Washington State Basketball

It's never a good thing when you're watching your team play and a graphic is thrown on the screen showing the largest loss in NIT history, while your team is dangerously close to claiming the throne in that category.

Tuesday night in New York City, the Wichita State Shockers (insert verb here) the Washington State Cougars 75-44 in the first of two NIT semifinal games in Madison Square Garden.

The creative answer to the verb insertion would be "shocked." I would say "stunned" is more like it. The Cougars came out from the opening tip and played like they'd all been hit with a stun gun and were slow from the get-go.

After falling behind quickly 7-0, Cougars' Reggie Moore hit a deep two from just inside the top of the three-point line to pull the Cougars within five. They would never get any closer.

The most telling tale was the hustle and physicality that the Shockers brought to the table, especially when it comes to rebounding. With just about four minutes in the game and the result already well decided, J.T. Durley of Wichita State missed a jump shot, but a 6'4" Graham Hatch jumped higher than the group of three Cougar players that stood under the basket and snatched the rebound allowing more time to run off the clock.

That was pretty much a microcosm of the entire game. The Shockers outrebounded the Cougars 51-21, with 17 of them coming on the offensive glass.

Wichita State was the better team tonight. And in a tournament style game, that's all it takes to win.

So when you have your leading scorer, who you rely heavily upon, commit more fouls than he scores points in the first half, it's almost a guarantee you're going to find yourself in a big hole.

Junior Klay Thompson, averaging 22 points a game this season for the Cougars, had undoubtedly his worst game of the year on the biggest stage. Scoring just two points in the first half while committing three fouls, he put the Cougar offense in neutral and it never got off the ground.

Give the Shockers defense credit, as they were hounding him for the entire time he was in the game. But also give the Cougar offense a lot of blame. Ball movement was slow, passes were not crisp, and the effort to gain any advantage in the paint was non-existent.

Thompson finished with just six points on 1-of-10 shooting, failing to connect from long distance. It was the second straight game Thompson did not have a three-point field goal. Not exactly the way he envisioned ending the season, and possibly his Cougar career.

The Cougars as a whole were 0-10 from three-point territory and no player scored in double figures. A dubious achievement that goes so far back I'm not even going to try and look that one up.

Leading the way for the Cougars were both Moore and DeAngelo Casto, who each tallied nine points.

Previewing this game, I noticed that Wichita State had only had a player score 20 points in a game three times this entire season.

Enter Garrett Stutz. The 7' junior from Kansas City, Missouri dropped a career-high 24 points on 10-13 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds. He almost single-handedly outscored the Cougars in the first half, racking up 18 points to the Cougars' 19 as the Shockers held a 36-19 halftime advantage.

The only reason the Cougars were even somewhat still in the game at halftime was thanks to Faisal Aden, who scored all eight of his points in the first half while Thompson was forced to sit on the bench.

Thompson picked up his second foul just three and a half minutes into the game, and after sitting shortly, head coach Ken Bone brought him back seeing his Cougars fall farther behind and needing an offensive spark. Instead Thompson picked up his third foul on an offensive charge and sat the remaining ten minutes of the first half.

I personally had no problem with Klay being inserted back in the game; it had to be done considering what was at stake and the current state of the game.

The numbers go on and on favoring Wichita State and don't need to be burned into the minds of Cougar fans as the Cougars now make the long cross country trip back home to Pullman.

In the end, the Washington State Cougars failed to show up and give its school and conference a good representation.

Now let the speculation begin about Thompson and even Casto. Should both come back, the Cougars will return everybody with the exception of seldom-used guard Ben Loewen and be in good shape to try and make a solid run to the NCAA tournament.

Should one or both leave, gaps will be created that can not be filled by just one player.

In the grand scheme of things, during the up down roller coaster that was the Washington State basketball season involving arrests, suspensions, unspeakable losses and unbelievable wins, I call this season a success.

It could've been better, should've been better, but all good things come to an end for all teams except one in any tournament.

And Wichita State will have a chance to be the last one smiling.

The Washington State Cougars (22-12) will try and take one step closer to a NIT championship on Tuesday night when they play the Wichita State Shockers (27-8) in the first of two semifinal match-ups at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

At first glance this seems to me like the Cougars should have the upper hand. However the stats side by side show similar numbers even though the teams have done it two entirely different ways.

Wichita State is the more balanced and experienced group of individuals. No players on the Wichita State roster averages more than 26 minutes a game and they're top nine scorers are all either juniors or seniors.

Conversely for the Cougars, they have five players who average more than 26 minutes a game. The Cougars have more talent up top, but the Shockers have more depth.

Both teams averaged around 74 points a game this season and both shot about 47 percent from the field and 36 percent from three point range.

I personally can't figure out how the Shockers racked up 27 wins this year.

They went 14-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference this season and finished just a game behind regular season champion Missouri State. In the conference tournament, they were ousted by eventual tournament champ and lone conference representative in the NCAA tournament, Indiana State.

The Shockers schedule showcased a few big time opponents, including two teams that are in this year's Final Four, Connecticut and Virginia Commonwealth. They also played San Diego State back in early December, but they lost all three games.

Against UConn during the Maui Invitational, the Shockers actually held a lead with under two minutes to go before falling to the Huskies 83-79. Those 83 points were the most they would give up all season except for one more time in an 83-69 defeat at San Diego State.

Could the Shockers be a victim of a soft conference? Possibly. But they haven't shown it in the first three games of this year's National Invitation Tournament.

After a 25 point route over Nebraska in their opening round game, the Shockers shocked the Virginia Tech Hokies 79-76 in overtime before cruising in the second half of their quarterfinal game against College of Charleston 82-75.

One thing that stood out to me on paper was through out the entire regular and post season, Wichita State has only had a player score 20 points during three separate occasions.

That is astonishing, especially coming from a Washington State perspective where Klay Thompson averaged more than 22 points on the season.

The Shockers were led this year by 6'8" senior forward J.T. Durley as he averaged 11 points and five rebounds a game. In fact, with Durley being the only Wichita State player to average double figures in points, he makes the Shockers just one of two teams in Division 1 basketball to have at least 27 wins and only one player average more than ten points a game.

The other team was Arizona and Derrick Williams averaging over 19 points while taking the Wildcats all the way to the elite eight.

The Shockers have ten players that have played in at least 32 games this season and all average over 13 minutes of play.

If you're the Cougars, how do you defend a team like that?

"They're really well-balanced. They keep coming at you with eight or nine, ten guys, and those ten guys contribute in a number of ways," said Cougar head coach Ken Bone during an interview with Vince Grippi of The Spokesman- Review.

The Cougars will need to bring their A-game from the opening tip tomorrow night.

That hasn't been a problem in the first three games for the Cougars but holding on at the end sure has been. Especially most recently when they defeated Northwestern in overtime after Abe Lodwick of the Cougars had two opportunities at the free throw line with essentially no time left on the clock but missed them both making the Cougars play an extra five minutes before sweating out a victory.

Should the Cougars win tomorrow night, they will have earned a NIT finals showdown Thursday night against the winner of the other semi-final game between Colorado and Alabama.

But to do so, they must defend the perimeter, which just happens to be something they excel at. After Durley, Wichita State's next top three scorers are all 6'5" or below in height and will not hesitate go shoot from long distance.

The Cougars have been tagged as a perimeter shooting team but it is the Shockers who have attempted more long bombs on the season.

A final thing to watch is offensive rebounding for the Shockers. 30 percent of their rebounds come on the offensive end and limiting those second chance opportunities will be vital if the Cougars don't want their season to end.

If it were to come to end, Cougar fans will begin an off-season of questions regarding players and whether they'll return or not, most notably Klay Thompson, but that's another story for another day.

Despite building a 14-point lead before leading at halftime by seven, the Washington State Cougars did everything they could to throw away tonight's game against the Northwestern Wildcats in a gut-wrenching 69-66 overtime victory.

The Cougars received good news just hours before tip-off—DeAngelo Casto had been reinstated for the game after Athletic Director Bill Moos, lifted the suspension. Casto was caught in his apartment with the stench of marijuana floating in the air.

Casto took advantage of his second chance and jumped out of the gates fast and hard, alongside the rest of the Cougars. Casto scored the the team's first four points, including a thunderous two-hand slam.  He also recorded a block and a steal all within the first two minutes of the game. This began an opening stretch where the Cougars jumped out to a 10-3 lead.

Casto continued his good night, finishing with 11 points and eight rebounds along with two steals and two blocks.

Helping on the interior, sophomore Brock Motum showed soft touch around the rim as he shot five of six from the field in the first half.  He finished the night with 13 points and six rebounds in a career high 30 minutes of action.

The game got off to a good start for the Cougars, mainly because Northwestern struggled to find their touch from long range.

Northwestern lives and dies by the three, so it was only fitting that it was the cause of their demise early on.  Their four field goals were all threes, and they didn't hit a two-point field goal until the 7:49 mark in the first half—followed up by another three.

The Wildcats, one of the top three-point shooting teams in both attempts and makes, shot just 10-of-38 on the game—including 0-8 in an overtime period that only saw them score two points.

After a sloppy first half, Northwestern rallied back.  They carried a 10-0 run through halftime to tie the game up at 38—almost the entire second half remained to be played.

From that point on, the 5,900 in attendance saw six ties and eight lead changes.

The Cougars, not this team in particular, are notorious for coughing up leads and losing games they shouldn't. The term "Cougin' It" has become well-known throughout the entire state of Washington, and it would've been the word of the day on Thursday had the Cougars dropped this one.

I personally believe the Cougars got away with two should've-been-turnovers in the last minute of the game.

One was by Klay Thompson. It was extremely obvious he palmed the ball on a high dribble, right in front of the Northwestern bench. This caused them to lose their minds on the sideline before Thompson called a timeout.

The other was by Reggie Moore when he lost control of his dribble, and dove alongside a Northwestern player for the ball before it rolled out of bounds. To me, it looked like Northwestern should've gotten the ball.

But both of those plays were minuscule compared to the final four seconds of the game.  Officials huddled around the monitor, trying desperately to get a clear vision of what happened—I've seen multiple replays of this play and still can't figure out if the right call was made.

Reggie Moore dribbled the length of the court after Northwestern's John Shurna tied the game at 64 with a lay-in. However, instead of taking the shot himself, with the clock winding down, Moore took a risk.  He made a "time-consuming" pass to a wide open Abe Lodwick underneath the basket, who basically got tackled on a shot-attempt as the buzzer went off.

The question became, what came first? The buzzer or the whistle?

After much deliberation, the officials decided the foul came first with 0.2 seconds left on the clock.  Lodwick, a 69 percent free-throw shooter on the year, who had taken just 13 attempts all season, stepped to the line for two freebies that would essentially win the game.

But he missed them both.

In overtime, both teams struggled as far as offensive production.  With five offensive rebounds for the Wildcats in the extra period, they were able to maintain hope—until two three-pointers by Alex Marcotullio in the final seconds fell short, and the Cougars walked away victorious.

Klay Thompson, who possibly may have played his last game in Pullman, struggled most of the night.  He finished with 17 points while only shooting 6-of-18 from the field and, for the first time all season, did not connect on a three-point field goal.

But I guess when a guy leads his team in points (17) rebounds (nine) and assists (four) in 43 minutes of action, it's hard to call that a struggle. For Klay Thompson though, we here in Pullman have been spoiled by his scoring outputs.

After the game was over, Thompson may have given the Cougar faithful hope that he'll return.  When he came out for a postgame interview on ESPN, the chant "One more year!" rang throughout Beasley Coliseum, and Thompson had a big grin on his face and held up one finger while facing his classmates.

The victory earned the Cougars' first NIT Final Four bid in the program's history. They will join Alabama, Colorado, and Wichita State at Madison Square Garden for the semi-finals on Tuesday night.

The Cougars will take on Wichita State, a No. 4 seed that knocked off College of Charleston earlier tonight. Before them, the Shockers took down No. 1 seed Virginia Tech, a team many believed should've been in the NCAA tournament.

Washington State power forward Deangelo Casto could have completed the trifecta. Hours ago, he was set to become the third of Washington State’s three best basketball players to be suspended for marijuana use this season (PG Reggie Moore and SF Klay Thompson were also suspended earlier in the season). He was saved when “new information”—as yet undescribed by WSU’s athletic department—came to light.

Here is an aggressive guess as to what that “new information” was: it makes it unlikely the charge will stick. That is not a blind guess. Pullman’s police department is notorious for having little to do—it is Pullman, WA after all—besides set draconian speed traps and enforce the most harmless infractions through dubious methods. Rumor is that Pac Ten recruiters use Pullman’s policing-to-say-we’re-policing policy of law enforcement to encourage players to avoid Washington State University.

Which brings us back to Deangelo Casto. WSU Athletic Director Bill Moos reinstated Casto for tonight’s NIT Quarterfinal against Northwestern. He surreptitiously cited “new information” regarding the police report, and is now going to let the legal process play out before deciding on any punishment. 

Don’t mistake this for Moos wanting to pick up a win tonight—Thompson was suspended for a crucial game against UCLA which the Cougs lost by just two, and star PG Reggie Moore also missed one game in December. More likely is that abnormality on the police report—read: lack of probable cause, unlawful search and seizure, etc—gave Moos pause about punishing the junior before any sort of legal outcome.

It’s a question that is not asked enough in my opinion: when (if ever) should players be suspended before their legal guilt is established? Our legal system embraces a guilty-until-proven-innocent philosophy, yet the NCAA, the conferences, and the teams have the opposite mindset toward their players. Yes, they have a reputation to uphold, and maybe it’s true that more often than not an accused player is guilty. But what of the players like Casto who, if I am confirmed correct, may be legally innocent?

I argue that schools, divisions, and the NCAA are all too perception-conscious with regard to crime-related suspensions. While it’s undeniable that an accused rapist should not be allowed to play amidst his trial, I think in the case of a minor, victimless drug charge players should be given the benefit of the doubt so long as they maintain their innocence. On the day of a guilty plea or conviction, a suspension must come that fits the crime and the player will do his or her penance. And any innocent players go rightfully unpunished.

This altered policy would save players like Casto from missing games despite their innocence.  Moreover, it would do a great deal to align the punishment policy of college sports with our legal and social policy of presumed innocence. After all, due process is a little more important than the NCAA or its universities’ reputations, right?

Thankfully for Mr. Casto and the Cougars, Bill Moos is already one of the enlightened.

Tonight, the Washington State Cougars will host the Northwestern Wildcats in the NIT quarterfinal for a chance to go to the Final Four in New York City and play at Madison Square Garden.

But the bigger story is the Tuesday suspension of starting forward DeAngelo Casto.

According to ESPN, Casto had his apartment searched by Pullman police around 1 AM on Tuesday morning, where they found marijuana just hours after the Cougars' 74-64 victory against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Casto has become the third starter for the Cougars to have been suspended for the same charge, as Reggie Moore and Klay Thompson were caught earlier during the season. Thompson was suspended just two weeks ago causing him to miss the pivotal final regular season game against UCLA, which the Cougars lost by two points.

Without their leading rebounder, the Cougars will look to sophomore Brock Motum to fill the void inside.

The 6'10" Australian averages just seven points and three rebounds in 18 minutes of play per game, but I've always believed he's deserved more playing time.

Motum is an excellent high-post passer and his jump shot is pure. He leads the Cougars in field-goal percentage shooting over 60 percent on the year.

But he lacks in the physicality department. Despite, being 6'10", he only has three blocks on the year.

But against Northwestern, physicality might not be so relevant, as the Wildcats like to shoot the three-ball. During the regular season, they ranked ninth in three-point field goals made, connecting on 37 percent from downtown.

They also ranked 333rd in the nation in rebounding, averaging just under 30 a game. That caused them to be the worst rebounding team of any school in a major conference.

Both teams seem to mirror each other, being perimeter-oriented, but the fact that the game is being played in Pullman should give the Cougars the edge and the victory.

With the one-and-done format now in play, it becomes a wonder for every Washington State fan if they're watching Klay Thompson's final game in a Cougars uniform.

The same can be said for Casto, but for different reasons.

It has been rumored that Casto might make the jump to play professionally in Europe after this season despite being a junior. Should that be the case, I think the Cougars won't miss a beat with Motum most likely sliding into the starting role.

However, should the Cougars lose tonight, then maybe we saw Casto play his final game and not even know it.

There have been two unfortunate constants for the Washington State Cougar basketball team this season.

First, the team is horribly inconsistent.

They can lose to the worst team in the Pac 10 one week, only to pull off a great road victory the next against the eventual Pac 10 Tournament champions.

Second, their players just can't seem to stay out of trouble.

Guards Reggie Moore and Klay Thompson were both hit with one game suspensions earlier in the season. Each of them, in separate incidents, were cited for marijuana possession.

Now, it appears as though DeAngelo Casto has joined them.  

According to the Spokesman-Review, Casto's apartment was searched by police Tuesday morning and a small amount of marijuana was found, allegedly.

Casto has been suspended indefinitely for violating team rules and will miss at least the Cougar's next game in the NIT tournament.  

They are in the quarterfinals, preparing to play Northwestern.

His presence will be missed. The 6'8" Junior leads the team in rebounds with 6.8 per game and averages 12.1 points.

Northwestern is not a strong rebounding team; Casto would have given the Cougars a sharp advantage in the contest.  

Washington State does not often use a true center. Rather, they run a three guards and rely on Casto working with Abe Lodwick and Brock Motum to fill two forward positions. 

This should have played right into their hands vs. Northwestern. Lodwick and Motum will need to step up in performance and minutes played, while 6'8" Patrick Simon will likely be called upon to fill in.

"I am disappointed in DeAngelo as he let himself and his teammates down," coach Ken Bone said in a statement.

"Neither myself nor the team will have further comment as our sole focus is the game against Northwestern and the opportunity to reach the NIT semifinals in New York."

While the players didn't have any comments, athletic director Bill Moos did.  

"It is important that our student-athletes realize that they are held to a high standard and that a lack of good judgment can be costly, especially in the postseason when so much is at stake."

There will be speculation on how this will impact his decision to return for his senior season or make a run at the NBA. Leading his team to the NIT finals would have helped his case.

"It would be helpful if DeAngelo is back, and I'm not positive on that," Bone said, noting that Casto has a child to support.

"There's a chance he won't be around. We're hoping he is. We think he will be, but it's not a for sure thing."

What is for sure is that he won't be there for the Northwestern game.  

The Cougars should still be able to survive the matchup. If it happens, it will be interesting to see if Casto would be allowed to play in New York.

Non-Invited Tournament.

Non-Important Tournament.

Those are just a couple words phrase choices I've heard about the National Invitational Tournament, which is taking place side by side with the NCAA tournament this month.

The Washington State Cougars have probably heard them too, and it wouldn't shock me if those words were floating around in their heads during their sloppy 85-73 victory over Long Beach State Wednesday night.

The first-round victory over the 49ers was the Cougars' first postseason victory since 2007, when they advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

But, it was sloppy on both sides, more so for 49ers who didn't crack double digits in the scoring column until a lay-in by Big West Player of the Year Casper Ware with 5:35 left in the first half.

The Cougars held the 49ers to just 18 first-half points, a season low for them, and they missed all nine attempts from beyond the arc.

Turnovers were the name of the game as the two teams racked up 34 between them, including 19 by the Cougars, one short of their season high. It was the fourth time the Cougars have committed 18 or more turnovers, however, they've won every one of those games, three of them by double digits.

Klay Thompson led the way with 25 points and his shooting partner in crime, Faisal Aden, chipped in with 19.

Aden, who had started the season off strong, hit a wall when Pac-10 play began and his scoring suffered along with the Cougars need for points. In the months of January and February, Faisal Aden scored in double figures just five times overall. However, his 19 point effort against Long Beach State was his fourth consecutive double digit scoring night in March.

Despite the Cougars holding an 18 point lead at half time, the Niners were able to close the gap to within five points with 13 minutes to go, thanks to a three point shooting barage by senior Greg Plater. He scored all 14 of his points in those first seven minutes of the second half.

Though the they were not able to play infront of a normally raucous home crowd because the students were on Spring Break, the schedule is set up nicely for them. They will host Oklahoma State next on Monday, when school will be back in session.

The last time these two schools met on the court was back in 2004, where the Cowboys performed a clinic on the Cougars with a 81-29 beatdown in Stillwater, Okla.

That was Dick Bennett's first season as Cougars head coach, and the team had started the revival of Cougar basketball with four unknown freshmen named Kyle Weaver, Derrick Low, Robbie Cowgill and Daven Harmeling.

The Cougars will have an opportunity to host a third game should Boston College lose to Northwestern tomorrow.

But first things first. Beat the Cowboys on Monday.

Oklahoma State is an intriguing team because they have 11 players who average more than 13 minutes a game and only two who see over 23 minutes a game. That either means they're balanced, or they don't have that one guy who can take over a game like Thompson can for the Cougs.

Junior DeAngelo Casto, who has been on a tear as of late, will have his work cut out for him both offensively and defensively, as he'll most likely be matched up with the 'Boys Marshall Moses throughout the game.

Senior Marshall Moses led the Cowboys in points and rebounds this season, averaging 14 and seven. He is capable of total domination if the matchup is right. Before Big-12 conference play started, Moses went off for back-to-back 30-point games.

Washington State might not be in the big tournament, and in my opinion, the Cougars are not quite ready yet. Their inconsistency each night shows me that they're not mature enough to handle the big stage. When you're winning by double digits and still committing lots of turnovers, that shows me overconfidence, a feeling the Cougars have no right to.

A win on Monday night could go a long way for this team's confidence and stability and maybe, just maybe, they'll have that one shining moment in Madison Square Garden on March 31st.

"We thought we were an NCAA tournament team," said Washington State's Klay Thompson. "We just have the opportunity now to prove to people that we are."

As a Washington State fan, it hurts to disagree with the all Pac-10 junior who led the conference this season in scoring, averaging over 22 points a game. But Washington State is not an NCAA tournament team. Not when you suffer losses to bottom feeder Arizona State and lose at home to Stanford, and it's not even close.

But the Cougars are an NIT-bound team and they'll open their quest to get to New York City tonight in Pullman against the Long Beach State 49ers.

While it's nice for the Cougars to play in their own confines of Beasley Coliseum, it won't be nearly as rowdy inside because the students (including myself) are out of town for Spring Break. It will be interesting to see the crowd size when they play on ESPNU tonight at 7 p.m.

The Cougars are looking to rebound after a thrilling yet disappointing quarterfinal exit to the Washington Huskies one week ago in the Pac-10 tournament. A game that saw Thompson score a tournament-record 43 points.

In that game, the Huskies had five players score in double figures, four of whom scored at least 16 points. A large part to the spread production was the ball movement. The Huskies amassed 20 assists, and that was the fourth time a Washington State opponent has gone for more than 20 assists as a team.

The Cougars have lost all four of those games.

The 49ers of Long Beach State 135th in the nation, averaging just over 13 assists a game.

They were 22-11 this season and 14-2 in the Big West conference. They were also riding an 11-game winning streak into the Big West tournament championship game before being knocked off by UC Santa Barbara, 64-56.

A loss that prompted an article on Bleacher Report on Mar. 13 by Jo-Ryan Salazar that included the sentence "...it is my hope that the Beach gets crushed in the first round of the NIT."

The 49ers were able to dominate their conference in large part thanks to their non-conference schedule, which saw them play six teams that reached the NCAA Tournament this year.

San Diego State, North Carolina, Washington, Utah State, Clemson and St. Peters.

Of those six, St. Peters was the only opponent to lose to Long Beach State, however, the 49ers did manage to stay close to North Carolina in Chapel Hill before losing 96-91.

Junior guard Casper Ware led the 49ers this year with 17 points a game and over four assists a game, and at season's end was awarded Big West player of the year honors.

He and teammate Larry Anderson, who averaged 14 points and three assists, were two of the six conference players to make up the All-Conference first team.

To go along with the guard combo, Washington State will also need to contain big man T.J. Robinson. The 6'8" junior who's listed at just 215 pounds averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds, including a 19-point, 19-rebound effort in a victory against UC Santa Barbara back in February.

For the Cougars, DeAngelo Casto is the same height as Robinson, but has a 40-pound weight advantage and must use that to his advantage to keep Robinson off the glass.

The NIT has already seen a No. 2 seed fall when Saint Mary's was knocked off by Kent State last night, so the Cougars can't feel like they can coast through.

Casto echoed those sentiments.

"We've got something to prove. So we just have to go out there and win."

The winner of this game will take on Oklahoma State in the next round.

They say it's hard to beat a team three times in one season. But don't tell that to the Washington State Cougars as they face off against in-state rival Washington Huskies Thursday night in the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament.

The Cougars have done this before. Back in 2007, they swept the season series against the Huskies before beating them in the Pac-10 tournament. That season, the Cougars achieved their greatest post season success of the modern era when they reached the Sweet Sixteen before losing to North Carolina.

But first things first, they must fight off the Huskies one more time to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive.

Right now, ESPN Bracketology has the Cougars listed as the next four out. That means a win against Washington won't be enough. In the grand scheme of the things, anything short of a tournament title will not be good enough for the Cougars.

Even the USC Trojans, whom the Cougars beat last Thursday and finished high in the Pac-10, are on the outside looking in.

However, the Cougars will be almost back to full strength come Thursday as it was announced by head coach Ken Bone on Monday evening that Klay Thompson would play against the Huskies.

Thompson missed the final regular season game on Saturday against UCLA when he was cited for marijuana possession last Thursday night after the victory over USC. Against UCLA the Cougars suffered a heartbreaking 58-54 loss in overtime.

Had Thompson played, who knows what would've happened.

Coming into this season, the Huskies had beaten the Cougars four straight times and much had been made about Thompson in particular and his struggles against the Dawgs. But this season, the Cougars and Thompson have turned the tables and beaten the Huskies twice, in dominating fashion both times, even more so in Seattle, when the two teams last met back on Feb. 27.

One of the big reasons the Cougars took both games was because of the Huskies poor three point shooting which has been their golden ticket all year. The Huskies attempted and made more three point field goals than any team in the Pac-10 converting on 37 percent of them, good for second in the conference.

But against the Cougars and their stingy two-three zone, the Huskies combined to shoot just 19-58 in the two games, 32 percent.

A key player who did not play in the battle in Seattle was Husky junior, Scott Suggs, the top three point marksman in the conference who shot 46 percent on the year.

For the Cougars, it's still unclear on the status of point guard Reggie Moore. He sprained his ankle against USC and sat out Saturday while wearing a boot on his right foot. Against the Huskies, Moore average 14 points and almost five assists.

But Moore's absence on Saturday against UCLA proved just how valuable he is to this team. Against the Bruins, sloppy ball handling and costly unforced turnovers, especially in the last minute of regulation and in overtime, were the Cougars ultimate demise. Moore has played in 23 games this season and only twice has he committed over three turnovers.

Both teams have dropped three of their past five games and while the Huskies are currently projected as a ten seed in the tournament, I wouldn't say they are safe to get in if they were to lose on Thursday.

The Huskies are third in the nation averaging 84 points a game but they've not gone over 70 in their past three.

Before every Husky game on television, there's always a graphic posting the keys to the game and for the Husky opponents, it's usually referring to controlling the tempo. The Cougars have been able to do that with a combination of zone and man to man defense which prevents transition buckets. That's been a large factor for the Cougars having the number one field goal defense in the conference allowing opponents to shoot just 39 percent.

Another factor that has benefited the Cougars is how they defend Husky big man Matthew Bryan-Amaning. Bryan-Amaning, the Husky senior who was named to the first team all Pac-10 along with Most Improved Player has struggled mightily against Washington State and the constant double team.

Bryan-Amaning on the season shot 56 percent from the field but in two games against the Cougars, he was just four of 19 from the field including one of eight in Pullman back in January for a season low six points.

For the Cougars inside, DeAngelo Casto has come on strong to finish the season. His season average of 12 points and nearly seven rebounds to go along with one and half blocks a game was good enough to earn him all Pac-10 second team honors along with a spot on the all-defensive team.

Before Saturday's loss to UCLA, Casto had recorded a double-double in three straight games and against the Huskies this season he's averaged 15 points and ten rebounds.

Something to watch for is the intensity. Who's going to be the aggressor? Usually it's the Huskies as they like to run their opponents out of the gym but the Cougars have had all the answers this season.

Another factor one should keep an eye on is both teams keeping their emotions in check. Nearing the end of the game in Seattle, Husky guard Venoy Overton was given a technical after he elbowed Marcus Capers of the Cougars after Capers committed a hard foul on Bryan-Amaning. That caused a crowd of players to form underneath the basket bumping chests.

Because these teams played just eight days ago, I'm sure the emotions are raw and fresh. A hard foul will eventually subside, but a win for either team meaning a possible no-show in the NCAA tournament will last a lot longer.

How many teams go diving out of bounds for a loose ball when it's 0-0 in the first minute of the game?

I haven't done the research but I know first-hand after tonight that Washington State does.

After a brutal showing down in the desert two weeks ago resulting in losses to both Arizona and Arizona State, the Washington State Cougars have followed that up with two impressive victories.

Sunday night they defeated the Washington Huskies in Seattle, the only team to do so on the Huskies' home floor.

And then tonight, they hung with a physical USC Trojan team and came out with a solid 85-77 victory to improve to 19-10 (9-8) on the season and jumped to fourth in the Pac-10.

The Cougars are currently not in the picture of the NCAA tournament but since their loss to Arizona State back on Feb. 19, the Cougars' season has become its own tournament where one loss will ultimately do them in.

Some say the Cougars only shot to reach the Big Dance is to win the Pac-10 tournament next weekend in Los Angeles and earn an automatic berth.

I was one of them. Was one of them.

Now I think they can afford only a loss in the championship game and still make it, depending on who they beat en route to that game.

But first things first, they must beat UCLA in Pullman on Saturday, an accomplishment they've not achieved since 1993.

And they might have to do it without Reggie Moore.

The sophomore guard came into tonight's game having scored double figures in 12 of his past 13 games and was slowly becoming the leader of this team. He also in 23 games, had only turned the ball over more than three times on two occasions.

But just seven minutes into tonight's game, Moore came down on a defender's foot after a missed shot attempt and laid on the ground gripping his ankle. He quickly hobbled off under his own power but went straight past the Cougar bench and into the locker room.

He did not come back out until halftime. And when he did, his right foot was in a walking boot and he did not return to the game.

Moore's absence meant someone else would need to step up.

Faisal Aden answered the call off the bench, scoring 20 points in 35 minutes.

The Cougars held a 15-point halftime lead but saw that dwindle all the way down to one with nine minutes left in the game after USC hit three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to shave off nine points in just one minute of game clock.

However, thanks in large part to Klay Thompson's 22 points, the Trojans were never able to take the lead and clutch free-throw shooting for the Cougars helped secure a crucial victory.

It was nice to see Aden, who is the leading scorer (12.6) among first year players in the Pac-10, return to early season form in Moore's absence. Aden shot 8-of-14 from the field and the 20 points were the most since he dropped 20 against Stanford back on Jan. 15.

Aden was one of six Cougars that saw themselves play regularly after Moore's departure displaying how shallow this team is. Head coach Ken Bone stuck with a six man rotation that showed great heart and resolve.

After the game was over, it was announced that forward DeAngelo Casto was named player of the game after a strong 24 point, 10 rebound performance on 10-of-11 shooting from the field against one of the better frontcourts in the Pac-10.

It was Casto's third straight double double and sixth on the season. The 24 points was also one shy of a season and career high.

But I would've given the game ball to Aden for his 10 second half points as he played all 20 minutes. This is a player who has battling knee problems all season forcing him to sit out a couple games, most recently against Arizona State just 12 days ago. Also in his previous two outings, he's scored a combined eight points on just two of 13 shooting.

But the play of the game came with just 1:40 remaining. The Cougars were holding onto a 75-70 lead when Klay Thompson's three point shot rimmed straight up into the air. Aden was the only Cougar underneath the basket and was surrounded by three Trojans. Yet somehow the 6'4" Aden was able to use his quick hands to snatch the rebound and lay it back in to increase the lead back to seven.

He needed this night. As did the Cougars.

In their own single elimination tournament, they're perfect. They've beaten two opponents who stood high than them in the standings and now arguably the hottest team in the conference comes into town for the final regular season game.

The UCLA Bruins may have lost tonight in Seattle against the Huskies in a game that was closer than the final score would indicate but that doesn't mean they're still not on a roll. Before tonight, the Bruins had won eight of nine and just on Saturday, laid a 22-point beatdown on the then-10th ranked Arizona Wildcats.

The Bruins' present matchup nightmares in the paint for the Cougars and last meeting erased an eight point Cougar halftime lead to go on and win easily 80-71 back on Dec. 29.

In that game, UCLA's Reeves Nelson and Josh Smith combined for 29 points on 12-18 shooting and grabbed 17 of UCLA's 31 rebounds.

If the Cougars want to get that 20th victory on the season, they're going to have to show the same effort they showed tonight come Saturday that has them diving for loose balls, even if it is 0-0 in the first minute of the game.