WSU focus shifts to Pac-12 tourney
COUGARS
FROM LOS ANGELES -- The regular season is over, but Washington State's time here is not. The Cougars have three days to prepare for Oregon State, their first-round opponent on Wednesday at the Pac-12 tournament. But the Pac-12 regular season doesn't officially end until later today. We take a look at those games, plus the ones that transpired Saturday.
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So, is it really that hard to beat a team three times? I've always had my doubts, and I know a lot of coaches think it's hooey, too. Ken Bone doesn't totally discount the theory, but he did say that it really only applies when one team becomes overconfident after beating a team twice -- in that case, the losing team has a much better chance of winning the third game. But Bone said that won't be the case this week when the Cougars play the Beavers, who Bone describes as one of the most talented teams in the conference. Said Brock Motum: "They’re a great team. They play that 1-3-1 that’s always hard to adjust to. Coaches will do a good job getting us ready to play against that. They’ve got a lot of great players. They can do some damage at the tournament if we don’t come ready." Yes, WSU beat OSU twice this year. But quite simply, that has nothing to do with Wednesday's game. OSU and WSU have both been very inconsistent this season, so who knows which versions of these teams we'll see next week. What's known is this: if the Cougars win, they get another shot at California or Washington the next day. Thanks to the commenter who noted my brain cramp. ... Marcus Capers set a WSU record by playing in his 128th career game on Saturday. ... Our game story focuses on what lies ahead for WSU simply getting its win over USC out of the way, and moving on to this week. We also have a postgame review. ... USC ended the regular season with nine consecutive losses. ... Sounds as if Jeff Hironaka had an interesting night. ... Some more dissection of the Pac-12's woes.
As for yesterday's action ...
UCLA 75, Washington 69: Too many turnovers doomed the Huskies down the stretch, and now they must wait for the result of today's Cal-Stanford game to find out whether they have to share the Pac-12 title. It was a good end to a rough week for the Bruins.
Oregon State 83, Colorado 69: Like the Cougars, OSU needed its win Saturday for confidence. The Buffaloes will not look back at this weekend fondly.
Oregon 94, Utah 48: So much for the Utes ending the season on a high note. Oregon handed them their worst loss in school history after taking an early 34-2 lead. Yikes.
As for today's action ...
Arizona at Arizona State, 12:30 p.m. (FSN): The Wildcats could be looking at a Pac-12 tourney matchup with dangerous UCLA. ASU is just trying to play spoiler.
California at Stanford, 2:30 p.m. (FSN): The Bears can earn the title of co-champs with a win over the rival Cardinal.
Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple