THE MORNING PAPER: No. 7 WSU vs. No. 2 UCLA

by Jeff Nusser on Mar 12, 2009 11:15 AM PDT

The mighty Cougars live to fight another day after walking past Oregon last night. Here's the best of what's around, featuring stories that focus both on last night's win and tonight's matchup:

(Click on the link below for the content; some of the video included was too wide for the front page of the blog)

For WSU ...

Looking toward tonight, we've got Tony Bennett talking about the Cougs' late-season improvement in advance of the Pac-10 Tournament, via the LA Times:
Grippi checks in with his gamer for the Spokesman-Review, focusing on the Cougs' strong inside play. Only minor mention of tonight's matchup.
Freelancer Howie Stalwick checks in with his gamer/preview for The News Tribune. The story starts with a look at tonight.
Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times has this short story.
Cougfan.com's J.V. Holland checks in with this solid gamer.
And Aron Baynes and Caleb Forrest check in with some postgame comments, video once again courtesy of the LA Times.

For UCLA ...

The LA Times reports that UCLA is looking for revenge tonight.
The LA Times also reports that Darren Collison is feeling better after bruising his tailbone in a hard fall on Saturday.
Of course, if you want to find the good stuff, you have to look. And there's this little Los Angeles-centric nugget Adam Rose's game summary in the UCLA blog for the LA Times:
- "The only reason Los Angeles fans were interested is that this result sends Wazzu into today's quarterfinal against UCLA at 8:30 p.m. The Cougars have won four of their last five and should provide a decent warmup for the Bruins." Um, yeah. Maybe he didn't mean anything by it? Oh wait, he probably did, as he later called the Cougs "the victors (until tonight)." Now I know why my brother hated living in California so much.
Jrue Holiday says in this LA Daily News story that UCLA is "supposed to win" the Pac-10 Tournament, and that losing is not an option.
The LA Daily News also reports that the Cougs will be more focused on defense against UCLA this time around after the shootout that ensued last time.
Then there's the LA Daily News UCLA blog, with news and notes.

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Comments

Hmmm...

Are the Bruins overconfident, or just really motivated? Guess we shall see…

by '03CouveCoug on Mar 12, 2009 11:33 AM PDT reply actions

I get the sense that they think the WSU win in LA was a little flukey. And honestly, it’s tough to argue with that too much — it was easily our best offensive performance of the year given the competition. However, that’s overlooking the fact that two of our top five offensive performances of the year — regardless of competition — came against UCLA. It’s tough to call that a fluke.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Mar 12, 2009 11:37 AM PDT up reply actions

It was also one of our worst defensive performances of the year

So it’s not like we played a perfect game to beat them.

This is where per game statistics go to die.

CougCenter

by Craig Powers on Mar 12, 2009 11:39 AM PDT up reply actions

Another awesome thing from that blog...

We held ASU to 38 points, twice. Um? When did this happen?

This is where per game statistics go to die.

CougCenter

by Craig Powers on Mar 12, 2009 11:44 AM PDT up reply actions

Never let facts get in the way of a good line

Ever. Your failure to understand this is why you don’t write for a living.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Mar 12, 2009 11:54 AM PDT up reply actions

Haha

I should have seen the pattern in journalism by now. Fool!

This is where per game statistics go to die.

CougCenter

by Craig Powers on Mar 12, 2009 12:22 PM PDT up reply actions

Does the line seem off to anybody else?

We are 8.5 point dogs. ESPN and CBS’s simulators have us losing by 12-14 points. Am I missing something? The previous two games were decided by 3 points total. Yes, its in their backyard, but we are on a roll. If I was a betting man, I would throw down on that line.

by peaty411s on Mar 12, 2009 11:49 AM PDT reply actions

Maybe it’s the fact that we just played last night? Doesn’t make much sense to me.

by displacedcoug on Mar 12, 2009 11:51 AM PDT up reply actions

Maddie Says,

“Dad, why does he (Baynes) sound funny? He needs to shush it!”

by WSUCougMaddie on Mar 12, 2009 12:47 PM PDT reply actions

I'm going to put a couple bucks on the Cougs because....

that line is rediculous. It’s a game of matchups and we match up well with Ucla and they struggle against us. Simple as that. Should be another close game, no matter if Collison plays or not.

Last night’s game gave me confidence because they beat an Oregon team they were supposed to beat, and they did it going away. It’s not just that we are playing well, we are playing well against good competition. Getting that first one out of the way at Staples takes away some of the home court advantage for Ucla. Every game lately has been a playoff game for us. We’re just playing good, solid, consistent Coug basketball right now, a good sign.

by SW WA Coug on Mar 12, 2009 4:56 PM PDT reply actions