Mar 8, 2007, 15:50 GMT
Los Angeles, CA - Instate foes collide in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-10 Tournament tonight, as the seventh-seeded Washington Huskies do battle with the second-seeded and 11th-ranked Washington State Cougars. The victor of this bout moves on to face either Stanford or USC in the semifinals on Friday.
The Huskies closed out their regular season with wins over USC and fourth- ranked UCLA and they were able to carry their momentum over to this event, as they defeated 10th-seeded Arizona State, 59-51, in the first round on Wednesday. With the win, the team improved to 19-12 overall and 9-7 all- time in this event. Washington has made the finals on three separate occasions in this tournament, winning its lone title in 2005.
As for WSU, it claimed the second seed in this event with a 13-5 record, marking its best finish since 1982-83. The Cougars have already won 24 games (tied for third most in school history) under the guidance of Tony Bennett, who was recently named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year. WSU however, has had the least amount of success of any team in the Pac-10 Tournament, as it has gone just 2-7 all-time. The team hasn't won a game in this event since 1989.
With regard to the all-time series, Washington holds a 167-95 all-time lead over WSU, although the Cougars won both meetings during the regular season.
Washington won the battle on the boards, 39-28, and outscored Arizona State at the foul line, 14-7, en route to a nine-point win on Wednesday. Jon Brockman led the way with a double-double that consisted of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Spencer Hawes and Justin Dentmon each logged 13 points, while Ryan Appleby had 11 points and six boards in the win. On the season, Hawes leads the squad in scoring with 15.2 ppg and he is also pulling down 6.4 rpg. Brockman nearly averages a double-double with 14.1 ppg and a team-high 9.6 rpg for the Huskies, while Appleby chips in with 10.6 ppg. As a team, the Huskies are averaging a solid 76.9 ppg, in addition to outrebounding their opponents by 8.9 rpg.
The Cougars have thrived at the defensive end of the court over the years and this season is no exception, as they lead the conference in scoring defense (57.8 ppg) and turnover margin (+3.6). Offensively, the team is turning in 66.5 ppg on 46.7 percent shooting from the field. Derrick Low, an All-Pac-10 selection, leads the team in scoring with 13.5 ppg and he is also shooting 40.1 percent from behind the arc. Kyle Weaver also earned All-Pac-10 honors after teams-highs of 5.5 rpg and 4.7 apg. He also leads the club in steals (65) to go along with his 11.4 ppg average.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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