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The Washington State Cougars not only won in Arizona on Thursday night in Tucson. They won in Tucson for the second straight season. Washington State not only won in Arizona. It swept the season series, having beaten the Wildcats earlier in Pullman. The last true Pac-12 basketball race is in the hands of the Washington State Cougars. Imagine thinking that before the season began, or even at the start of 2024 after a nonconference season in which the Cougars did nothing particularly special.
There’s a lot to unpack from Thursday’s huge result, both in the Pac-12 and on a national level:
WASHINGTON STATE IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT
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It’s incredible that we’re writing this next sentence, but it’s true: Washington State has the inside track to the Pac-12 basketball championship. The Cougars have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Arizona and obviously gained a game in the standings with their win on Thursday. WSU leads by half a game, 12-4 to 11-4. Arizona would have to make up that half game and then take a one-game lead to win the championship outright and deny Washington State a share. The odds of that happening are low.
WASHINGTON STATE, NO. 1 SEED
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Another amazing sentence: Washington State is likely to be the No. 1 seed at the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament. Just absorb that for a minute.
KYLE SMITH, NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR
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Not only getting Washington State to the NCAA Tournament, but to the Pac-12 victory stand as conference champion, would mark the best coaching job anywhere in the United States. Kyle Smith is a lock for Pac-12 Coach of the Year, but he probably won the national COY award as well on Thursday.
KYLE SMITH JOB MARKET
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Expect all the big hitters in college basketball to make a run at…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/pac-12-basketball-report-washington-004547357.html
Author : Trojans Wire
Publish date : 2024-02-24 00:45:47
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