter, so here you are.

Anthony Davis just ran the floor in about threes steps, and I believe he is able to hold onto both rims at one. Then Kentucky buried a three to push the lead to 12. UK's team of lottery picks is dominating KU's team of a lottery pick and other potential NBA players.

This game is probably a lot better with Butler far, far away from it. Points are pretty cool. Also dunks.

Well, this post has to be 150 words. So join us in the game thread. Coug999 and BigWood! better be commenting, I don't want to feel like I just wasted five minutes.

Go teams!

I know there are many of you out there like me. Cougs who live in the farthest reaches of the country (or the world), who go months, maybe years without seeing someone else donning the Crimson and Gray. You have to pay for the extra channels on your cable just to catch the Cougar events that are "nationally televised" by FSN (thanks, Tom). Your WSU apparel is growing ratty and worn, because you haven't been to the Bookie in as long as you can remember, and buying gear online isn't the same.

Living east of the Mississippi means chances to see WSU without a long plane ride are few and far between. A football game in the South once every five years, the rare tournament in New York. These are your only opportunities to yell and scream for your alma mater without having the neighbors come to check and see if everything is alright.

These situations tend to bring out a bit of desperation, and that is where I find myself now.

After graduating I moved to Seattle. The four and a half hour drive to Pullman was not one I made often then (combination of not owning my own car and working shitty jobs that had the one-two punch of not paying enough and requiring work on weekends). I made it back for a few basketball games and football games, always thinking that the time would come again soon when I could be surrounded by fellow Cougs.

Then suddenly (okay not suddenly, there was about a six-month warning) I was in Tennessee. The only trips back to Washington during those two years were for a weekend to be in my best friend's wedding and a week over Christmas when the basketball team was in Hawai'i. Now I've moved even farther away, choosing to attend grad school at the University of Vermont.

Even as the football team was getting obliterated week after week, I pined for the chance to root them on in person. I only got to see Klay Thompson play as a freshman, and the junior version would have been a real treat to watch.

There was one time when a reader of the site who lived in the Nashville area sent me an e-mail. We got together to watch WSU basketball take on Oregon State over some hot wings. We spent 2 hours talking about our favorite Cougar sports moments and the 20-year age gap between us didn't matter at all. We were both Cougs. We shared a bond and that was all we needed.

And that is why I am so looking forward to tomorrow. To getting up at 6am (I may not sleep tonight). To driving ten hours through the entire width of New York State and into Western Pennsylvania. At the end, there will be a meetup with other alums at a bar, followed by my first live WSU sporting event since Rochestie's senior night. I can't wait to talk about my excitement for Mike Leach with someone who will fully understand. To be around others who truly appreciate the goofy awesomeness of Brock Motum. To participate in an impromptu fight song.

So even if tomorrow may be just for the right to call ourselves #101, I am as excited for this game as I've ever been for any.

Go Cougs.

Usually in College Basketball a team needs to win to keep their season going. For the Washington State Cougars, a win tonight would mean a "title" but they are guaranteed a second chance even with a loss.

The game will once again be broadcast on HDNet. A radio stream can be found at http://mynorthwest.com/streams/streampop_ktth.php

The Cougs are likely without Brock Motum again, as Ken Bone said after Monday's game that he could barely walk and there was a slim chance he could play. Can WSU win a third straight without one of the Pac-12's premier players?

Join us in the game thread!

This game is, as always, broadcast for a mature audience only on HDNet. The radio stream can be found at http://mynorthwest.com/streams/streampop_ktth.php. Online video feeds have been slim pickins', as the world is not pining to find out the events of the CBI the moment they happen apparently. Crazy world.

CBI CHAMPIONSHIP TIME. LET'S SHOW THE WORLD WHO IS #101.

Join us in the game thread!

The Washington State basketball team is coming off one of their most impressive three-game stretches of the season as they face the Pittsburgh Panthers for a best-of-three series that will decide the CBI Tournament Championship.

The Cougars may be without All-Pac-12 forward Brock Motum, as he sprained his ankle early in the semifinal game against Oregon State. If Motum is out, the Cougars will likely need special efforts again from guys like Reggie Moore and Abe Lodwick, who picked up the slack by having their best scoring games of the season last Wednesday. Some help from Mike Ladd and DaVonte Lacy wouldn't hurt either.

Christian Caple did the research to find out what many have suspected: Pitt will be the first team to play Washington State in Pullman as a member of the Big East conference. That, combined with Pitt's recent history under Jamie Dixon as a top-level program, should be enticing to WSU fans who can make the trip on a Monday night. Will it be enough to get a nice crowd in Beasley? Or will the fact that this is the CBI still keep people away?

Offense and Defense previews after the jump.

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This is the fourth date between these two teams. The third one ended up with the Beavers getting lucky, and knocking WSU out of the Pac-12 tournament. Even with the soured memory of that last meeting, WSU can't help but shake that feeling from the the first two and has come back for more. Heading over to OSU's house and cooking them dinner worked out before, so the Cougs figured it was worth another shot to try and recreate the magic.

Both teams have made it clear though, they are taking a break after tonight. This fling has become a little too serious, and both need to see other teams, or remove themselves from the game period.

So will WSU find that loving feeling that they lost? Or will it be the Beavs breaking the Cougs' hearts?

You can find out by turning your channel to HDNet or listening live at http://mynorthwest.com/streams/streampop_ktth.php.

Join us in the game thread!

Washington State advanced to the semifinals of the CBI Tournament by cruising to an easy win over the visiting Wyoming Cowboys Monday night. UW's last lead in the game came at 8-7 with 11:36 to play in the first half. After that, the Cougs went on a run and were able to build on the lead throughout the second half.

Brock Motum and Abe Lodwick dominated the scoring for WSU. Motum started shaky and was having trouble holding on to the ball. Ken Bone quickly pulled him out and sat him down for a few minutes. Upon returning, Brock was his same old unstoppable self, finishing the game with 25 points on 9-16 shooting. Lodwick showed as much confidence on offense as ever, even knocking down a pull-up mid-range jumper in the second half. Abe was efficient in posting a career high, scoring 16 points on 6-9 shooting.

The moment that may have put the game out of reach for Wyoming came with 4:49 left to play. After battling for a rebound with Motum and picking up a foul, Cowboy freshman Larry Nance, Jr. got a bit mouthy. He was called for a technical foul, but that didn't shut him up. After continuing to jaw with Motum as he walked down the court, Nance was issued a second technical foul and ejected from the game. This meant 4 free throws for Reggie Moore, and a one-and-one for Motum. Moore hit 3/4, Brock hit 2/2, and the Cougs were basically handed a five point play that stretched their lead from 10 to 15. Game over.

This is perhaps a hidden attribute that Brock has. He has coaxed opponents into technicals on several occasions this season. What is he doing exactly to get his opponents all worked up? Probably not anything his parents would be proud of, but it seems to be working well.

The Cougs will now travel to Corvallis to face a familiar foe. Oregon State and WSU will tip-off on Wednesday at 7pm. The game will be broadcast on HDNet.

MARCH MADNESS.

Mark and I have established how we feel about Wyoming. That makes this a rivalry now, right? Of course it does, they are "UW" after all. Boo them, students.

This game can be streamed for a fee from wsucougars.com. You can find a free radio stream at mynorthwest.com.

The Cougs will try to live to play another day, and possibly get a fourth game with the Oregon State Beavers. Yay...

Join us in the game thread or else!

The CBI Tournament continues on with a quarterfinal match-up between the Washington State Cougars and the Wyoming Cowboys tonight at 7pm. After winning their opening round game on the road over the University of San Francisco, the Cougs come home to play in front the students who just got back from break and may or may not know there is a basketball game tonight. This will not be televised, but WSU will be streaming it on their Cougars All-Access service for a fee.

The University of Wyoming is located in Laramie, which is about 7200 feet above sea level. Driving through Wyoming on Interstate 80, you would never know you are at such a high elevation, because the land is mostly flat.

During the summer of 2009, when we were moving across the country, the girlfriend and I decided to stop at the Laramie KOA to camp for the night. KOA tends to put their campgrounds in some less-than-desirable locations. This particular one was next to some sort of marsh, which meant mosquitoes. The mosquitoes had taken over our campsite, so much so that in the process of applying bug spray, I was still bitten 46 times. Another five minutes and I may have been devoured alive.

I'm not sure how low of a temperature a mosquito can withstand, but these must have been a particularly resilient breed. At 7200 feet, the weather tends to be pretty extreme.

We arrived in Laramie just before dusk, and the temperature was still hovering around 90 degrees. As we ate dinner and the sun began to go down, we noticed that it was getting a little chilly. By the time nightfall came, the thermometer was reading somewhere in the 40s. Seeing as it was early August, we weren't prepared for temperatures like that. It was a less than pleasant night.

So that is my experience with Wyoming. Bugs and bitter cold nights for which your summer wardrobe cannot suffice. I'm sure this means their basketball players are a bunch of tough S.O.B.s. It could also mean they have malaria. I'm not necessarily hoping for the latter, but that would be beneficial to the Cougs.

Offense and Defense previews after the jump.

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The Washington State will take part in their first CBI Tournament as they travel to the Bay Area to take on San Francisco at 7:00 pm on HDNet. USF is a member of the West Coast Conference and will be the fifth WCC team to play the Cougars this season.

WSU is 3-1 in games against the WCC. The wins came over Portland, Pepperdine, and Santa Clara, while the loss came to Gonzaga in the Kennel. The bulk of USF's WCC wins came on the backs of those first three teams, as they went a combined 5-1 against the trio. They were also able to steal a win at home against the Zags.

The Dons and their fans will be amped up for this match-up. Head Coach Rex Walters spoke of how important it is for them to have a Pac-12 school coming to visit. Either USF will use this emotion to come out to a quick start, or it will force them to play tight and make mistakes. WSU better be ready to match the intensity, or it could easily become the former.

Offense and Defense Previews after the jump.

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The NCAA Selection Committee chose their field of 64 yesterday, then took to the television to explain and defend their selection process.

Much of the talk from the committee members centered around topics like "playing a tough schedule" and "competing against top teams." They would often cite wins against the Top 50 and the eye test as a part of their decision making process. Many of the most optimistic of NCAA fans like to think the committee looks at a variety of things in making their decisions on who should make the cut.

But was it really that complicated? Probably not.

A quick look at the RPI rankings reveals a lot about why teams like Iona were selected instead of teams like Drexel. The highest (or lowest depending on how you look at it) to receive an at-large bid was Virginia at 54. The only team inside of 54 that did not receive a bid was Northwestern at 52. Every single team in the top 51 of RPI was invited to participate in the NCAA tournament.

Suddenly, the process of deciding who is in and who is out doesn't look so difficult.

RPI is often derided, but it is less about the metric itself and more about how there are better rankings systems that have been created. The favorite of this website is, of course, Ken Pomeroy's efficiency rankings. Why are they so much better than RPI? Well, at a basic level it comes down to the number of data points. When you are looking at thousands of possessions to judge a team, or 30 game results, which do you think would tell a better story? RPI gives the same value to a one-point win and a 30-point win. Pomeroy is going to give more credit to that team that won by 30.

I decided to make find my own 37 at-large teams using the same exact criteria that the committee members spoke of and that the data implies, but by replacing RPI with Ken Pomeroy's ratings. As expected, the teams were mostly similar, but there were some major changes (especially for Pac-12 fans) among the last four teams in.

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The Washington State basketball team will have the opportunity to continue playing this season as they have accepted a bid to the College Basketball Invitational. They will open the tournament at the University of San Francisco on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on HDnet. The full bracket can be found here.

The CBI consists of 16 teams with loser-out games for the first, second, and third rounds. The championship is a best of three series.

WSU denied the chance to play in this tournament two years ago when Klay Thompson was a sophomore. Ken Bone has spoken about this previously, and basically he says that the team didn't have much to gain from the extra games. He was probably right, as that 2010 Cougar team was getting progressively worse as the season went along, with teams shutting down Thompson and Reggie Moore hitting the freshman wall.

So why is this year different? Well, this team may not be at its peak at the moment, but they are certainly better than they were in December. No complaints here about the possibility to see Brock Motum play more basketball.

As for the opponent, USF finished fifth in the West Coast Conference. They helped end Gonzaga's long WCC title streak with a surprising win over the Zags late in the season. Their next best was probably over Montana. They are currently ranked 136 on KenPom.com. The Dons will likely be a slight favorite thanks to the home advantage. We'll have a more comprehensive preview later.

Not all CBI games are televised, but the ones that are will be on HDNet. HDNet is Mark Cuban's channel that brags about being in "23 million homes." Not every cable package comes with that, and it usually requires spending a little money. You can find out if your cable or satellite package carries it by going to HDNet's website and clicking "subscribe."

For now, I'm sure that guys like Marcus Capers and Abe Lodwick are thankful to wear the Crimson and Gray at least one more time.

It's conference tournament season, which is one of the best seasons ever. Here is a place to discuss all the games that are going on, Pac-12 or not. (Hint: The Big East games are probably better)

Two LA teams and Staples will still not be anywhere close to full. Vegas can't come soon enough.

See previous Big East comment.

So many "rivals" playing today!

The WSU women also play this evening around 7pm. You can find their game streamed live on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/user/pac12conf/featured.

Consider this a warm-up for the NCAA tournament next week.

The Oregon State Beavers opened up the 2012 Pac-12 tournament with an ugly win over the Washington State Cougars at an empty Staples Center in Los Angeles. After OSU jumped out to a quick 24-8 lead, WSU battled back with a 24-4 run of their own and the game was tight until the final two minutes, where the Beavers pulled away from the free throw line.

Brock Motum led WSU with 18 points. Marcus Capers had 14 points and 9 rebounds in what may be his final collegiate game (unless the Cougs play in the CBI or something like that). Reggie Moore struggled in the second half after getting blocked on a couple layups. He began settling for tougher floaters and jumpers and ended up missing all 11 of his field goal attempts in the last twenty minutes. His aggressiveness in the first half was key to the Cougs' big run.

The Pac-12's leading scorer coming into the game, Jared Cunningham, was shut down by WSU. Cunningham was held to just 4 points. Devon Collier stepped up to fill the void, scoring 19 points and 6 rebounds.

Turnovers stunted the Cougar offense throughout the game, as they shot well. The Beavers were also allowed to be physical on the defensive end in the second half, while WSU was being called for fouls nearly every time down in the last five minutes. This was unsurprisingly another poorly officiated game from Pac-12 officials.

The Beavers advance to take on the Washington Huskies tomorrow, while the Cougars are left with a one-and-done in the conference tournament for the third straight year.

The Cougs will try to beat a team for the third time in a season as they face Oregon State. WSU last accomplished that feat in 2009, when they took down the Oregon Ducks three times, including a victory in the opening round of the conference tournament.

Washington State has had little trouble shredding through Oregon State's defense, and they've been able to limit the Beavers' shooting in the first two match-ups. Brock Motum averaged 25 points in the two games and had little trouble finding easy looks. Jared Cunningham led all scorers in the second match-up, but received very little help. Motum and Cunningham are still battling it out for the Pac-12 scoring title.

Both the games between these two teams have been defense-optional, so the Pac-12 may have a high-scoring match-up to kick off the event.

This game can be seen live on FSN and its affiliates, or you can find the WSU radio stream at http://mynorthwest.com/streams/streampop_ktth.php.

Stop doing whatever you are doing at work (or take a break from Mass Effect 3 like BigWood and myself) and join us in the gamethread!

The 2012 Pac-12 basketball tournament tips off today at 12:10 Pacific as the eighth-seeded Washington State Cougars take on the ninth-seeded Oregon State Beavers.

With the addition of Utah and Colorado, the bracket has changed from previous years. Previously, the top six teams would receive a first-round bye, with the remaining four fighting on Wednesday for the chance to face the top two seeds. Now, just the top four get a bye and the rest are left with the task of winning four games in four days to receive an automatic bid to the tournament. The full bracket, with television times can be found here.

All games from the opening to semifinal rounds will be broadcast on FSN and its affiliates, with the championship game on CBS.

The Pac-12 will be streaming games live on Youtube at this link, but only the games that are not televised. This means that all women's games in the first two rounds will be streamed, and none of the men's games will be streamed.

The 11th-seeded Washington State women's team will also be facing Oregon State today, and that game is scheduled for about 7:15 Pacific time.

Stay with us for the live game thread of the Cougar game around noon, followed by a thread for the rest of the Pac-12 Tournament and other conference tournaments going on around the country.

One doesn't have to go much farther than the the preview frame of this official Pac-12 commercial (For those of you that might not see it - his name rhymes with Jeeves Schmelson) to realize that this "sizzling" piece of work may need to have a slight rewrite, as the product it is promoting may be more aptly described with an adjective like "steaming."

First of all, the music and voice-over guy need to be changed. They give the impression that 2012 Pac-12 basketball was filled with epic battles between elite teams, instead of pillow fights between bottom dwellers.

A Benny Hill-style soundtrack seems like the obvious choice here, but that would tarnish the good name of Benny Hill. Instead, some elevator music may be more appropriate. Nobody enjoys it and it doesn't really offend anybody. This is similar to the way Pac-12 was in the non-conference schedule. They actively avoided offending teams by losing to them every night.

Now that elevator music is properly conveying the mildness of the Pac-12 this season, a voice is needed that will have the viewer saying, "Wow, Pac-12 basketball is terrible and I should avoid it."

Nothing sends people running faster than the voice of former "Nanny" star (and possibly some show that is on TV right now that I may have seen in commercials) Fran Drescher. Fran's voice has that shrill pitch and obnoxious laugh that does to the ears exactly what Pac-12 basketball has done to the eyes of viewers this season: Make them explode into a bloody mess.

Now that those two important elements are out of the way, it is time to get down to business on the lyrics.

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Washington State finishes off their regular season schedule as they face the USC Trojans today at 3 pm Pacific Time. Both teams are looking to head into the conference tournament on a positive note after blowout losses on Thursday night.

If WSU manages to win their second conference road game, that will put them at 7 Pac-12 wins. If someone had told me the Cougs would win 7 in league play before the season, I would have probably considered them a rational person. Then the league spent the whole non-conference losing and winning more games seemed like a very real possibility.

That didn't happen, and this game is largely meaningless for WSU. But we preview on anyway after the jump!

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Washington State hits the road for their final weekend of the regular season as they take on the UCLA Bruins tonight at 7:30 Pacific. The game will not be televised. A quick look at UCLA's schedule shows that this will be the only UCLA basketball game all season that won't have moving pictures. The Bruins' athletic website does not indicate that it will be showing a webcast.

Normally I would say that this was one final blow from the reign of Tom Hansen atop the Pac-10/12 conference, but Hansen was in charge when the rebirth of the conference tournament was a given a "permanent" home in Los Angeles. If there was any team Hansen would want to be showcased, it would be UCLA.

It is almost comical that one of college basketball's most recognizable programs, in the the West Coast's largest television market, would be limited to just a radio broadcast. Larry Scott must be cringing just a little bit thinking about that. Thankfully under his guidance the conference has orchestrated a television deal that will allow all games to be seen. This weekend is just one last reminder of how awesome that is going to be.

Offense and Defense previews after the jump.

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Washington State hosts Washington today at 5pm for Senior Night at Friel Court. This is the third time in the last five seasons that the Cougars have played the Huskies for their final conference home game.

Senior night has seen some classic WSU games in recent years. Last year, the Cougs nearly took down a tournament-bound UCLA squad without Klay Thompson or Reggie Moore. The match-up with the James Harden-led Arizona State Sun Devils in 2009 was a story straight out of a Hollywood script. 2007 against USC saw a breakout game for sophomore Aron Baynes and a double-overtime victory for the Cougs aided by a Lodrick Stewart missed free throw in the first OT (I don't think I've ever heard Beasley as loud as when that shot hit front-iron and fell off).

Rochestie's shot probably can't be topped in terms of goosebump inducing, I'm-not-crying-I-just-have-something-in-both-of-my-eyes excitement, but the most intense Senior night atmosphere, and one of the most intense sporting events I've ever attended, has to be the 2008 game against Washington.

I graduated in 2007, so I was actually in school for the first three years of the Kyle Weaver/Derrick Low/Robbie Cowgill era. After the schedule came out before the 2007-2008 season I knew that it would be absolutely imperative to attend the Senior night game against UW. I dubbed this "The Senior Night." It had extra meaning. This was the group that brought the Cougs from Pac-10 laughingstock to conference title contender.

This was my last game in the student section (I still had a sports pass from my student teaching) and it was a great way to go out. WSU survived UW in (once again) double overtime thanks to a couple last-second game-tying buckets from Cowgill at the end of regulation and OT (you can see the first of those and the reaction from my sister and I at the 1:40 mark here).

This group of seniors hasn't been as successful as that 2008 squad, but in the context of WSU basketball history, their trip to the NIT Final Four was impressive. Had two of their teammates used their last year of eligibility this season, they very well could be preparing for an NCAA Tournament run.

So here's to hoping that the Cougs can come through with another memorable Senior Night performance and send Marcus Capers, Abe Lodwick, Faisal Aden, and Charlie Enquist out with a bang.

Offense and Defense previews after the jump.

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Washington State takes on the Arizona State Sun Devils this evening at 5 pm in Beasley Coliseum. ASU took the first meeting between these two teams down in Tempe, 71-67.

Since that game, the Sun Devils have struggled mightily, with only a home victory over Utah and a few blowout losses. They do have Trent Lockett back from injury. Lockett is likely their best player and will make ASU a little tougher to handle in the stretch run of the season.

This game is being billed as a "Gray Out" for Washington State, as they will be giving away shirts and encouraging people to wear gray. Searching the interwebs indicates that if the Cougs can in fact "grayout" Arizona State, it will be of great benefit to the basketball team.

From Merriam-Webster, the definition of grayout:

: a transient dimming or haziness of vision resulting from temporary impairment of cerebral circulation

Impairing the opponent's cerebral circulation doesn't sound entirely legal, but it should give WSU that extra boost today.

Offense and Defense previews after the jump.

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Washington State gave one of the Pac-12's best a tough test at home once again, but couldn't finish it off as the Arizona Wildcats won their fifth straight game Thursday night at Friel Court.

The Cougars came out strong, jumping out to a 7-0 lead on Arizona. UA recovered to take a 40-39 lead at the halftime break. WSU continued to battle as the game remained in doubt into the waning moments.

Brock Motum continues to be a tough match-up. Motum scored 28 points on 8-14 shooting and was able to get his shot or draw a foul at will. Unfortunately, down the stretch he could not make his free throws, missing six in a row in the final minutes. After Jesse Perry converted a three-point play to put the Wildcats up by three with just around a minute to go, Brock was able to draw a foul while attempting a three on Arizona's Nick Johnson Kyle Fogg.

He went to the line with a chance to tie the game, but missed his first two attempts. Arizona made their free throws the rest of the way to thwart a Cougar comeback.

Reggie Moore had his best offensive game of the season. He was aggressive to the rim and made 8-13 field goals on the way to 21 points. When Moore is playing well, Washington State can hang with anyone in the conference.

Arizona's sharpshooter off the bench, Brendon Lavender, burned the Cougs for the second-straight game, hitting 5-7 threes. That makes him 9-12 from three against WSU and 31-63 in UA's 25 other games. If the senior hasn't yet paid his fees for graduation, I'm sure Wazzu fans can take up a collection to help him out.

The win keeps Arizona in the hunt for the Pac-12 title. The loss sends WSU to 5-9, losers of 5 of their last 7 contests. The Cougs will be back at Friel Court on Saturday at 5 pm against the Arizona State Sun Devils. That game will be televised on Root Sports.

Hey look! A televised game! You can see moving pictures of Arizona and WSU on FSN/Root Sports and other affiliates (for some reason I get CSN-Bay Area on my cable here in Burlington, VT and the game will be shown on that channel - sadly they black out all the Warriors' games). Word has it that Kevin Calabro will be on the call.

For those of you who don't have cable, but still have a WSUCougars.com Cougars All-Access subscription, WSU will be streaming the game live (their own feed, not the FSN/Root feed). You can find that here. Any free stream links will be posted in the comment section.

And if the video options aren't working for you, there is always the free radio feed at http://mynorthwest.com/streams/streampop_ktth.php. Gametracker with live stats here.

Join us in the gamethread!

Washington State takes on the Arizona Wildcats for the second time in 20 days tonight at 6 pm in Beasley Coliseum. The Wildcats had little trouble with WSU the first time around, cruising to an easy 85-61 victory at home.

The problem with previewing the same team twice within three weeks is that all the players are the same and the stats haven't much changed. This is the case for Arizona, except that they've been able to have more success in the win column as of late.

After a narrow loss to the Washington Huskies on January 28th that dropped them to 5-4 and presumably left them out of the conference title picture, Arizona has been able to reel off four straight wins. Thanks to an impressive road sweep of the Bay Area schools followed by wins over Colorado and Utah at home, Arizona now sits just one game behind the conference leaders, with a chance to avenge their loss to UW this Saturday.

The Wildcats have been at the top of the conference in efficiency margin all season, so it was very likely that the time would come when their record represented their actual talent level. Their four Pac-12 losses have come by a combined 12 points. With the Los Angeles schools at home and ASU to close out the season, if UA can get through this weekend unscathed, their chances of running the table in the second half of league play are looking good.

Some quick offense and defense previews after the jump.

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The Oregon Ducks used hot shooting once again, especially from the outside, to complete a season sweep of Washington State Saturday afternoon. UO hit 11 of 20 three pointers contributing to a 68 eFG%. That was their second highest single-game eFG% of the season, their best being the first match-up between these two teams in Spokane.

Brock Motum had a hot start for the Cougs, but was quiet down the stretch as Oregon jumped ahead. Motum finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 0 turnovers. Reggie Moore was aggressive in taking shots, but didn't seem to go to the basket nearly as often as he did against Oregon State. Moore did not attempt a free throw, and shot 7 three-pointers. He finished with 12 points on 5-13 shooting and 7 assists.

The game was back and forth for most of the second half until WSU was unable to secure a missed free throw, leading to a tip-in from E.J. Singler with 6:32 left. That put UO in the lead for good, as they drained threes on the next two possessions to build a 64-58 lead from which WSU could not come back. Singler led all scorers with 23 points.

Defense continues to give the Cougars losses in games that the offense was certainly good enough to win. WSU turned the ball over just ten times in 58 possessions and finished with a 57 eFG%. The Cougs also rebounded well on the offensive end, grabbing about 42% of O-board opportunities.

The loss puts WSU at 5-8 in conference play with three straight home games upcoming. They will be back in Pullman this Thursday to take on the Arizona Wildcats at 6 pm Pacific. That game will be broadcast nationally on FSN and Root Sports.

The Cougars cap off another classic Tom Hansen blackout weekend as they take on the Oregon Ducks with no television cameras to be found in the arena. Hansen would not be happy to find out that universities still attempt to allow people to see Pac-12 basketball through webcasts. UO will be streaming this on their website, and all you have to do is pay 12.95! If there are any other streams found, they will surely be posted in the comments.

The radio broadcast can be found for free at http://mynorthwest.com/streams/streampop_ktth.php. The Gametracker can be viewed here.

Join us in the game thread! A game against Oregon is 100% likely to end in either a blowout or controversy!

After a surprising victory on Thursday, Washington State will look for a road sweep as they face the Oregon Ducks at 3 pm Pacific. The two teams faced off in their Pac-12 opener on December 29th. In that game, UO shredded the WSU defense on the way to a decisive 92-75 victory. That was the Ducks' best offensive performance of the season, as they scored 1.3 points per possession.

The victory was a sign of good things to come for Oregon. They have surprising a 8-4 conference record so far and are just one game out of first place after a blowout victory over the Washington Huskies two days ago.

The Pac-12 leaders, California and UW, both face tough road tests this weekend. This could be a prime opportunity for the Ducks to make up some ground and sit atop the standings. The Cougars don't have a shot at the league title, but every win increases the potential for an easier path in the conference tournament.

Offense and Defense previews after the jump.

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