The Pac-10 regular season comes to a close Saturday with all sorts of post season implications still at stake. The biggest conference game of the day comes out of Pullman, Wash. where Washington State hosts UCLA. A Bruins win coupled with an Arizona loss clinches a share of the Pac-10 title for UCLA. On the other hand, Washington State can bolster its NCAA Tournament résumé with an upset.
The Cougars will have to shock the world to win this game, however. Starters Reggie Moore (ankle) and Klay Thompson (suspension) are both unavailable for Wazzu for the Cougars’ Senior Night- walk-on guard Ben Loewen is the only senior on the Cougars’ roster. The absence of the two starters means Washington State will have to rely on the recently-dominant game of DeAngelo Casto and an offensive resurgence from Faisal Aden to put points on the board. They also need a boost from freshmen Patrick Simon, Dre’ Winston, Jr. and Will DiIorio (walk-on).
UCLA looks to rebound from a disappointing second-half showing at Washington. The Bruins are paced by a balanced all-around attack. Down low the Bruins feature two of the Pac-10’s best posts in Reeves Nelson and Joshua Smith. From the perimeter, UCLA showcases two potential NBA-type talents in Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee.
The Cougars will undoubtedly be fired up heading into this game, trying to prove they can get it done even without two of their best players. But with a possible league co-championship at stake, the Bruins should have plenty of energy themselves. Either way, the showdown in Pullman promises to be filled with passion and energy from both sides as the Cougars and Bruins look to head into the Pac-10 Tournament riding high.
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