How excited are you for Cougar basketball?

The start of basketball season doesn't come with the same fanfare that football does. There isn't as much riding on each game and some argue college basketball season doesn't really start to matter until conference play begins. Still, there is usually some excitement in the weeks before the season.

This year there seems to be ... apathy? It seems Cougar fans have been able to work themselves into an optimistic tizzy prior to each football season, even coming off a historically terrible one the year before. That doesn't seem to be the case with basketball season, but maybe I'm just missing it?

So with the Cougars set to open their regular season tomorrow, I ask how are you feeling about basketball season?

Basketball:

WSU big man D.J. Shelton has put weight of Cougars’ season on his shoulders - Spokesman.com - Nov. 7, 2013
A day after Washington State’s 64-62 loss to Washington in the first round of last season’s Pac-12 tournament, D.J. Shelton was in the weight room. It was the first step in a transformative offseason that has seen the forward add more than 25 pounds to his frame.

Washington State men’s basketball five keys to success - Spokesman.com - Nov. 7, 2013
1 Wings must step up. Forward Brock Motum is gone and he took his 18.7 points per game with him. That’s nearly 30 percent of last season’s scoring that the Cougars will need to replace, and the burden of filling Motum’s sizable shoes will fall largely on WSU’s wing players.

Pac-12 Preview: Arizona ready for a national championship run | One And One - SI.com

Stock down: Washington State It might be too early to raise the question. The standards for winning at Washington State aren’t what they are at, say, Arizona. But after seeing how successful former head coach Tony Bennett could be at the school — the now-Virginia head coach led the Cougars to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances as recent as 2007-08 — it’s fair to wonder whether patience is wearing thin on head coach Ken Bone.

Football:

Pac-12 conference power rankings - Spokesman.com - Nov. 6, 2013
After this week, we may have a new No. 1 atop these power rankings. If not, who knows when the Ducks will finally vacate their perch?

SPOKANE, Wash.: WSU has bye week before playing Arizona | WSU Cougars | The Bellingham Herald
Washington State has lost three straight games by big scores and is in danger of missing out on a bowl game again.

WSU Athletics:

Cougars crack rankings - Spokesman.com - Nov. 6, 2013
The Washington State women’s soccer team is ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 2011. The Cougars, who swept Cal and Stanford last weekend to move into second place in the Pac-12, are No. 22 in the Soccer America poll and No. 24 in the NSCAA poll.

Cougars Battle Huskies in Seattle - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
The Washington State soccer team (13-3-3, 6-3-1 Pac-12), currently second in the Pac-12 standings, takes a four-match winning streak to Washington for its final regular season match…Cougars battle the Huskies (7-8-4, 3-3-4 Pac-12), Friday at 1 p.m. on Pac-12 Washington…JB Long (play-by-play) and Krista Blunk (color analyst) are slated to provide the commentary…Washington will operate live stats which will be available at www.wsucougars.com.

Cougars Open 2013-14 Season Sunday Hosting Syracuse - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Washington State kicks off the 2013-14 regular season hosting Syracuse University Sunday at 1 p.m. in Beasley Coliseum.

WSU broadcaster to speak in Wenatchee
Bob Robertson, a legendary Washington State football broadcaster, will be speaking in North Central Washington on Tuesday — and you won’t need a radio.