It might be too early for the "must win" game, but it seems pretty obvious. You can't lose four straight home games in the Pac-10 or you're pretty much doomed. Road wins (especially in the conference) are not easy to come by.

At the start of the year, I said Coug fans should be happy with five losses in the Pac-10. WSU got there much quicker than I expected (5-5) and we are just starting the second half of league play. Keep in mind, a Pac-10 team has never made it to the NCAA Tournament with a .500 record in the conference. Yes, this year could be different because the conference is so good, but you can't count on it (spoken like a true pessimist).

USC rolls into town on Saturday. Earlier in the year (the Trojans started 0-3) the thought wouldn't be so scary, but they've now won six of their last seven (including a 73-59 win over Washington on Thursday). It was just a matter of time before of the pieces started to fall into place for them.

The Trojans are led by a freshman OJ Mayo, but another rookie, Davon Jefferson is quickly becoming a star. The two combine for nearly 34 points and 11 rebounds a game. Mayo scored 29 points (20 in the first half) and Jefferson tallied 17 in the win over the Huskies.

In the first meeting (January 10th), Washington State blew past the Trojans, 73-58. Daven Harmeling scored 19 points and Aron Baynes added 18 points and 9 rebounds of his own. The Cougars need those two to heat up again. They've struggled lately, but played decent against UCLA (combined 19 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field; both missed clutch free throws late in the game).

WSU shot the ball better against the Bruins, but they're still having lapses in other parts of the game. A team that was once mentally superior seems to have lost some confidence. At times, to me, they look like they're defeated before the game is even over.

One of these games the Cougs will put it all back together. Hopefully, it's sooner rather than later. Saturday seems like a good time to start clicking again (if not, Wazzu could be in for some serious trouble).