The Washington State Cougars close out their trip to the 2011 76 Classic with a battle for the coveted seventh place spot against the UC Riverside Highlanders.

For those of you looking for a stream of the game, the athletic site mentioned it would be broadcast on ESPN3. However, I have found no listing for the game on WatchESPN.com. I have found a stream listed at firstrowsports.tv, and that site tends to be pretty reliable. You can go here for that. If ESPN isn't producing the game, my guess is that it will be some sort of arena feed. As always, you can go to KTTH/mynorthwest.com for an online radio stream.

As for UC Riverside, this is a game that WSU should win and win easily. The Highlanders are currently listed as #255 on kenpom.com and he predicts a 69-59 Cougar win with 81% confidence. UCR is currently 1-4, and has losses to some pretty bad teams including UTEP, Youngstown State, and Boston College (yes, BC is awful this year). Villanova blew out Riverside in the opener for the 76 Classic.

Riverside will slow the game down under head coach Jim Woolridge. They also will play some pretty solid defense. They are currently limiting opponents to 40.1 eFG% and even held Villanova under their season average in that department. Riverside is especially stingy inside the arc, where they are holding teams to 37.6% on twos.

As good as the Highlanders are at limiting the other team, they are even worse at making their own shots. They are currently posting a 36.6 eFG%. That is 342nd out of 345 teams. They also don't get offensive rebounds (30.8 OR%), turn the ball over more than average (22.3 TO%) and don't get to the free throw line (26.9 FTR). Their best efficiency against a Division I team came against Boston College, where they were able to garner about 0.92 points per possession. Their offense is just plain bad.

So you are likely in for a low-scoring affair to go along with your delicious Sunday morning brunch. Join us in the game-thread!

There is one more point I'd like to bring up regarding UC Riverside. It has to do with their nickname, "The Highlanders." I was under the impression there can only be one, so how can that be plural? Methinks you are propagating a lie UC Riverside. For shame.

Game time for the 2011 Apple Cup is finally upon us. We've spent the day here at CougCenter covering all the angles, and this is the tenth post since this morning. If you missed any of the coverage, go ahead and click the "complete coverage" link above.

While this is the first and only game this season where the Cougs aren't playing for a bowl game, the Apple Cup always means something, as Grady detailed in his Apple Cup Tailgater's Guide. There is pride on the line, and also the added incentive of handing the Huskies their fourth straight loss and sending them to a lower-tier bowl in a season where they once had much higher hopes.

There is also the head coach question. As Nuss asked earlier, is Paul Wulff playing for his job in the Apple Cup? The players seem to like this staff, and it will be interesting to see if they let the drive of saving their jobs push them to play harder.

This is the last game for a group of seniors who have struggled as much as any group in Cougar history. Even with that, they can go out with an even record against the Huskies (the fifth years actually can have a winning record). Not something many classes have done before them and Apple Cup victories can quickly endear certain teams to Coug fans. The WSU athletic site needs more "Great Moments in Apple Cup History" videos. It would be nice for them to make one today.

As always, we'll be in the game thread with jokes, knee-jerk analysis and most likely plenty of Husky hate. If you are one of the many that have discovered CougCenter for the first time today, we invite you to create a free account and comment along with us.

Go Cougs!

I don't have a lot of time today, so I'm just going to copy and paste what I wrote about this game in the Cougar Sports Weekly I just sent out. If you'd regularly like this sort of analysis delivered to your inbox, you can help me feel better about this shameless plug by subscribing here.

I actually know the Lobos pretty well, having previewed them for College Basketball Prospectus 2011-2012. I expected more out of them this season, but they've missed Dairese Gary more than I expected -- the speedy point guard was their unquestioned leader. Still, there are plenty of excellent players left behind, and the danger is that at some point it just sort of clicks for them, maybe even starting tonight.

Guys to watch out for include Drew Gordon, Tony Snell and Kendall Williams. You might recognize Gordon's name; he played at UCLA for a year and a half before transferring to Albuquerque. He was a monster on both ends of the floor after sitting out the first couple of months of last season, efficiently scoring around the basket and rebounding everything in sight. However, he's been slow out of the gate, as New Mexico has struggled to get him the ball in solid scoring positions.

Snell is a guy the Cougars would do well to always know where he his, as he's an expert marksman from deep. He's tall, too, which makes him hard to disrupt when he catches and shoots. And Williams is a guy who will attack the rim with impunity, one of many Lobos who will do so.

It's going to be a tough game for WSU to win. If the Cougs can take advantage of New Mexico while they're still figuring things out, this likely will be a quality win down the road.

Not sure how many of you guys will actually be around tonight, seeing as it is Thanksgiving. But if you are able to get away to your computer you can find this game on ESPN2 and WatchESPN.com. 

I've already previewed the heck out this game, with my regular first look and the Q&A with Crimson and Cream Machine. This should be an interesting game with two middling major conference teams. Just the type of stuff that drives rating on Thanksgiving!

Join us in the game thread as you eat your turkey sandwich.

Looking for something to take your mind off of football? The Portland athletics site is streaming this game for free. You can find the video by clicking here.

If you want to get yourself prepped for the game, take a gander at my preview that is linked above. This will likely be a closely contested contest, and Portland might have a few guys that could give the Cougs trouble. They are not the same team that we saw last year at KeyArena, as their top performers from a year ago are gone (sound familiar?).

Could be lots of efficient offense in this one. Interesting to see how this team comes out for a road game that doesn't have the extra motivation of being nationally broadcast and in a much less intense atmosphere. Come join us as we discuss all the action in the comments!

Here we are, at the first Senior Day in four years where more than just pride is on the line, and bad weather plus students wanting to spend an extra few hours at home (seriously folks, you are going to be itching to come back by Friday) will likely mean a very sparse crowd. Paul Wulff has spoken after each game in Martin this season how big of an impact the crowd made for the players. Hopefully, it doesn't really matter all that much to them.

Utah provides a great challenge, and their defense will be a big test for Connor Halliday's first career start.  Connor's a streaky guy, and how he starts may be indicative of how the game plays out.  If the receivers can even approach their level of success from last week, WSU will be in good shape.

It's fun to have meaningful football this late in the season. Let's hope the Cougs can step it up and make it a happy Saturday and give a great send-off to Alex Hoffman-Ellis, Jared Karstetter, Marshall Lobbestael, and all the other seniors.

If you aren't one of the select few that will be at the game today, come discuss it with us!

There's really very little chance this game is close, but that doesn't mean there's no chance it's interesting. I'm curious to see a few things.

First, does Brock Motum continue to assert himself against a frontline that he should dominate? Motum was really, really good against a good Gonzaga frontcourt on Monday, an encouraging sign for a team that desperately needs an interior presence.

Second, how does Ken Bone use his guards? Faisal Aden got the start on Monday, but found himself on the bench for most of the second half after one too many ill-advised shots, lazy turnovers and poor defensive possessions. Does he start again tonight? Or does Bone go with what clearly looks like the best three-guard lineup of Reggie Moore, Mike Ladd and DaVonte Lacy?

Third, does the defense look more sound? The trapping stuff is a nice wrinkle, but it can't be a staple. Teams will figure it out. It ought to be a lot easier to look good tonight.

If you're not going to be in attendance, you can watch the game at wsucougars.com All-Access. It's $9.95 for a month, and there are three basketball games broadcast only on there in the next month, so it's a reasonable value. I've already ponied up.

Well, I've already written about 2,000 words on this game today. You can read those by following the links above.

It looks like Reggie Moore is going to play, and Vince Grippi says he seems to be moving OK. Faisal Aden also has been cleared to play. Abe Lodwick likely won't go.

How will DaVonte Lacy perform? He will see plenty of minutes in a big-time environment. Can the freshman maintain composure? How about Dexter Kernich-Drew? Will the athletic Aussie be a factor this season?

There are a lot of unknowns headed into this season, and that is part of the fun. This game can be found on ESPN and ESPN3 (WatchESPN.com).

Go Cougs! Beat the Zags!

Can't really think of a game I've been looking forward to less than this one. It took nine games, but I've finally been beaten into submission by these guys. Judging by the trend in the fan confidence poll to the left of this post, the number of comments on posts relating to this game, and the roughly 80 percent of you who voted that ASU would win (47 percent by 16 points or more), it appears most of the rest of you are feeling the same way.

As Craig describes in his look at ASU, there's really very little reason to believe that WSU can hang with the Sun Devils. Given the way the last four opponents have cut through the Cougar defense like a hot knife through butter -- averaging 7.3 yards per play, not yards per pass or passing attempt -- it's reasonable to expect a talented ASU offense to do much the same.

Oh, and by the way -- ASU's top receiver, Gerrell Robinson, is 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds. Yep. Pretty much the same as this guy, and we all remember how well that went.

Additionally, ASU is strongest on defense where WSU is best: In the pass game. The Cougars have had the most success this season when being able to control a game with its passing attack, and when unable to do that, they've mostly struggled to move the ball.

Really, the most interesting aspect of this game is watching for how Paul Wulff decides to work in Connor Halliday for his first meaningful game action. Does he throw him a token series? Does he give him a couple/three to get his feet under him, then decide who gives them the best chance the rest of the game?

Regardless, I don't anticipate this being close. I hope I'm wrong. And hey ... snow?

Go Cougs.

It's hard to believe this season is two-thirds over. It seems like just yesterday that WSU was annihilating both Idaho State and UNLV, and visions of bowl games were dancing in our heads. Four consecutive losses later, the Cougars need three wins in their final four games to get to the postseason.

It's unlikely, we'll all agree. But you never know.

One link you won't see above is Craig's preview of Cal. Do yourself a favor and read it if you haven't yet -- it'll prepare you for how hard it's going to be for the WSU offense to move the ball against Cal, and maybe you won't be totally mad if it doesn't happen.

Also, pray for lots and lots of Zach Maynard turnovers.

Go Cougs!