The UCLA Bruins look for a weekend split in the state of Washington on Saturday afternoon, battling the Washington State Cougars at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Washington. The Bruins let a 10-point lead slip away on Thursday night in Seattle, dropping a heartbreaker 71-69 to the Washington Huskies.
Joshua Smith scored a season-high 24 points for the Bruins in the loss Thursday night to go along with nine rebounds. The Bruins will need Smith to produce on Saturday as they are expected to be without forward Travis Wear, who suffered a high ankle sprain on Thursday, according to Peter Yoon of ESPN Los Angeles.
Washington State (12-10, 4-6) is 9-1 this season, including a 53-46 win Thursday night over the USC Trojans. The Bruins have won five straight games against the Cougars, and are 45-11 all-time on the road at Washington State. In their last meeting at Pullman, UCLA defeated WSU 58-54 in overtime on March 5, 2011.
Saturday afternoon's 2 p.m. PST game will be televised by Fox College Sports. For more news and analysis of UCLA hoops, be sure to read Bruins Nation.