The Cougs are still missing that killer instinct. Up 20 points and closing in on half time, Wazzu let the Oregon Ducks whittle away at the lead. With the 75-70 victory, Washington State will seek revenge against the Stanford Cardinal, who beat Arizona last night to advance to the semi-finals of the Pac-10 tournament.

The Cardinal swept the Cougars in the regular season, an OT win in the Palouse and a 7-point win just two weeks ago at Stanford. The Pac-10 tournament continues tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles with the WSU/Stanford game scheduled for tip-off at 8:30 p.m. following the other semi-final between USC and UCLA at 6 p.m., both are on FSN.

Our ever-pessimistic and loyal WSU supporting father highlights his keys to tonight’s game for the Cougs: Aaron Baynes, Robbie Cowgill, Caleb Forrest and Daven Harmeling have to stay out of foul trouble. Harmeling has to start hitting 3s and the other perimeter shooters for the Cougs have to be on. Also, stop the passing to the big men in the interior. If the guards do what they usually do then it will all come down to keeping the big guys in the game. We can't force the ball into the paint–both games in the past they lost their lead as they continued to press the ball down low with disastrous results (block shots, lost balls and no fouls on the Lopez twins). If ALL goes well, Cougs win by 3.

Note: The Lopez twins got their start as ball boys at Santa Clara University during the tenure of their older brother, the Broncos center Alex Lopez from 1997-99. Apparently they felt his legacy would cast a shadow over their careers and they opted to play for a less prestigious basketball program and academically inferior university. We have no hard feelings, however.

The loss for Oregon will make for a nervous couple of days leading up to Selection Sunday. Many believe the Ducks will make the field for the NCAA Tournament, benefiting from the overall strength of their conference, but depending on how other conference tournaments shake out, Oregon should be in the field of 65.

Photo of the Staples Center in Los Angeles courtesy of Flickr user rodrigolab