By John Sleeper
Herald Writer
Washington State has lost 12 straight games, hasn’t won since Dec. 7, and is 0-10 in the Pacific-10 Conference.
And, coming into tonight’s game at Pullman, that’s all Washington coach Bob Bender needs to know.
“They’re incredibly dangerous,” He said.
It might be said that this is an incredibly important game for both teams as well. The Huskies (2-8 Pac-10, 8-12 overall) need a victory to keep pace with Oregon State for eighth place in the conference and a Pac-10 tournament bid. The Cougars (0-10, 4-14) have lost four games in their league streak by eight points or fewer and need a victory, period.
“The players are holding up as well as can be expected,” WSU coach Paul Graham said. “I’m more worried about myself and my coaches. We’ve been in some close games and just haven’t been able to get a break to get a win.”
In a way, the two teams are mirror images. Both have players who are immensely talented but whose best days are ahead of them.
WSU sophomore Marcus Moore is a 6-fooot-6 point guard who creates natural mismatches because of his size and leads the league in steals. Center J Locklier is a banger inside who averages 12.5 points a game. Guard Jerry McNair is fourth in the conference in 3-pointers.
“What we have to understand is that we will have to earn everything,” Bender said. “There’s nothing we can take for granted. Their losses have done nothing but motivate.”
In two victories against the Huskies last year, Graham made the decision to use Moore’s height to post up 6-foot Curtis Allen and beat him inside. Look for Allen to defend McNair and freshman Erroll Knight or C.J. Massingale to cover Moore.
But even that could cause the Huskies problems.
“Not going with the traditional point on point, that puts Curtis on a 3-point shooter who uses screens,” Bender said. “That may put Curtis in a tough position, to play someone so drastically different. What we do depends on who we start and who we have on Marcus Moore.”
One of the more intriguing matchups involve UW leading scorer Doug Wrenn against Mike Bush, who seems to be coming on after having played football for the first time at WSU.
“They’re guys who can get it done on both ends,” Bender said. “Mike Bush can defend. Doug can defend. But on the other end, both are so critical to their team’s success.”
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