Cougar basketball will take on No. 1 Arizona

Washington State is undefeated in 2014, but if that is going to last, the Cougars are going to have to pull a massive upset. WSU opens Pac-12 play on the road, taking on No. 1 Arizona.

The Wildcats finished non-conference play at 13-0 and received 60 of 65 first-place votes in the most recent Associated Press poll. Arizona is No. 3 according to the latest Kenpom rankings. WSU is No. 116. To make matters worse, the Cougars will be without DaVonte Lacy who remains out following an appendectomy.

The Cougar football team was able to travel to Tucson and pull an upset, but the task will be much tougher for the basketball team. If WSU comes away with a win tonight, it would be one of the bigger upsets -- and possibly the biggest -- in program history. Game time is set for 7 p.m. PT with Pac-12 Network handling the broadcast.

Basketball:

Pac-12 basketball power rankings - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Jan. 1, 2014
Washington State (7-5) The Cougars would be one spot higher if not for the current malady afflicting DaVonte Lacy. But the Cougars will likely be without their leading scorer when they take No.'s 1 and 4 on this list. Gulp.

Team-by-team Pac-12 men’s basketball outlook | Sports | The Register-Guard | Eugene, Oregon
12. WASHINGTON STATE So far: The Cougars are 6-5 with a good neutral-site victory over Purdue, but they lost at home to Texas Christian and UTEP. Biggest happening: Junior Da’Vonte Lacy has made a big leap to average 18.9 points per game including more than three three-pointers per game, and he’s shooting 40.7 percent from behind the arc. Lacy has been better each season, improving from 8.5 points per game as a freshman to 10.5 as a sophomore and has jumped to elite status in the conference this year. Bottom line: Many were surprised that Ken Bone was brought back this season, and it would be an even bigger surprise if he’s back next year because the Cougars appear to be headed for the bottom of the conference once again.

Football:

A sour ending to a, well, decent Pac-12 bowl season . . . | Pac-12 Confidential | Seattle Times
Washington State: Fumbled away a 48-45 loss to Colorado State in the New Mexico Bowl. The Cougars simply gave this one away.