WSU’s loss to USC, one day later
COUGARS
Here's a suggestion for you. If you want to get a good night's sleep on New Year's Eve – you know, you've been on the road working and just want to sleep? – then don't spend the night in a hotel. Some call New Year's Eve "Amateur Night." Here, it was "Loud People in a Hotel Night." How many times can one guy yell "on Wisconsin" at 1 in the morning anyway? I lost count at 11. Anyhow, we have your day-after post from Los Angeles, so read on.
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• Washington State: This will be mainly links, after we put up some thoughts after the game last night. One thing I will say. If DeAngelo Casto can play anywhere near as well as he did yesterday the rest of the season, Washington State will be a tough out in every game. ... Our game story that appeared in the paper is here. The Los Angeles Times' Baxter Holmes had this piece and Michael Lev of the Orange County Register filed this story. There was this from ESPN Los Angeles, but I will say, after the game the Cougars were not all that impressed with Marcus Simmons defensive play, especially in the first half. The overwhelming sentiment was Klay Thompson was able to get the shots he usually does, but they didn't go down. ... Though Thompson did not shoot well, he did make two plays that were impressive, one flamboyant, the other subtle. The flamboyant one came early in the second half when he caught the ball up top and was guarded by Nikola Vucevic on a switch. Three dribbles and Thompson was by the 6-foot-10 center. Over came 6-10 Alex Stepheson to challenge at the rim. No matter. Thompson just powered down a dunk in Stepheson's grill. At home that play might have been enough to get the Beasley crowd into the rafters. The other, more subtle play, came late. It was the rebound he won in traffic when the Cougars needed the ball. Simmons and Stepheson were sandwiching him, but Thompson got the ball and gave WSU a chance. "He's got a reputation as just a scorer, but Klay plays great defense, he hustles and he sees the floor well," said Marcus Capers, adding Thompson will get the big rebound when WSU needs it. "But him rebounding, it's just something coach challenged him to do."
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• Around the Pac-10: There was one other conference game Friday and in it Washington finished a sweep in Los Angeles with a 74-63 victory at Pauley. UCLA shot 21 more fouls shots thanks to the Huskies' aggressive defense, but UW found a way to win. ... A couple teams meet in Eugene today in the last men's game at Mac Court. The loser will join WSU at 0-2. ... Jamelle Horne is not playing as much for Arizona right now. ... Football-wise, Stanford has a lot at stake in their Orange Bowl matchup with Virginia Tech, not the least of which might be Jim Harbaugh's future. Oregon is done with the Eugene part of its prep for the title game.
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• That's all we've got for today. We'll be back as events warrant the next couple days. Until then ...
