The Pac-12 had a rough season this year, but every team will get one final chance this week to continue their season in Los Angeles. While neither the Washington St. Cougars or Oregon St. Beavers are projected to make much of a run at the 2012 Pac-12 Tournament, both teams have potential to bust up the bracket due to their ability to give the ball to a star player.
For the Beavers, they have Jared Cunningham, arguably the best scorer in the conference. The junior guard lit up opponents for more than 18 points per-game and eclipsed the 30-point mark multiple times. For the Cougars, they feature big man Brock Motum, who was awarded Most Improved Player for the conference. The lanky big man can cause nightmares for opposing defenses with his inside-outside approach and does a solid job rebounding.
As for the winner of the game, they will take on the Washington Huskies in the second round on Thursday.
Game 1 Teams: #8 Washington State Cougars (15-15, 7-11 Pac-12) vs #9 Oregon State Beavers (17-13, 7-11 Pac-12)
Date, Game Time: Wednesday, March 7th, 12:00 PM PST
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
TV: FSN/ROOT NW - Kevin Calabro and Don MacLean on the call, with Rebecca Haarlow on the sidelines.
Live Online Streaming: If you're looking some extras, the Pac-12 Conference's YouTube channel - YouTube.com/pac12conf - will be live streaming non-televised games, post-game press conferences for the semifinals and championship games, and all live streams will be free of charge and no registration is necessary. Head over to the the Pacific Life Pac-12 Tournament page and click on the link or go to YouTube.com/pac12conf starting Wednesday and the page will automatically default to any live streams that are underway.
Series History: Per WSU's athletics website, the Cougars trail the all-time series with the Beavers 122-162 but they swept the regular season series this year and have won 10 of the last 12 matchups with the Beavers, including the last four meetings. They defeated Oregon State in both matchups last season and posting a victory in Spokane Dec. 31, 2011 and in Corvallis, Feb. 9.
For more on the Washington State Cougars, head to CougCenter. For more on the Beavs, head over to Building the Dam.