Washington State Still Has Scant Hopes When It Comes To Ncaa Tournament Bid

Washington State players were still floating on a huge comeback high Saturday afternoon when they were asked to re-assess their postseason tournament chances following a unlikely 92-89 win over California.

After finishing 10-8 in the Pacific-10 Conference and 16-11 overall, WSU probably will land in the National Invitation Tournament, perhaps as host of a firstround game.

But not everyone is ready to write off the Cougars’ NCAA hopes - especially after they rallied from a 16-point deficit in the final 9 minutes and 45 seconds to shock the Golden Bears at Harmon Arena.

“Once again, we’re probably in a situation where there’s probably going to have to be a flip of the coin,” said Cougars point guard Donminic Ellison, who sparked WSU’s comeback with 27 secondhalf points. “We’re waiting on someone else to lose - and we’re hoping.”

Teammate Mark Hendrickson didn’t want to guess where the Cougars might end up after finishing fifth in the powerful Pac-10.

“Who knows?” he said. “That’s why they (the NCAA selection committee) are meeting right now.

“Hopefully, it’s the NCAA, but a lot of us aren’t going to be too shocked if it isn’t.”

Coach Kevin Eastman said he hasn’t paid much attention to what has happened nationally and added he would have to check with athletic director Rick Dickson to see what his team’s NCAA chances are.

“He’s been in contact with the appropriate people to try and find out,” Eastman explained. “From what we were told by him the other day, there is still a possibility we could be an NCAA team.

“And as I told our basketball team, at the end of the year only five teams are remembered, period. Four of them are in the Final Four and the fifth team is the winner of the NIT.”

The NIT scenario isn’t preferred, but it’s one Ellison said he and the other six non-senior regulars can live with.

“All in all, our team just wants another game,” he said. “We just want to get better.”