NCAA Basketball: North Carolina, Kentucky, Auburn rise in latest top 25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
23. Washington State (23-8)
Washington State just completed their best regular season in more than fifteen years and are primed for a long-awaited return to the NCAA Tournament. Kyle Smith’s squad surprised many with their sweep of Arizona during conference play in the Pac-12, part of a hot streak in recent months. Unfortunately, things haven’t always gone the Cougars’ way, such as a recent loss to Arizona State.
Another dreadful misstep transpired in this final week of the regular season, as Washington State lost potentially their final game against their in-state rivals. The Cougars hosted Washington on Thursday, falling 74-68 on Senior Night. They were outplayed and outshot by the Huskies at home, even with 20 points and 10 rebounds from Isaac Jones.
Despite the relative weakness of the Pac-12, Washington State found a way to stockpile impressive victories against their conference foes. They’ve also shown the capability of being upended, as was the case on Thursday night. They’ll enter the final Pac-12 Tournament as the 2-seed and certainly proved that this team isn’t the dismal squad of recent years. Washington State is a contender, albeit one with some question marks.