UW beats ASU 66-61

The Huskies take on Arizona St tonight in a game that will not be televised. Fox is going to concentrate on a stellar lineup of WSU at Arizona, followed by Oregon at UCLA. We will be updating the post throughout the game. Game time is at 6 PM Pacific Time.

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The Huskies are out to an early 16-11 lead with 12:00 left in the first half. It looks like UW is on the way to it's first road victory of the year. It would be a training wheel road victory since it is ASU. There are only around 2500 people in the stands tonight so it is more like playing at a neutral site

The Huskies have exploded to a 44-21 lead as they head to the locker room at the half. The Huskies have hit 17-26 shots while ASU has made just 7-22. ASU is 4-13 on three-pointers, the only thing that kept the game even remotely close for a few minutes. Spencer Hawes indeed looks on the road to recovery as he has 10 points to lead all scorers. Ryan Appleby has nine, having hit three three-pointers. Brockman has eight points and Justin Dentmon seven, and Quincy Pondexter six. Washington is definitely approaching the second half of the season differently, looke like the team is starting to gel.

On TV Arizona is having problems with Washington state tonight as their slump continues. The Cougars lead 48-42 with 13:49 left in the second half. WSU has been in control most of the game. Let see if the Coug's can hold on to this one.

18:20 left in the second half in Tempe and Washington is up 44-25 as the Devils come out trying to make up some ground. In Tucson the Coug's are in a suddenly close game leading byone as Arizona has come back scrapping, 58-57 WSU with 6:38 left in the game.

The Huskies are starting slow in the second half, but they still have a large cushion leading 47-32 with 15:50 left. In Tucson the Coug's lead 66-64 with a 38 ticks left in the game. This is a scrappy, physical game, and you can feel the Wildcats getting tenderized for Saturday's game with Washington. WSU has the possesion.

It just got interesting here as ASU coach Herb Sendek was given two technical fouls and ejected with 13:16 left. ASU fans began booing a foul called on Antwi Atuahene in a scramble for the ball with Ryan Appleby. Sendek raised his hands to urge more booing, and was apparently told to stop. When he persisted, he was whistled for a T. When he continued, he got another T.

WSU hit's a three to ice it, and they take a 69-64 lead with 13.4 seconds left in the game. Meanwhile in Tempe the Huskies are still cold in the second half but are nursing a 54-41 lead with 11:55 left

WSU has beaten Arizona 72-66 sweeping the Wildcats for the first time since they entered the Pac Ten. Arizona State is still climbing back into this one as the Huskies are being frustrated by ASU's zone defense. 10:40 left in the game and Washington leads 54-44.

The Oregon/UCLA game has just started and the Bruin's have an early 6-4 lead in the opening minutes. We will be following this one till the end. Very big game for both of these teams.

4:15 left and Washington leads 61-52. Pretty poor second half after blowing out the Devils in the first half. Tale of the second half is sloppy ball handling, and poor shot selection. Was hoping that was going to go away after the improved performance in the last two games. Huskies have watched the lead shrink to 7 with 3:20 left. 2:29 left and it is 61-54, UW has the ball. Huskies are playing just to hang on.

UCLA is out to an early 20-9 lead with 11:27 left in the first half. The Duck's are going to lose two and fall back to earth this weekend.

Arizona St has cut the lead to as little as three points in the last minute. Dentmon hits a couple at the line to extend the lead 63-58. Hawes get fouled on the next possesion and hits one of two to extend the lead to 8. Arizona St get a three point play with a second left, but it isn't enough as Washington pulls out a 66-61 win. Washington only scored 22 points in the second half. Credit Dentmon who scored 4 in the last half minute with securing the win for UW. Jon Brockman scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the victory.

Down in Los Angeles the Duck's are getting cooked tonight in the first half falling behind 32-17 with 5:13 left in the half.

Last night Gonzaga won their third straight, and sixth in seven, spoiling the Stanford Cardinal's return to the rankings. Goods tried to keep Stanford close, hitting three straight 3's late in the second overtime on the way to 16 points.
But Stanford missed too many key shots and free throws in the extra periods and had its three-game winning streak snapped only three nights after a 75-68 upset of No. 5 UCLA. A quality win for the Zag's on the road.

Back in Los Angeles the Duck's are down 35-23 with 1:50 left. The Duck's are showing some signs of life as they switch to the zone and cut the deficit to nine at the half.

UCLA up 42-26 with 16:53 left in the second half. Looks like it won't be the Duck's night. UCLA up 52-36 with 13:02 left. 58-42 with 8:15 left. The Duck's are only shooting 36% from the field tonight.

USC is having absolutely no problem with Oregon State leading 68-46 with around 3 minutes left to play. The Trojan's have a tough test coming up on Saturday against some very angry Duck's.

Speaking of Oregon they are starting to close on the Bruins 62-51 with 3:23 left in the game. It would take a total melt down by the Bruin's for the Duck's to get within range of the them by the end. Lot's on the line like a possible #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

UCLA ends up closing out strong winning 69-57.

USC routed Oregon State 73-56

Pac Ten Power Ratings

1. UCLA 8-2 18-2....Big Win at home against Oregon is a big step to a #1 seed.
2. WSU 7-3 18-4....Win at Arizona on the road is a big one for the Cougs.
3. Oregon 7-3 19-3....Duck's need a win against SC to stay in the title race.
4. USC 7-3 17-6....Big game with some angry Duck's on Saturday.
5. Stanford 6-3 14-6....They hit the polls than were swatted by the Zags.
6. Arizona 5-5 14-7....This team is slumping and beatable on Saturday.
7. Washington 4-6 14-7....The Dawgs need to sweep on Saturday.
8. California 4-5 12-9....Bear's are starting to fall off after playing well early.
9. Oregon St 1-9 9-14....Tough to see how Jay keeps his job after this season.
10.Arizona St 0-10 6-15....This program needs a lot of work.

Washington Magic Numbers

If the Huskies can pull off a sweep in Arizona they will be at 5-6 in conference tied with Arizona. The Huskies get the next three at home with California, Stanford, and WSU on tap. The Huskies have only lost once at home this year as they are a different team in Hec Ed. I don't think we will have a problem getting by Stanford, and Cal at home, and that would put us at 7-6 going into the WSU game. WSU is clearly one of the top three teams in the conference this year, and they blew the Huskies out in Pullman earlier this year. A win over the Cougars would be huge, but I am not counting on it. Next is a Pittsburg on the road. Probably not a win. We follow that with games on the road in Oregon where a split is probable, and acceptable. We finish the season with the LA schools in Hec Ed. I don't see us beating UCLA, even at home, SC is very doable.

I think the Huskies end up 9-9 in conference and 19-11 overall. Does that get them into the Big Dance? I think it gives them a decent shot if they do well at the tournament. A 20 win season though might be enough to slide them in, so a win over the Cougs or UCLA would be a big help. Expect six teams from the Pac Ten to make the dance, seven is really stretching it. So it comes down to Washington finishing better than Stanford, Cal, and Arizona down the stretch.