Just like California, the Cougs lost the first of two meetings to the Cardinal (a 67-65 overtime loss on February 2nd...remember Taylor Rochestie dropping to his knees after missing a lay-up in the final seconds?). That was part of the Cougs three game losing skid...they're playing much better now.

Note: After Saturday's loss to Arizona I had several people tell me that WSU needs to start playing better if they want to make the NCAA Tournament. Seriously? How quickly people forget the Cougar's four game winning streak before that loss (they've now won five of their last six).

Stanford is also playing very well (I don't need to tell you that). They're No. 8 in the country, winners in 10 of their last 11 (their only loss came to Arizona State in overtime on February 14th). They're especially tough to beat at home. The Cardinal are 15-1 overall, 7-1 in conference at Maples Pavilion.

Keep in mind, Washington State hasn't swept a Bay Area road trip since 1993 (most years they were lucky to get a split).

One more thing before I move on...Wazzu practically gave the game away when the two met up in Pullman (my roommate said it best, "They Coug'd it!"). The Cougars led by six with five minutes to play and suddenly fell apart. Stanford used a 10-2 run the rest of the way to send the game to OT. Washington State suddenly forgot how to make free throws and lay-ups for that matter (even though Rochestie had a tough shot at the end). What do the Cougs need this time around? You guessed it...a consistent team effort (clichéd I know...but they need to do exactly what they did against Cal.)

Moving on...thank you for the comments on the Tony Bennett blog (Will He Stay Or Will He Go?). Some of the feedback included:

Of course you'd want bennett to stay, you want it so bad it's like acid in your mouth! -- Johnny Utah

Seriously, I hope he stays until he has such bad hemorrhoids he cannot sit on anything but a padded stool on the sidelines. -- Ryan Camp

Hemorhoids? Yikes!

Keep the comments coming...

P.S. We are sent game notes from WSU after every game (you can also find them on the Cougars website). Yesterday's game notes had some pretty cool information, so I thought I 'd share some with you:

WSU has now won 10 road games this season for the first time since 1946-47 and the 11th time in school history.

Robbie Cowgill's birthday performance (born on February 28, 1986): eight points (3-for-3 from the field), four rebounds and an assist...his eight points ties him for the 10th-best birthday performance in WSU history.

Note: When Kyle Weaver had a triple-double last year against Stanford, WSU "believed" it was the first in school history. They can tell me Robbie Cowgill has the 10th-best birthday performance, but they aren't sure if Weavers triple-double was the first? That's weird.

I'll leave you with that...