Glenn Kasses

PULLMAN — Back on Friel Court for the first time in 37 days, the Cougars came out and played like they were making up for lost time. Washington State jumped out to a 15-1 lead and Oregon State didn't hit one field goal until more than six-and-a-half minutes had elapsed. Even a 7-minute, 44-second scoring drought later in the first half couldn't stop the Cougars as they shut down the Beavers and moved to 3-2 in the Pac-10 (8-6 overall) with a 63-45 victory before 3,502 fans.

As if it weren't enough that Dick Bennett brought his entire coaching staff from the state of Wisconsin, the Washington State University Cougars went out and recruited Kyle Weaver, a Beloit native, from the Badger State as well. Weaver began this, his freshman season, as WSU's starting point guard because of Derrick Low's broken foot. But when Low returned, Weaver's role vanished and he spent much of December sitting on the bench. A short stint at the end of a blowout loss to California impressed Bennett so much that Weaver has been back in the starting lineup for the last three games. Weaver took some time this week to talk with The Spokesman-Review about that and the Cougars' six-week odyssey without a game in Pullman, a trip that will finally end tonight.

PULLMAN – Senior guard Isaiah Simmons has been declared academically ineligible by Washington State University and will no longer play for the Cougars, the school announced Tuesday. Simmons walked on to the team last season as a junior and has played mostly as a reserve. There remains a chance that he will be able to appeal the school's decision, but barring success there Simmons has played his final game for WSU.

MOSCOW – The University of Idaho's basketball team discovered the easy way to win games Thursday night. Take shot, make shot. The Vandals – who had surpassed 50 percent from the floor in one game all season – buried better than 68 percent of their looks in the first half and more than 58 percent for the game, coasting to an 84-67 win over Cal Poly.

Two days after showing everything they have the potential to be in an impressive win against Stanford, Washington State again showed everything they have the potential to be in a depressing loss against California. For 20 minutes and 32 seconds against the Bears, WSU made one shot from the floor. In that time, a manageable six-point deficit turned into a 20-point blowout and the Cougars had sealed their own fate.

Substance over style is an unwritten mantra of sorts for Washington State University under the direction of Dick Bennett, and as such Friday's Pacific-10 Conference-opening win over Stanford couldn't have been much better. "It wasn't just that we didn't lose," the coach said of the 60-51 victory. "We won the game, and that's always a nice thing. Most of our wins in the past year up to this point have been, we just didn't lose it. This one, you could say we went out and won it."

Sometimes the best coaching moves are made far from the basketball court and days before the opening tip. Earlier this week, Washington State coach Dick Bennett publicly called out one of his seniors, Jeff Varem, describing an "impasse" between the two about the forward's role.

Mike Montgomery may not be remembered as one of the all-time great coaches in college basketball, what with no national titles on his resume and four top-10 teams. A closer look at his record over 18 seasons, though, and his value to the Cardinal becomes obvious. Sixteen postseason appearances, a Final Four in 1998, a brush with perfection last season — not to mention a school-record 393 wins. His departure from Stanford for a job as the head coach of the local NBA team, Golden State, left the Cardinal with a void not unlike the ones at North Carolina when Dean Smith retired or at Indiana when Bob Knight was let go.

PULLMAN – Eastern Washington University thought it might be going through it all over again. Last season, the Eagles lost to Washington State University by a point on a tip-in during the final seconds. This year, up one point after Julie Page missed two free throws with 14.3 seconds left, the Eagles watched again as the Cougars had a chance for a win. This time, however, things turned out differently. Page redeemed herself by blocking a Charmaine Jones jumper and WSU point guard Stephanie Singer got trapped in the corner, failing to complete a cross-court pass before time expired.

PULLMAN – If all's well that ends well, the 2004 Washington State University football season would be judged an unqualified success. The Cougars capped off the year with a 28-25 win before a jubilant home crowd, claiming the Apple Cup for the first time since 1997 and sending WSU into the off-season with a smile on its face.

PULLMAN – Washington State came back home to play Gonzaga on Tuesday night wondering what the damage would be after a 52-point loss at Oklahoma State. Turned out to be very little, but maybe just enough. The Cougars improved on the scoreboard by 50 points, falling just shy of an upset win over the No. 25 Bulldogs by a score of 54-52.