Cougars lose to Beavers, interest waning

With their loss to Oregon State on Wednesday, the Cougars dropped 8-11 on the season and 1-6 in the Pac-12. As the losses pile up, the interest in the program is apparently going the opposite direction and quickly. That shouldn't really come as a surprise, people are always more inclined to watch or follow a team when its good. It's simply the nature of sports.

That doesn't make it less troubling. It seems general interest in WSU basketball has dropped to levels predating Dick Bennett. A reported 2,632 people showed up to watch the game at Friel Court and based on the television broadcast, that number was generous. I'm almost positive you could see a tumbleweed roll through the CougCenter gamethread last night. There were a whopping four comments made during the game. It wasn't that long ago those threads would have a few hundred comments.

Just how apathetic is the WSU fan base? Let's find out. What is your current interest level in Cougar men's basketball?

Men's basketball:

Just Good Enough: OSU defeats WSU 66 to 55 to go to .500 in Pac-12 play - Building The Dam
In an important game for the Oregon State men's basketball team the Beavers were able to play just well enough in not one of their better wins. But when the final buzzer went off it still was a crucial win for the Beavers as they go to .500 in Pac-12 play.

Recap: Washington St vs. Oregon State | Washington State University | The News Tribune
Roberto Nelson scored a game-high 26 points as the Oregon State Beavers coasted to a 66-55 victory over the Washington State Cougars in Pac-12 action at Beasley Coliseum.

Oregon State Beavers vs. Washington State Cougars Recap - CBSSports.com
Roberto Nelson scored 26 points and hit 11 free throws to help Oregon State beat Washington State 66-55 on Wednesday.

Roberto Nelson leads Oregon State to 66-55 win over Washington State | OregonLive.com
Roberto Nelson came into the game leading the Pac-12 in scoring at 21.5 per game and needing 22 points to move into sixth on Oregon State's all-time scoring list.

Women's basketball:

SPOKANE, Wash.: Washington State women confounding predictions | WSU Cougars | The Bellingham Herald
Tia Presley acknowledges that the Washington State women's basketball team celebrates pretty hard on the court after victories.

Football:

Bucannon Earns 2013 CFPA Elite Defensive Back Trophy - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Washington State senior safety Deone Bucannon has been named the winner of the 2013 College Football Performance Awards Elite Defensive Back Trophy, as announced by the organization.

Top performances of 2013: Washington State's Damante Horton vs. USC - ESPN
Who and against whom: Washington State CB Damante Horton scored as many touchdowns as USC in the Cougars' 10-7 road upset of then-No. 25 USC.

WSU recruiting Q&A part 1 - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Jan. 22, 2014

While these last couple weeks can be a whirlwind of activity, Washington State has received verbal pledges from a number of recruits, and only have a few spots remaining. With that in mind, I invited a couple WSU recruiting experts to come fill us in on how the class is shaping up. Braulio Perez, a Senior Correspondent at Cougfan.com and Britton Ransford, the publisher of WazzuWatch.com, were kind enough to answer some questions about WSU recruiting and the upcoming class. Part 1 of that interview is after the jump