COUGARS

FROM PULLMAN -- Rare is a Wednesday night this season when we can just sit in front of the television and watch some other Pac-12 basketball games. But last night was different. It was also entertaining. Read on for links to words.

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It's Thursday, which means our usual Four Corners content ran in the newspaper today. So we link our brief look ahead at the weekend, along with this area notebook with a WSU item. ... I joined Michael Preston of CougCenter this week to discuss the men's basketball and football programs. You can listen to that podcast here. ... Bud Withers revisits the Reggie Moore vs. Xavier Thames "melodrama," as he describes it. ... ESPN.com writer Jason King includes a defense of Ken Bone in the "Thoughs from Press Row" section of his column. ... WSU associate athletic director John Johnson, who is heavily involved in the school's football facilities upgrades, is one of three finalists for the Nevada athletic director job. He was a finalist for the same position at Montana back in September.

Around the Pac-12 ... The night started with USC knocking off tied-for-first-place Arizona, 89-78, in Los Angeles. The loss could crush the Wildcats' Pac-12 title hopes. USC shot 61 percent from the field. ... Wednesday's second game didn't have any Pac-12 title implications, but it was a big one for Colorado. The Buffaloes managed to hold off Stanford, 65-63, keeping their NCAA tournament hopes alive. ... The nightcap went to overtime, where UCLA stayed in a first-place tie with Oregon by holding off Arizona State 79-74. The Sun Devils might be trending toward the wrong side of the NCAA tournament bubble. The Bruins' freshmen carried the team. ... There are two more games tonight: at 6 p.m., Utah attempts to halt California's hot streak at Haas Pavilion (ESPNU). Oregon and Oregon State renew their rivalry at 8 p.m. in Eugene (ESPNU). Dominic Artis should return for the Ducks.

That's all for now.

Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple

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