COUGARS

As Taylor Rochestie and Aron Baynes and Caleb Forrest and Daven Harmeling prepare to play their final game on Friel Court in an attempt to win the 79th game in the past four years, we prepare to put up our 347th post of the basketball season. Nowhere near a record for either, but both quite an accomplishment. Read on.
••••••••••

• Though this WSU senior class is the most successful at the school since the Korean War (you know, the one in M*A*S*H, the old TV show your parents used to watch during dinner) they feel like they have some unfinished business. And they're trying to finish it today. A win over the 14th-ranked Sun Devils would cement a postseason berth for the Cougars, more than likely in the NIT – though the NCAA tourney is not out of the question if WSU can win four consecutive times in LA (your assignment: How likely is that to happen? Please show your work). There is one group the seniors hope will help them today: their fellow students. Coach Tony Bennett and the players have mentioned this week how much they hope the students will turn out today. We'll see.

• On to today's links. Our advance is here, along with more on each senior here. ... Freelancer Howie Stalwick had this advance in the P-I and other papers. ... The Arizona Republic's Doug Haller has this piece. ... And, finally, switching gears – and sports – the P-I's Molly Yanity takes a look at UW's football recruiting. The big tent quote is what caught my eye. The next nine months should be interesting around the state's high schools.

•••

• That's it for this morning. We'll be back with our usual pregame post. Until then …

---

---