Coming Up: Washington State Cougars

RECORD: 8-4 overall, 0-0 Pac-12

COMING UP: Today vs. Oregon, 6 p.m. (Comcast SportsNet NW: Comcast 179); Saturday vs. Oregon St., 3 p.m. (Root). Games at Spokane Arena

OUTLOOK: The first Pac-12 basketball season begins today, as does WSU athletic director Bill Moos’ experiment of playing conference games in Spokane, something the school hasn’t done since 2005. With the students on winter break, the Cougars have sold around 6,000 tickets for each of the weekend games, although the totals include season ticket holders. Whatever crowd shows up will see a 9-3 Ducks team that plays hard under second-year coach Dana Altman and an Oregon State group that has posted its best start (10-2) since 1989-90, leading the conference in scoring at 83.4 points per game.