OSU, Part 2 for WSU

COUGARS

FROM PULLMAN — Washington State has played every team in the conference exactly once. Tonight, the Cougars begin their seven-game second go-round with a home matchup against Oregon State. We have some links to start your day, so read on.

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Our story today focused on the criticism and speculation surrounding WSU coach Ken Bone and the struggles the Cougars have gone through this season. We also had a blog post with some more comments from Bone on that subject, as well as other topics. … Chris Derrick leads his women’s basketball notebook with an item on WSU’s Carly Noyes. … Here’s a preview of tonight’s game from Howie Stalwick in the Kitsap Sun. … CougCenter takes a look at Bone’s contract as it pertains to WSU’s financial situation. … The Daily Evergreen spoke with Reggie Moore, who made some interesting comments about his dismissal from the team. … Mike Leach is back in Lubbock this week to help honor a friend being inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Leach also had a lengthy, wide-ranging conversation with the Lubbock Avalanche Journal, which you can read here . … Interesting read here on Oregon State’s close calls this season (sound familiar?).

Around the Pac-12 … There are two other games today. The first features Arizona State playing at Utah (5 p.m., Pac-12 Networks), a team that almost beat the Sun Devils in Tempe earlier this season. ASU needs to improve its free-throw shooting , though guard Jahii Carson presents a big enough challenge for the Utes. … In the nightcap, Washington is trying to avoid falling on its face as it hosts Oregon (8 p.m., ESPN2). The Ducks want to turn up their defensive pressure . … Stanford continues to claw its way back from a slow start. … Mike Montgomery and Johnny Dawkins are included in this assessment of Bay Area coaches’ job security. … Now is the time for California to make its run , if there is going to be one. … UCLA must improve its rebounding to compete for the Pac-12 title. … Colorado is trying to learn how to close out games .

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