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Cougars prepare for Pac-10 tournament

SPOKANE, Wash. -- In a season when No. 11 Washington State is breaking all kinds of team records, one more is now in sight: Win a game in the Pacific-10 Conference tournament.

Since the postseason tournament was reborn in 2002, the Cougars have gone 0-3. They did not qualify in 2002 and 2003.

Ironically, the Cougars (24-6, 13-5 Pac-10) do not need a conference tournament win to make their first NCAA tournament since 1994-95. Coach Tony Bennett said he felt his team qualified earlier when it beat Cal for its 10th Pac-10 victory.

"It's a unique place to be, we don't have to win one to get in," Bennett said. "But we still want to play high-level basketball."

The Cougars lost to Stanford in the Pac-10 tournament in 2004 and 2005 and to Oregon last year. During a previous incarnation of the tournament, the Cougars went 2-4, beating UCLA in 1988 and Oregon in 1989.

Even though they finished second in the Pac-10, it's unclear where the Cougars will be seeded in the NCAA tournament, so playing well in the Pac-10 tournament this week in Los Angeles is important, Bennett said.

Washington State on Thursday evening will play the winner of Wednesday's Washington vs. Arizona State game. The Cougars swept both teams during the regular season.

Bennett, just named Pac-10 coach of the year, has been tinkering with his lineup in recent games, giving sophomore center Aron Baynes more playing time at the expense of Ivory Clark, the sole senior scholarship player. Guards Taylor Rochestie and Mac Hopson have also seen more playing time. They join Derrick Low, Robbie Cowgill, Kyle Weaver and Daven Harmeling.

"Hopefully we have an eight-man rotation now and you never know who will enter," Bennett said. "Depth is important in the tournament."

During the final home game on Saturday, Clark started, but played only seven minutes against Southern Cal. Baynes, who only recently is seeing significant time as he recovers from injuries, scored a career-high 25 points.

Clark, WSU's fourth-leading scorer, third-leading rebounder and top shot blocker, told The Spokesman-Review this week he was upset by the loss of playing time.

"To be bumped into the back of the rotation, it definitely has bothered me a little," Clark told the newspaper.

Clark suggested Bennett may be more interested in giving playing time to a developing player like Baynes than a senior who will soon be gone.

Bennett told the newspaper that the team needed Clark to be focused down the stretch.

"That's going to be his challenge to finish it," Bennett said. "I think as a senior he wants us to finish strong, but every guy on this team does."

Washington State has scheduled a free public event on Sunday afternoon at Bohler Gym so fans can watch together when CBS-TV reveals where the Cougars will be seeded in the NCAA tournament. The Cougars have gone to only four NCAA tournaments in their history.

Long-suffering Cougar fans are clearly enthused by this team. Washington State drew 104,525 people at Friel Court this season. The 7,466 average was twice last year's, and the largest since 8,107 in 1995-96. The only other season of more than 100,000 fans was 1979-80, when 110,206 watched.

NOTES:

-Washington State will be going for its 25th win, one short of the team record set in 1940-41. The Cougars last won 25 games in 1916-17.

-The Cougars have won 13 more games than last year, the second-biggest improvement in team history. The 1943-44 team won 8 games, while the following year, the team won 23.

-Cougars are 8-1 when trailing at halftime this year.

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