Kelvin Sampson and Tony Bennett are both former Washington State coaches who will likely someday be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame after combining to spend 10 seasons with the Cougars. And yet, great as they were and are, neither managed to win a regular-season title while in the Pac-12 -- and that's among the reasons Washington State hasn't actually won a conference title since 1941.
It's been a minute.
Which is why what's happening late Thursday is such a big deal. Because, what's happening late Thursday is that Washington State is playing at Arizona, and if the Cougars win, they'll go to bed alone atop the Pac-12 standings with just four regular-season games remaining. Obviously, winning at Arizona won't be easy considering the Wildcats are 13-0 inside the McKale Center, coming off of a 105-60 victory over Arizona State and favored by 13.5 points. But to focus too much on that is to miss the point entirely -- the point being that fifth-year coach Kyle Smith has this historically struggling program that was picked 10th in the Pac-12 in the preseason in position in late February to maybe win a conference championship for the first time in more than eight decades. Wow. Not to suggest anybody is into moral victories or anything of the sort, but this moment -- this day Washington State fans are getting to enjoy looking forward to a massive event that could determine a league championship -- is worth celebrating regardless of how things go in this showdown between the Pac-12's top two teams.
"We've got a target now," Smith told Tucson.com's Bruce Pascoe, the implication being that a ranked Washington State team on a seven-game winning streak won't be sneaking up on the Wildcats. "Going down to Tucson will be quite a challenge."
Washington State is No. 16 in Thursday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Arizona is No. 4. Tip is scheduled for a little after 11 p.m. ET on FS1.
Thursday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Fletcher Loyer was 1 of 7 from the field in Sunday's 73-69 loss at Ohio State. The Boilermakers' next game is Thursday against Rutgers. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | UConn missed 13 of the 16 3-pointers it attempted in Tuesday's 85-66 loss at Creighton. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Villanova. UConn missed 13 of the 16 3-pointers it attempted in Tuesday's 85-66 loss at Creighton. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Villanova. | -- | 37-3 |
| 3 |  | Jamal Shead finished with 26 points and six assists in Monday's 73-65 win over Iowa State. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Baylor. | -- | 32-5 |
| 4 |  | Caleb Love finished with 15 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 105-60 win over Arizona State. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday against Washington State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 72-67 The Vols' next game is Saturday against Texas A&M. | -- | 27-9 |
| 6 |  | Tamin Lipsey was 1 of 8 from the field in Monday's 73-65 loss at Houston. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday against West Virginia. | -- | 29-8 |
| 7 |  | Kam Jones finished with 34 points and two steals in Wednesday's 105-71 win over DePaul. The Golden Eagles' next game is Sunday against Xavier. | -- | 27-10 |
| 8 |  | Armando Bacot finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 96-81 win over Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday at Virginia. | -- | 29-8 |
| 9 |  | Steven Ashworth finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 85-66 win over UConn. The Bluejays' next game is Sunday at St. John's. | -- | 25-10 |
| 10 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds in Saturday's 67-57 win at Oklahoma. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Texas. | -- | 23-11 |
| 11 |  | Baylor missed 15 of the 20 3-pointers it attempted in Tuesday's 78-71 loss at BYU. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Houston. | -- | 24-11 |
| 12 |  | Jeremy Roach finished with 16 points and three assists in Wednesday's 84-55 win at Miami. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday at Wake Forest. | -- | 27-9 |
| 13 |  | Grant Nelson finished with 22 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 98-93 win over Florida. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday at Kentucky. | 2 | 25-12 |
| 14 |  | Auburn shot 30.9% from the field in Saturday's 70-59 loss to Kentucky. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Georgia. | -- | 27-8 |
| 15 |  | Kobe Elvis was 2 of 11 from the field in Wednesday's 71-67 loss at George Mason. The Flyers' next game is Tuesday against Davidson. | 2 | 25-8 |
| 16 |  | Myles Rice finished with 14 points and five assists in Saturday's 72-59 win over Stanford. The Cougars' next game is Thursday at Arizona. | 2 | 25-10 |
| 17 |  | Great Osobor finished with 17 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 68-63 win over San Diego State. The Aggies' next game is Tuesday at Fresno State. | 2 | 28-7 |
| 18 |  | Micah Parrish was 1 of 7 from the field in Tuesday's 68-63 loss at Utah State. The Aztecs' next game is Saturday at Fresno State. | 2 | 26-11 |
| 19 |  | Coleman Hawkins was 3 of 11 from the field in Wednesday's 90-89 loss at Penn State. The Illini's next game is Saturday against Iowa. | 3 | 29-9 |
| 20 |  | Nique Clifford was 1 of 9 from the field in Wednesday's 68-66 loss at New Mexico. The Rams' next game is Saturday at UNLV. | 3 | 25-11 |
| 21 |  | Aly Khalifa finished with 14 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 78-71 win over Baylor. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Kansas State. | -- | 23-11 |
| 22 |  | South Carolina missed 14 of the 20 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 64-63 loss to LSU. The Gamecocks' next game is Saturday at Ole Miss. | -- | 26-8 |
| 23 |  | Florida allowed the Crimson Tide to grab 21 offensive rebounds in Wednesday's 98-93 loss at Alabama. The Gators' next game is Saturday against Vanderbilt. | -- | 24-12 |
| 24 |  | Tyler Wahl finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 74-70 win over Maryland. The Badgers' next game is Tuesday at Indiana. | 1 | 22-14 |
| 25 |  | Mitchell Saxen finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday's 70-66 win over San Francisco. The Gaels' next game is Saturday against San Diego. | 1 | 26-8 |
| 26 |  | Pop Isaacs finished with 19 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 82-81 win over TCU. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday at UCF. | NR | 23-11 |
In: Texas Tech
Out: Kentucky
