WSU At Stanford

The Cougars (9-7 Pac-10, 15-10) open their crucial Bay Area road trip against the Cardinal (8-8, 17-8) at 7:30 p.m. at Maples Pavilion. The game will not be televised live in the Spokane area.

At a glance

This is about as big as it gets for either team. WSU, fresh off an 84-71 upset of Arizona State, needs at least one more win if it hopes to receive any consideration from the NCAA Tournament’s selection committee.

By knocking off Stanford, a team that has been ranked throughout much of the season and is unbeaten against non-conference foes, the Cougars can assure themselves of at least sole possession of fifth place in the Pac-10 standings. That might not be enough, considering WSU’s weak non-league schedule, but it would certainly be hard for the NCAA to ignore especially if the Cougars couple it with a win over California on Saturday afternoon.

A Bay Area sweep could give WSU a share of third place with ASU and Oregon. Stanford, on the other hand, needs this win just to remain in contention for a first-division finish. A sweep of WSU and Washington would probably lock up an NCAA berth for the Cardinal, which has lost five of its last seven games.

The Cougars won the first meeting in Pullman, 77-63, but Cardinal point guard Brevin Knight was slowed considerably by a sore lower leg.

WSU: Isaac Fontaine, 17.8 points per game; Mark Hendrickson, 16.0 ppg, 9.0 rebounds; Shamon Antrum, 14.0 ppg; Donminic Ellison, 10.9 ppg, 6.6 assists.

Stanford: Dion Cross, 17.5 ppg; Brevin Knight, 16.8 ppg, 6.8 apg; Tim Young, 12.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg.

Radio

KXLY (920 AM) Spokane, KWSU (1250 AM) Pullman, KORD 870 AM) Tri-Cities, KCLX (1450 AM) Colfax, KCVL (1240 AM) Colville, KWWW (1340 AM) Wenatchee, KBSN (1470 AM) Moses Lake, KNSN (97.1 FM) Walla Walla, 7 p.m.