Apple Cup Week

The Washington Huskies will look to put a dent in the Washington State Cougars NCAA tournament chances on Sunday when they travel to Pullman, for a 7pm tip off.

The Huskies and Cougars have had very competitive games in the past and Sunday's game should be no exception. The Huskies come into the game with a 15-4 record and 7-1 in the Pac 10.  On their current three game wining streak the Huskies have scored an average of 88 points per game.

In contrast, the Cougars are 14-6 and 4-4 in the Pac 10. The Cougars are coming off a 65-63 heartbreaking loss to Arizona. In that game potential player of the year candidate Klay Thompson finished with nine points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out seven assists.

Thompson will have to play well in the game on Sunday, if he wants to remain in the running for the Pac 10 play of the year. In Thompson's career against the Huskies he has 29 points in the four games.

The reason why the game is so big for the Cougars is because they need to start winning in Pac 10 play. Their 4-4 record is mediocre at best in the weak Pac 10. No Pac 10 team has ever made the NCAA tournament with a below 500. conference record without wining the conference tournament. That will definitely be the case this year as the Pac 10 is projected to get 2-4 teams into the tournament. Here is how the breakdown goes:

1. Washington should be a lock into the NCAA Tournament. With their 15-4 record they should get about a 4-6 seed.
2. Arizona is 16-4 and is coming off an impressive win @ Washington State. As it stands right now Arizona should be into the tournament. Their a well known school across the country and unless they fall flat on their face they should be in. 
3. UCLA is 13-6. They have an impressive win against 9th ranked BYU on neutral floor in December and played Kanas well on the road losing 77-76. Right now UCLA is on the bubble. For them to get an At Large berth they might need to win one or two games in the Pac 10 tournament. 
4. Washington State with their 14-6 record is also on the bubble. Except for their win against Baylor, the Cougars have no signature win. If the Cougars want to get an At Large bid they have to start wining games on the road and key games such as Washington this Sunday.                                      

If the Cougars end up losing the Apple Cup on Sunday, the Cougars would be 4-5 in Pac 10 play. That would put them in a tough spot and they might have to go 6-3 in their last 9 games to still have a shot at an At Large chance. 

For the Huskies, their 7-1 record is best in the Pac 10. The sky is the limit for this team. If the Huskies want to make a run deep into the tournament, they have to get consistent play from Isaiah Thomas. Thomas has played lights out the last three games but their will be a time in the season where he has an off game. If the Huskies could win a game when Thomas has a bad game, they could have the ingredients for a great finish to their season.