WSU is 6-0 right now and UCLA is #2 and #1 in two different polls.

All that talent at Oregon may finally be coming together. The Ducks beat #23 Georgetown in DC today.

Yes! Oregon finally gets an east coast win. They are 6-0 for the first time since the 2002-03 season. They also get their leading scorer from last season, Malik Hairston, back for the first time this season. He's been out with a groin injury. Freshman Tajuan Porter is fun to watch. When he gets hot, he can fire up a crowd by hitting 3's from all over the floor. The biggest surprise for me is that the Ducks are actually playing defense this season.

Next up is Nebraska in Portland on Dec. 9th.

It's going to be a great battle. I'm excited to see how the Pac-10 turns out.

Big fan of Tony and Dick Bennett here. We've been following WSU's progress over on the badger boards.

Fresno State completed the WAC trifecta today against Oregon State. The Bulldogs won in Corvallis 74-69, meaning that the WAC trio of Nevada, Hawaii and Fresno State all beat the Beavers. This game was closer than the others though. Oregon State's best player -- Sasa Cuic -- was reinstated for today's game after being suspended earlier. He finished as OSU's leading scorer with 17 points so the Beavers definitely needed him. Nice road win for the Bulldogs, who are now 7-0 for the first time since 1980.

Oregon State coach Jay John said, after the loss, "“That’s the best basketball game that we’ve played this year. We’re getting better."

Nevada defeated Cal tonight in the Pete Newell Classic in San Jose. The Wolf Pack is 7-0. Cal dropped to 6-2.

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - Washington State basketball coach Tony Bennett gave his father Dick a get-well present ahead of his upcoming hip replacement surgery.

Derrick Low scored 22 points and Daven Harmeling 20 as Washington State (8-1) improved on one of the best starts in team history before the largest crowd here in more than a decade with a 77-67 victory over No. 18 Gonzaga on Tuesday night.

Dick Bennett came out of retirement to spend three years rebuilding the WSU program before turning the reins over to Tony this season.

Scheduled for surgery on Thursday, the elder Bennett had talked about what a good present a Cougar victory would be heading into the ordeal, Tony said.

"He is the architect of this thing and we are all a part of it," Tony Bennett said. "Just to send him to surgery on such a good note is great."

The Cougars overcame poor free throw shooting to break a seven-game losing streak to Gonzaga. Many in the crowd of 10,755 stormed the floor after the win.

"Our guys have never played with that many people behind them to energize them," Tony Bennett said. "They have played with 11,000 screaming against them."

Gonzaga (8-2) was led by Josh Heytvelt's 22 points, while Derek Raivio added 21.

Trailing 66-63 with 3:38 left, Washington State outscored the Bulldogs 14-1, including a pair of 3-pointers by Harmeling, for the win.





Gonzaga's high-powered offense was cruising early, taking a 37-27 lead with 5 minutes left in the first.

But Washington State, tops in the Pacific 10 in defense by allowing just 58 points per game, clamped down and ground the Zags to a halt. They outscored Gonzaga 42-26 in the second half.

"We did a really, really poor job of defending in the last 5 minutes," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said of the decisive run. "We had a lot of silly turnovers.

"Our defense really broke down," Few said. "The Cougars deserve a lot of credit."

Gonzaga committed 17 turnovers to just seven by WSU. And the Cougars overcame 18-of-29 shooting from the free throw line, including a stretch when they missed five of six with the game on the line.

But the Cougars made 8-of-12 3-pointers in the second half to stay ahead.

After trailing 41-35 at halftime, the Cougars came out strong in the second and Kyle Weaver's 3-pointer gave WSU its first lead of the game at 45-44 with 16 minutes left.

The teams swapped several leads before a 9-0 Gonzaga run, the final six by Heytvelt, gave Gonzaga a 56-49 advantage.

The Cougars missed five of six free throws during a quick span after that. But Low's 3-pointer capped an 8-0 WSU run for a 63-62 lead with 4:34 left.

Heytvelt replied with two free throws and a layup for a 66-63 Gonzaga lead.

But Washington State kicked off its closing run with two free throws by Kyle Weaver, who finished with 16 points, and Harmeling's 3-pointer for a 68-66 lead with 2:44 left.

After the teams swapped free throws, Low made a layup and the free throw for a 72-67 lead with 1:26 left.

Raivio's 3-pointer rimmed out and Harmeling sank another 3-pointer for a 75-67 Washington State lead with 42 seconds left.

The crowd was the largest at WSU's Friel Court since 11,463 watched UCLA at WSU in 1995. The Cougars have not had a winning record in a decade and crowds averaged 3,700 last year.

"I got goose bumps," said Tony Bennett.

Washington State is 74-3 at home against non-conference opponents in the past 16 years, with two of the losses to Gonzaga.

watch out there WazzuCoug82 -- I'm reading rumors that Tony Bennett might come back to the Midwest. He's AD Maturi's top choice to take over at Minnehaha.

I hope he doesn't leave us after one season! He's going to do great things at WSU and now are 9-1 and this is totally awesome.

#1 UCLA still playing well and undefeated. I wonder when they will lose their first game.

WSU is 10-1, Oregon is undefeated at 10-0 and Washington and Arizona are playing good hoops.

The Pac-10 is looking pretty good this season. UCLA looks terrific, and Oregon and WSU are nice surprises. Washington should be in the thick of things too.

I'm going to the Stanford-Fresno State game tomorrow night in Fresno... the first meeting between those teams in 53 years despite the proximity. Stanford is a mystery... they are 6-2 and have a nice win over Bobby Knight and Texas Tech, but they were stunned at home by Santa Clara last weekend. I know the Cardinal have those two 7-foot twin freshmen centers (the Lopez brothers) who are from Fresno, so I'm guessing that's why Stanford agreed to the matchup. The Bulldogs are 9-1 and coming off their best win of the season... a 69-54 victory Saturday night over Creighton, which was a preseason Top 25 pick in all the polls. It should be a good game... it's part of the ESPN Full Court package for those of you who have it.

Yep the Pac-10 is off to a great and it feels good. I figure Oregon or UCLA will have their first loss against each other when they play the 2nd week in Pac-10 play.

Stanford-Fresno State was a thriller. I couldn't believe how poor the officiating was, and how much it affected the outcome. Stanford got away with tons of fouls inside, including one where Stanford's 7-footer Lopez manhandled Fresno State's Quinton Hosley, hacking his arm and throwing him out of bounds while he was in the act of shooting. The ref called no harm, no foul. The worst part... it happened when the game was tied late in the contest. It was so blatant that the ref went up to Hosley afterwards and told him that he was sorry for missing the call, but "we're all human and we all make mistakes." That was reported last night on Fresno radio and in The Fresno Bee this morning. What a joke. Instead of being awarded two free throws, the Bulldogs simply got the ball out of bounds. And Stanford broke a 67-67 tie with 2 free throws in the final seconds to win 69-67. Largest home crowd in Bulldog history witnessed it... 15,423. Too bad these teams don't meet every year. I have to admit it was rather odd seeing the Stanford team celebrating like they'd won an NCAA tournament game after it was over.

Just learned today that it was a Pac-10 officiating crew that allowed Stanford to win the game Tuesday in Fresno. On the radio, it was said that the only way Stanford would agree to play Fresno State after a 53-season layoff was if the Bulldogs agreed to use Pac-10 refs in Fresno this season and at Stanford next year. Horrible. But the Bulldogs only have their own athletic department to blame for agreeing to that.

Pac-10 play begins next week and I'm so excited! WSU won today and we're 11-1. What a great XMAS present in facing #1 UCLA next week lol..

The Pac-10 is rockin this year. They look very impressive. I know Oregon is looking strong, but I still have a big question mark on how they'll do against the UCLAs and Arizonas.
Anyone else somewhat surprised Cal is 8-4 already? That Ryan Anderson is looking hot in more than one way though..

CAL has some injuries too so we'll see how it all pans out during Pac-10 play. USC recently beat #8 Wichita State so the Trojans can be a sleepy team.

Pac 10 should be wild this year. They play Portland on Thursday and then open the Pac-10 season against Oregon State. If they can win the next two games, they will head into their big date with UCLA undefeated. The Ducks have some injury problems but hopefully they get everyone back by next week.

It was a surprise to see the Cougs play UCLA tough. I knew it was going to be a low scoring game, but I didn't think the Cougs would keep it close.

I was surprised the Trojans beat UW. I thought the Huskies were going to pull it out in Overtime...and ovetime.

Ducks open Pac play tonight against the Beavers.

Playing without Malik, the Ducks pull out the win in Corvallis. 13-0 start. Best start in 69 years! The soft part of the schedule is now over. They host U$C on Thursday night and then the Bruins come to town on Saturday. It would be sweet if both teams were undefeated. If they can get by U$C, The Pit will be electric. Hopefully, the Ducks will be at full strength and Hairston will be able to play...but it's still 50/50.

I am glad the other E. Washington team, won yesterday!!! Way to go Cougs!!

There are some big games in the Pac-10 this weekend...

Arizona at Washington (Thursday)
UCLA at Oregon (Saturday)
Arizona at WSU (Saturday)

WSU has been playing great and so are UCLA and Oregon which are still undefeated..haha..but one won't be after Saturday!

What a beautiful win by the Ducks. Too bad they couldn't pull out the win against the Trojans on Thursday. Aaron Brooks has really stepped up his game this year. Tajuan Porter had an off game but he hit a three in the second half that was amazing. He must have been 5 feet behind the pro 3-point line. Aaron Brooks and Marty Leunen were my MVP's of the game. GO DUCKS!


I'm watching the Cougs play at the moment. They are giving Arizona a hell of a game. They have Arizona completely out of rhythm. Wathing the Cougs pass the ball around, taking their time is something to see.
And I didn't realize coug coach Tony Bennett is a little cutie. Next to the Ducks I like the Cougs since it's my partners alma mater. I also like coug point guard Derrick Low since he's form my High school alma mater.
Currently 59-54 Cougs with 3:00 left

Here comes 'Zona. damn. Charging Call on Low. 'Zona ball with 8 seconds and 67-67 tie. And Tony Bennett is not cute. He's HOT.

Cougs hang on and win! The Pac-10 is going to be wild this year. And Bennett took off his jacket and tie towards the end of OT. Yep. He's hot.

Tony

He's an awesome coach. I'm so glad the team was able to focus and beat up Arizona. I hate the Mildcats lol..

Cougars deserved to be ranked especially after the last couple of wins. See where the crowds are getting bigger in Friel Court now too.

Yes it is huge! For us to have crowds over 10,000 is simply amazing. I hope that we can continue to keep it up. We travel next to the Bay Area schools and that will be a challenge. Stanford just had a big win vs UVA which has beaten Gonzaga and Arizona this season.

That Stanford-Virginia game was a really good one. Those 7-foot Lopez twins are fun to watch, and by the time they're juniors, the Cardinal is going to be one of the best teams in the country.

WSU is a TOP 25 team now. We are 23 in the Coaches Poll and 22 in the AP. GO COUGS!

My Cougars are ranked in the Top 25.

AP: 22
Coaches: 23

GO COUGS!

Stanford beats Washington! What an upset

Thursday Pac-10 games:

WSU beats CAL 73-56
Arizona beats Oregon State
Oregon beat Arizona State 60-55
and Stanford over UW 78-77

My Cougars suffered a close loss to Stanford today in OT 71-68

That was a tough loss!

The bigger surprise was the Huskies gettign swept by the bay area teams. I don't know what's wrong with them this year. Yes, they are very young, but they are not playing defense very well and they are underachieving. They are the most disappointing team so far this year. All that talent & potential. They get the Cougs this week so maybe a win over them will get the HUskies back on track...not that I want them to get back on track!

Ducks play 'Zona tonight.

Yes! OMG. Are you kidding me? Ducks pull out the victory at Arizona. Aaron Brooks nails a jumper with two seconds left and the Ducks hang on to win. Solid games from Brooks, Maarty Leunen, Bryce Taylor and Malik Hairston. Brooks is making an early run for league MVP.

A crappy day made better by the Ducks win.

The Trees had quite the week: beating UVa by 1 in Virginia on a last second shot by Lawrence Hill, beating #24 UW by 1 on a last second, old-fashioned 3 point play (again by Lawrence Hill), then beating #23 Wazzu in OT on a last-second 3 pointer by Anthony Goods (who went for 30 against the Cougs). If they keep playing like they did last week, they'll be a factor in the Pac-10 race. But the team is so young -- starting 2 frosh and 2 sophs, with a soph, a frosh and a junior the first 3 off the bench -- you never know what you're going to get game-to-game. The Lopi will be a match-up problem for anyone, but Oregon in Eugene is not a good match-up for the Trees. I fully expect the Green to win easily, MDG, but am hoping for at least a good showing. This team is really fun to watch and improving game-to-game.

Oregon had a great win at Arizona. My friend told me they're #9 in the AP congrats. Glad my Cougs are #21 in the Coaches Poll.

How did your Cougars lose to the Utes?!? But then again #11 Air Force lost to the Utes today too. Apparently Utah can only beat ranked teams.

To the Coug fans, I was very impressed with your team and the way they handled themselves. They were fiercely competitive without any of the showboating, crowd-baiting, etc. that other teams (especially Cal and, believe it or not, Air Force) exhibited. I was particularly impressed with Kyle Weaver. His stat line from the Stanford game was amazing: 14 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, 6 steals and 1 block against only 3 turnovers. Wow.

And to MDG, any team with Maarty Leunen is fun to watch.

Mariner Duck Guy...I was thinking of you tonight at the big Oregon/Stanford game. I flew into town tonight and my brother gave me one of his season tickets. Ahhh....to be in the Pit for such a good game. They scared me in the first half but pulled it out in the second half. Aaron Brooks is pretty good. Half of his points tonight in free throws. GO DUCKS!

Well, I was proud of a very young Stanford team. I thought they outplayed the Ducks, but with 23 more free throws awarded to the home team . . . that's difficult for even a veteran team to overcome. I think they'll get them at Maples and if I were Oregon, I would not want to see Stanford in the Pac-10 tournament!

Scary win by the Ducks. The Stanford twins gave the smaller Ducks problems, especially Leunen. Plus it didn't help that the Ducks were stone cold in shooting tonight. This was a scary game coming off the big win against Arizona so I'm glad the Ducks pulled it out. Stanford is going to be a factor this year and is goign to contend in years to come.

And yes, NorCal, Leunen is easy on the eye isn't he!

Whew.

Arizona lost against to USC..80-73!!

3:00pm on FSN from Pullman, Cougs/Dawgs. Two words GO COUGS!!!!!!

Wow, thats about a pathetic of a performance from the Huskies as I have ever seen. They were simply never in this game. Right on Cougs!!!!!

So now u wanna go for WSU cuz Gonzaga is down haha..lol..just messing with ur hockeyTom. But the game was great and I didn't expect the margin of victory. YIKES!

It should be interesting to see what if any jump they get in the polls from that manhandling of the Dawgs! They sure deserve to in my opinion. That was TOTAL domination from start to finish.

Great week coming up:
WSU vs. UO
UO cannot let the Cougs ambush them like WSU did to the dawgs.

However in Washington vs. UO, Brooks is out, so it might be a little tougher. But Washington had been in the decline..