Why do people resent Athletes?

By Kshell

We have all dealt with some sort of bias throughout our entire lives. People will make rash decisions on people they don't know that is always going to happen. Now in this post I'm going to give you the other side of the story which is actually defending athletes. Too often growing up the guys who play sports are viewed as dumb, spoiled, full of themselves and a bully. Then when these athletes grow up certain people will continue to bash on them. These same people will have no problem supporting some crappy movie that Adam Sandler made where he is being paid over 20 million dollars. These same people will complain about how rich and spoiled these athletes are today. There isn't a hatred towards musicians, people in hollywood, people who are famous for being t.v. talking heads, etc. In this following post I'm going to explain in two specific examples on why people hate athletes with such a strong passion. I'll also bring up other myths that people gripe about when talking about athletes as well.

I think one reason is because of race which is sad given how this is the year 2011. Take a look at the picture to my right I know it just drives people crazy that this man has made over 100 million dollars. The picture is of Allen Iverson who represents everything that white america hates. He appears to be very selfish, cocky, full of himself, has corn rows and has plenty of tats all over his body. If he was some random dude on the streets white america would look down on him as he would be beneath them. It just drives certain people crazy that he makes more money in a day than these racist dicks will ever see in their entire lives. The college system is built to keep white people on top and keep black people at the bottom. So when a black person is great at sports and makes lots of money it's almost a loophole in the system. Just like the rule that David Stern made forcing these kids to go to college for a year because white america was getting pissed that these young 18 year olds off the streets were skipping college making mass money. The resentment towards the cocky black athlete or simply the black athlete with tats will always be there.

Then that time comes when an athlete gets in trouble with the law. The immediate reaction is always these "thugs" are just running around committing crimes but they'll probably get away with it. That is when someone will always bring up how O.J.Simpson literally got away with murder and how all athletes get away with crimes. The anti-athlete crowd always feels better about themselves when an athlete screws up and immediately passes judgement even if facts say otherwise. Kobe Bryant is still hated because he will forever be viewed as your typical athlete who got away with rape. What people fail to realize is basic common sense like that girl had sex with two different guys in that same 24 hour period. Take a recent look at the Venoy Overton case which if you see my facebook page or my Seattle Sportsblog Group has caused a huge reaction. Would people assume Venoy Overton is a rapist if he looked like Jake Locker? Probably not. Overton is your typical athlete that people hate as he is cocky, has tons of tats, is often called a "thug". Not saying Overton is a good guy but if you read the report common sense shall tell you he didn't rape that chick. I do think race is one of two main reasons people are so resentful towards athletes.

The other reason people dislike the "jocks" because on average those are the coolest kids in high school. From the beginning every age group has their select few kids who are great at sports from eight years old on up. Those kids become local legends at a young age amongst adults that everyone knows who they are. Growing up everyone wants to be accepted and there is a jealously that some 14 year old kid who happens to be good at sports already is so known amongst adults. Any decent high school coach in any sport knows his upcoming talent years in advance. These kids aren't necesarily given extra benefits but the adult teachers will talk to them in the halls to try and be their friends. I have two close friends I played sports with at R.A.Long who went on to play college sports. One was all-state at football and basketball while the other was a stud at football(first team all state WR) and baseball. Those two had the Lebron James syndrome going for them as well. They were the most popular in my class and probably the most hated as well by many. Truth be told with those two and a few other friends of mine who played sports the most cocky, arrogent, guy with the largest ego was and still is myself. I wasn't good at marquee sports(was good at wrestling but nobody really cares about wrestling) so I was viewed as the nice one. Typically the better you are at sports in my school and I'm sure everywhere you are viewed as a jerk. For an example my sophomore year there was a rumor that one of my friends was groping freshman girls in the hall which I know was 100% pure bullshit. Instead it was viewed as typical athlete getting away with whatever he wants. It's kind of a joke how people of all social groups judge people before knowing about them.

When these kids grow up they make millions at their sport. Now people don't have the same resentment towards musicians or actors because most of those guys weren't popular in school. Most musicians were outcasts in school and the actors were in drama class which doesn't exactly have the cool kids. While when people see an athlete make money they view that as unfair how they got everything in life and continue to be rewarded. You often hear people complain about player salaries like Alex Rodriguez who signed a 10 year 252 million dollar deal to leave the Seattle Mariners. I'll admit I was upset then because I was only 15 years old but I'm not going to lie if someone offers that to me I'd simply respond with "Where do I sign? Thanks!". You often hear people say such ridiculous things such as "They are playing a game I'd play for free". That statement is 100% bullshit who would ever do something for free? I sure as hell wouldn't and neither should you. People always complain about player salaries yet musicians and actors/actresses make bank on movies, endorsements, concerts, etc. Nobody cares that Jim Carrey made over 20 million to make "The Cable Guy" or that Martin Lawrence continues to make movies. Someone tried to reason with me saying that you can watch a movie for free at home. My response was you can watch a sporting game at home and going to a Mariners game is actually cheaper than seeing a movie at the theaters now. I find it funny that people will hold grudges from their high school days towards people they have never met. In fact it's not funny it's pretty sad instead.

In conclusion, I'm amazed that athletes receive so much hate. I find it disturbing that when an athlete is arrested it automatically assumed that he is guilty. If he never serves time in jail it is assumed that he got away with it instead of people going after them because they are easy targets. I laugh when the same people who complain about player salaries have no problem going to a movie or a concert. To those who bash on player salaries I think is hypocritical as I would never turn down that type of money so why should they? Chris Rock said it best once when he said "People complain that Shaq is rich. You know whose really rich? The guy who signs Shaq's check." I find it sad that people still hold high school grudges towards these guys. I'm aware high school wasn't great for the majority of people but did you ever stop to think that maybe just maybe that was partly your own fault? Then what is really disturbing is how the old generation just can't handle the fact that black guy with tats can be a millionaire so "easy". We'll just ignore the fact that the school system is set up so black america can never succeed ever. So the point in this whole post is that there is two sides to every story. Not every athlete is arrogent, get away with everything, a "thug", and dumb. The same people who complain about stereotypes are the same ones who cast those towards "jocks". Just remember each individual person is their own person and you should judge each case as an individual case. Just don't hate the athlete for making tons of money when if you were in their shoes you'd be doing the same thing.

Huskies season ends in heartbreak to Tar Heels 86-83 in round of 32

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(24-11,11-7) season comes to a disappointing end to the second seeded North Carolina Tar Heels(28-7,14-2) 86-83. The Huskies had high hopes to begin the year which you can read here. There was talks of Final Fours and this being finally the year. Instead the Huskies fail to reach the sweet 16. The Huskies lost a close game to a tough opponent in which was basically a road game. The Huskies blew an 11 point lead and never trailed by more than two points until two minutes left in the game. Due to costly decision making down the stretch the Huskies season is over. The Tar Heels were led by Tyler Zeller who scored 23 points and Harrison Barnes who scored 22 points. The Huskies were led by freshman Terrence Ross who scored 19 points. The Huskies bench once again was the strength outscoring the Tar Heels bench 41-5 but the Tar Heels starters overcame that by scoring 81 points to the Huskies 42. In the end the season will be viewed as a disappointment to some fans while others are just happy to make the tournament. The Huskies played hard and came out on fire to start the game.

The first half was a high scoring run and gun half for both teams. The Huskies were trailing 15-14 went on a 12-0 run to lead 26-15 over the second seeded Tar Heels. The Tar Heels then responded to even take the lead. Both teams fought back and forth in the first half ultimately ending with the Huskies taking a 45-44 halftime lead over the Tar Heels. The Tar Heels were led Harrison Barnes who scored 14 points on 6-10 shooting including two three's. Tyler Zeller scored 12 points on four for eight shooting and was perfect from his four free throw attempts. The Tar Heels shot 16-36(44.4%) from the field and made three for eight three pointers. The Heels also shot 9-13(69.2%) from the foul line. The Huskies were actually out playing the Tar Heels most of the half.

For the Huskies they were led by freshman Terrence Ross. Ross who didn't score in his first tournament game came out with 12 points on four for five shooting including two three pointers. Matthew Bryan-Amaning scored eight points on four for eight shooting with seven rebounds. Darnell Gant scored six points hitting two three pointers. Isaiah Thomas slumped scoring just four points on two for eight shooting but had three assists. Aziz N'Diaye who was inserted back in the lineup dominated the glass. N'Diaye scored two points but grabbed eight rebounds. The Huskies shot 18-40(45.0%) from the field, 6-13(46.2%) from three point range and were perfect in their three free throws. The Huskies dominated the glass 24-15 despite the Tar Heels height advantage. The Tar Heels in the second started to dominate the paint and closed the gap on the rebounds.

In the second half saw both teams take turns having momentum. The Huskies led 74-69 with under six minutes to go. The Huskies then had a 76-73 lead which saw the Tar Heels go on a 7-0 run to take a 80-76 lead. After a crucial N'Diaye putback to pull the Huskies within 80-78 the Tar Heels went up six with under two minutes to go. After a Huskies bucket to pull within 84-80 with under 30 seconds left Thomas found a wide open Scott Suggs who drilled the three pointer to pull the Huskies within 84-83. The Huskies then fouled Kendall Marshall who was going to shoot a one and one free throw. Marshall missed the free throw and the Huskies got the rebound. Instead of calling their last timeout the Huskies let Venoy Overton take the ball to the hoop as he got his lay up swatted with 10 seconds. Fighting for the rebound the ball went out of bounds with seven seconds remaining. Justin Holiday's inbound pass was tipped and Dexter Strickland was then fouled. He made both free throws to give the Tar Heels an 86-83 lead. Once again Overton made a poor decision as he was expectating a Tar Heel to foul him he threw up a half court shot with 1.2 seconds on the clock. The Huskies caught a break as the ball went off a Tar Heel. So with 0.5 seconds left the Huskies inbounded the ball to Thomas for three and he missed it. The shot could have been called goaltending but on the review Thomas foot was on the line so it didn't matter. The Huskies lost 86-83 ending their season short of expectations.

The Huskies lose a tough close game despite shooting 33-72(45.8%) from the field and 10-19(52.6%) from three point range. The Huskies were even perfect on seven free throw attempts. Despite giving up the size advantage the Huskies outrebounded the Tar Heels 38-33 including 13 offensive rebounds. In the end that wasn't enough for the Huskies as the Tar Heels were led by their five starters who scored 81 points. Led by Zeller with 23 and Barnes with 22. Marshall scored 13 points while dishing out 14 assists. For the Huskies they were led by Ross who scored 19 points on 7-10 shooting including three three pointers and six rebounds. Bryan-Amaning finished his career with 14 points on 7-14 shooting with eight rebounds. Thomas scored just 12 points on 5-15 shooting but did have eight assists. C.J.Wilcox came alive in the second half to score 11 points on four for nine shooting including three three's. Scott Suggs added eight points on two three pointers. Gant scored six points and six rebounds. Overton finished his career with five points and two assists. Justin Holiday continued his shooting slump scoring just four points on two for six shooting. Then N'Diaye provided a lift scoring four points on two for three shooting with 11 rebounds including five offensive. The Huskies played a good game but five bad minutes down the stretch can offset 35 great minutes which is the sad reality of sports.

Overall the Huskies played a good but they just simply lost to the better team. The Huskies now you could argue if they had taken care of business in the regular season they wouldn't be in this position. As for the game itself it was a clean game which the Huskies battled hard. Now the cold reality is three guys on this Huskies team will never wear that Huskies uniform again. The Huskies will be returning six guys from this team along with Abdul Gaddy and Tony Wroten coming in should be in a position to make some noise next season. As for this year the year that started off with so much promise including at one time a top 10 ranking is over suddenly. Nobody would have accepted a round 32 loss at the start of the year or even three weeks ago. The Huskies didn't achieve their goals and now must always wonder what could have been?

Observations:

- Years from now people will look back at this game as an instant classic. Unfortunately for Huskies fans they seem to be on the wrong side of those games. In this game you'll notice a young freshman who kept his team in it. No I'm not talking about Harrison Barnes who played great I might add.

Instead I'm talking about Terrence Ross. Ross who showed you why he is still a freshman at times but also showed how the sky is the limit for him. Given the situation of the game and the opponent I'd say this was Ross finest game of his freshman year. Ross started off hot in Pac-10 play averaging 16.0 points per game in his first four games. Then Ross like most freshman hit a wall. It was so bad he played four minutes against UCLA the second to last regular season game then didn't play against USC. Ross rebounded by averaging 15.3 PPG in the Pac-10 tournament being named first team all tournament team.

Then Ross took a big step backwards scoring zero points on 0-5 shooting in 10 lousy minutes against the Georgia Bulldogs. Ross found himself removed from the starting lineup today. Ross hit his first three point attempt in the first half. Ross, unlike Wilcox who can catch fire at any moment, you know what you are getting. Typically with Ross you can tell the game he will have in the first five minutes. Well today Ross grabbed six rebounds and made some nice athletic moves. He also showed he is a good shooter as well. Ross finished the year averaging 8.0 PPG while shooting 44.3% from the field, 35.2% from three's and 75.8% from free throw's. The future is bright with Ross and Wilcox being only freshman.

- The picture to my right is of Thomas giving support to teammate Justin Holiday who made a costly mistake on the inbound pass. Holiday has gone MIA the last seven games. Holiday who worked so hard to improve his scoring all year long. In the team's first 28 games Holiday averaged 11.9 PPG, shot 124-249(49.8%) from the field and 46-115(40.0%) from three point range. As you can see Holiday made great strides in his career but then in the last seven games he reverted back to how he was early in his junior season.

In Holiday's final seven games in a Huskies uniform he averaged just 4.9 PPG while shooting 14-48(29.1%) from the field and was 1-16(6.3%) from three point range. In four of those games Holiday played over 30 minutes despite slumping so badly. One can question why Holiday was even on the floor with those numbers down the stretch. I openly question that as well since as you can see Holiday has been an offensive liability. It is truly a shame Holiday's career ended the way it did. Hopefully the fans can remember the good he did for this school.

- Venoy Overton's career ends with two costly mistakes. Overton played just 12 minutes while scoring five points on one for three shooting. Romar smartly didn't play Overton much instead playing his three wings of Ross, Wilcox and Suggs. Yet with the season on the line on the two most important possessions the season was decided by Overton. Even Overton himself questioned that move after the game.

I'll talk about both plays and one play wasn't Overton's fault in my opinion. Down by one with 17 seconds left Overton chose to push the ball which I hated the decision. Even if he makes the bucket the Tar Heels still have 10 seconds to score the game winning shot. Now some may say Lorenzo Romar trusted his senior to make the right decision but that is just stupid. What makes Overton so great and so frustrating is how reckless he plays. Having said that with the game on the line you don't want that. Romar should have taken a timeout and put the ball in Thomas hands to let him decide the season.

On the half court shot Overton messed up big time. Up three with less than five seconds to go the Huskies expected the Tar Heels to foul them. Overton hoping they would foul him as he threw up that desperation three to earn three free throw's. What Overton should have done is not worry about them fouling him. Overton should have pushed the ball up court and quickly find a shooter. If they foul him simply make the first free throw then miss the second for a tip in or tip out three for the win. Once again remember this was after a made free throw why Overton brought the ball up the court instead of their best player and decision maker Thomas is a bit mind boggling. Once again hopefully the fans remember all the good that Overton did because like Holiday he didn't end his career on a high note at all.

- Pretty amazing the Huskies only lost by three points with Isaiah Thomas shooting 5-15 making zero three pointers. Thomas had just 12 points but did dish out eight assists. Most people figured if the Huskies were to win Thomas would have to have a big game which he didn't. Even with Thomas struggles you have to wonder why wasn't the ball in his hands with the game on the line. I know technically he took the last shot of the season but that was a catch and shoot situation.

Thomas the final time he brought the ball up faked a three and dished to an open Suggs who drilled the three to pull within one. Unlike last week where Romar put the ball in Thomas hands to win the game he elected to go with Overton. That decision fans will debate all offseason as they should. Thomas made great strides as an overall great player. Thomas was once again named first team all pac-10 finished his year averaging 16.8 PPG on 44.5% shooting from the field and 34.9% from three point range. The most important part is Thomas averaged 6.1 assists on the year the highest since Will Conroy averaged 6.5 assists in the 2004-05 season.

- Lorenzo Romar is a good coach for the Washington Huskies. That has been established with taking the team to the tournament in six of his eight seasons. He has a winning tournament record too at 8-6. He has won the Pac-10 tournament three times and the regular season once. He has also failed to take that next step in this program. It is becoming more painfully obvious he might not ever be able to take that step.

Now I felt for the first 35 minutes Romar coached great. There wasn't many stupid plays, the rotation was just fine. Then in the last five minutes just basic fundamental plays the Huskies couldn't make. The two Overton plays, Holiday inbound, Ross getting his pocket picked, having both Overton and Holiday on the court, etc. This seems to be a theme in the Romar era on tough losses that the Huskies don't lose because the other team beat them. They are losing by making stupid decisions late in games. This isn't to take away from North Carolina at all they were the better team playing basically a home game.

The Huskies are in a weird spot with Romar they truly are. Some fans and a certain KJR host seem to think he can do no wrong and are just happy with making the NCAA tournament. Those fans adjust expectations as the season goes on. Other fans know this program can do so much more with all that talent in the Seattle/Tacoma area. Romar is a great program builder as typically all his seniors get better. Only Mike Jensen and Venoy Overton appeared to have taken a step back throughout their careers. The Huskies need to land a big time recruit. I'm not talking about a player either I'm talking about scouting the country for an X's and O's geru at some D-2 or D-3 school. Ken Bone was a head coach at Seattle Pacific for 14 years and he left to Washington knowing he could move on from there. The question comes down to will Romar finally admit he needs help on offense or will the Huskies simply accept being a top tier team in a weak conference?

All in all this loss was probably the second toughest in the Romar era. I don't think any loss will top that Uconn game in 2006 but if there was a game this was it. This loss became even more depressing as 11th seeded Marquette(same team UW beat last year in tournament) upset 3rd seeded Syracuse. So the Huskies most likely would have been the favorites in a sweet 16 game instead their season is over. The Huskies future appears very bright but after seeing them underachieve in the regular season the last two years can you trust them?

The Huskies had to play basically a road game because they lost to Washington State twice, Oregon, Oregon State and Stanford. Win at worst four of those games the Huskies would have a 28-10 record going into this game and most likely would have been in Tucson. Instead for the second straight year the Huskies lost seven conference games in a weak conference. The Pac-10 has sent just three teams out of 48 teams to the sweet 16 the last three years. There is no excuse to lose that many games in a crappy conference like that. The Huskies if they wish to advance in the tournament must take care of the regular season. Look at North Carolina they won the ACC regular season and now their path to elite 8 looks pretty good. Win in the regular season and you obviously get rewarded with easier opponents and are closer to home. The Huskies hopefully next year finally play up to their capabilities. As for this year well it wasn't a failure but it wasn't a success either. I guess there is always next year which is the typical Seattle saying unfortunately.

Huskies win NCAA first game over Bulldogs 68-65

By Kshell

The 7th seeded Washington Huskies(24-10,11-7) survived a late rally by the 10th seeded Georgia Bulldogs(21-12,9-7) to win 68-65 in the first game of the NCAA tournament. The Huskies also set school history making this the first time they have won an NCAA tournament game three years in a row. The Huskies were once again led by Pac-10 tournament MVP Isaiah Thomas who scored 19 points while dishing out seven assists. The Huskies also received a big boost from their bench as the Huskies reserves outscored the Bulldogs reserves 28-0. The Huskies overcame a big game by Trey Thompkins who scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. The Huskies also overcame an early seven point deficit to the Bulldogs. The Huskies with this win have now won at least one tournament game in Lorenzo Romar's last five appearances in the NCAA tournament. The Huskies also won on the east coast for the first time in over a decade. The Huskies took care of business which is all you want in the tournament.

The first half saw the Huskies struggle making their shots. The Huskies found themselves trailing 23-16 after the Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run. The season was in danger of ending if the Bulldogs had went on another run. Instead the Huskies closed the half out on a 12-5 run led by Thomas attacking the hole and setting up his teammates. Despite being dominated in the first half the Huskies rallied to tie it at 28-28 at halftime. The Bulldogs had shot 11-27(40.7%) from the field and made three of six three pointers. They were led by Thompkins who scored 15 points on six for eight shooting with six rebounds. The Huskies had shot 12-38(31.6%) from the field and a disasterous 2-14(14.3%) from three point range. The Huskies were led by Scott Suggs who scored seven points on three for seven shooting with a three pointer. Matthew Bryan-Amaning added six points on three for seven shooting with four rebounds. Thomas scored just four points on two for eight shooting but had four assists. The Huskies bench outscored the Bulldogs 14-0.

In the second half the Huskies after giving up the lead went on a 12-2 run to go up 40-32. The Huskies the rest of the half led by Thomas controlled the half being up by 8-10 points the entire half. The Huskies also shot better shooting 14-22(63.6%) and made two for four from three point range. The Huskies also were 10-12(83.3%) from the free throw line in the second half. The Bulldogs did make the game interesting trailing by 10 inside two minutes the Huskies tried to give the game away. With turnovers, dumb fouls and missed free throws the Huskies found themselves up just two points with 3.7 seconds left. Freshman C.J. Wilcox hit the first free throw to put the Huskies up three. Wilcox missed the second free throw which was rebounded by Jeremy Price who threw an outlet pass which was broken up by Thomas. Thomas leaped up like Nate Robinson to deflect the pass forcing the Bulldogs to take a tough three point shot which was missed. The Huskies had survived to win the tournament game over the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs were led by Thompkins who scored 26 points on 11-14 shooting including two three pointers and 11 rebounds.

The Huskies were led by Isaiah Thomas once again. Thomas finished 6-14 shooting but a perfect seven for seven at the foul line. Thomas scored 19 points and dished out seven assists. The Huskies received great team scoring today as their bench outscored the Bulldogs 28-0. Leading the reserves was Scott Suggs who scored 10 points on four for seven shooting including two three's. Matthew Bryan-Amaning is still struggling scoring just eight points on three for eight shooting with just six rebounds. Darnell Gant who made the start this game overcame two quick fouls to score seven points on three for five shooting including a three. Then the Huskies had Justin Holiday, Aziz N'Diaye, Venoy Overton and C.J. Wilcox all score six points. The Huskies for the game shot 12-14(85.7%) from the foul line for the game. For the Huskies it was business as usual winning an NCAA tournament game. This is the fourth win for the Huskies in the last three years.

Overall the Huskies won an NCAA tournament game but that wasn't the goal. The goal heading into the year wasn't to win just one tournament game. The Huskies will now take on the University of North Carolina Tar Heels on Sunday. The Huskies took care of business when they had to in the second half to stretch the lead. That was mainly because of Thomas who scored 15 points in the second half on four for six shooting. Thomas was electric in the second half and then saved the game with his defense at the end. The Huskies won't have much time to enjoy this win. In just 36 hours after the game the Huskies will be taking on North Carolina. The opportunity the Huskies have in this game will be huge. Just don't forget to enjoy this win for at least a day.

Observations:

- Thomas playing in his sixth career tournament game was big once again. After a slow start Thomas finished with 19 points and seven assists. In the process Thomas passed Huskies Honks Eldridge Recasner for sixth all-time in Huskies history in points. Thomas is just 35 points away from fifth place so if the Huskies were to win on Sunday he could pass it this year.

Thomas in the NCAA tournament has played pretty well scoring in double figures in five straight games. For the tournament Thomas is averaging 16.5 points per game on 34-85(40.0%) from the field. He has also averaged 5.7 assists per game. Thomas isn't a player who freezes up in big games. Thomas along with Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Venoy Overton, Darnell Gant and Justin Holiday will tie Brandon Roy, Mike Jensen and Bobby Jones in playing in their seventh tournament game this Sunday. That will be a Huskies record for most tournament games played.

- The Huskies defense played really well after trailing early on 23-16. Thompkins scored 26 of the Bulldogs 65 points. The Huskies in the second half denied Thompkins the ball in long stretches at a time. The Huskies had six steals. Thomas and Holiday each had two steals while Bryan-Amaning and Terrence Ross each had a steal.

The stats are a bit skewed since the Huskies fell apart in the final two minutes. In the first 18 minutes of that half the Huskies really put the pressure on the Bulldogs. The defense pressure is what got the Huskies back into the game and then gave them the nice lead in the second half. The Huskies will need to apply that same pressure to North Carolina who played sloppy yet still scored 102 points. The Huskies won the Pac-10 tournament because they shot lights out. They won due to their great defensive play.

- Nice win for Lorenzo Romar as he improves to 8-5(8-6 overall) as Huskies head coach in the NCAA tournament. Romar once again changed the starting lineup starting Darnell Gant in place of C.J. Wilcox to defend the Bulldogs size. Romar also played Venoy Overton more minutes than Scott Suggs, C.J. Wilcox and Terrence Ross. Romar isn't afraid of being second guessed and made some head scratching moves that worked well.

The Huskies also won because of the trademark for Romar teams which is good defense and hustle. The Huskies shot terrible from three point range. The Huskies due to choking at the end against the Bulldogs have now won three straight games by five points or less after losing their first six. Romar has an experience tournament team which features five guys playing in their seventh tournament game and another guy playing in his sixth game this Sunday against North Carolina. Romar is the only coach to lead the Huskies to the NCAA tournament three years in a row has done that now twice. Well Romar is the first Huskies coach to win an NCAA tournament game three years in a row.

All in all the Huskies were favored and won the game they were supposed to win. In the NCAA tournament it doesn't matter how you look just as long as you advance. The Huskies have some area's to clean up as does North Carolina. The Huskies after playing in this gym should start having their shots fall. The Huskies also won a game in which they couldn't shoot well and only Thomas scored more than 11 points. This was a total team effort as eight guys scored over six points. Now the Huskies should enjoy this win as they set history winning a tournament game three years in a row. The Huskies will have a chance to achieve their biggest win in the last 50 years for this program. The Huskies have a chance to beat a historic program in their backyard. Just don't forget to enjoy this win is all. The upperclassman have done a great job leaving their mark at the University of Washington. It would be nice if they could provide the biggest victory of the Lorenzo Romar era this sunday.

Venoy Overton suspended for Pac-10 tournament

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(20-10,11-7) announced today that senior guard Venoy Overton will be suspended for the entire Pac-10 tournament. If the Huskies are to advance to the NCAA tournament he will be able to play. Lorenzo Romar suspended Overton today after he was charged with providing alcohol to minors. So now the struggling Huskies will have to deal with Overton being out for the Pac-10 tournament. The Huskies just like they did earlier in the year when Abdul Gaddy went down must have guys step up. In particular the Huskies will need Isaiah Thomas to step up.

The loss of Overton hurts the struggling Huskies quite a bit. Overton is the only player on the roster playing his best basketball right now. This also puts the Huskies in a situation where they have no other point guard on the roster. If the Huskies were to advance to the championship most likely Thomas will have to play every single second three days in a row. Thomas has been struggling as of late which makes things even more complicated. Since winning Pac-10 player of the week Thomas in the last six games(3-3,2-3) is averaging 14.8 points per game, 5.2 assists per game, 2.7 turnovers a game. Thomas is also shooting 31-74(41.9%) from the field, 6-29(20.6%) from three point range, 21-38(55.2%) from the free throw line. So despite playing his worst ball of his career Thomas will be asked to take on even more responsibility.

To make matters worse Overton was playing well too. Now in the last seven Pac-10 games Overton has been averaging 9.9 points per game, 3.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds and six steals during that span. He has also shot 20-38(52.6%) from the field. Overton has been attacking the hole. Overton has been the only Husky lately driving the lane instead of settling on three pointers. At the end of the season having a veteran like Overton would have been nice. Overton has played in the second most amount of games ever for a Husky. Overton is the Pac-10 active leader in career assists and steals. Unlike everyone else on the team his play has improved as the year has gone on. For the year Overton is averaging 6.0 points per game, 3.4 assists, 1.2 steals and shooting 42.8% from the field. The Huskies also lose six games of Pac-10 tournament experience and five games of NCAA tournament experience. Overton has played in plenty of big games in his Husky career.

All in all, ultimately Overton is to be blamed. As a senior he was complaining about his teammates about playing hard when he should have looked in the mirror. Yes Overton plays hard but his actions caused a huge distraction and now his penalty might cost the Huskies an NCAA tournament berth. I don't blame Romar one bit for suspending Overton for the Pac-10 tournament. I don't blame Romar one bit for allowing Overton to travel to the team and play in a possible postseason tournament. I know at one point in our lives we have bought or at least shared alcohol with a minor. Just because everyone breaks a law doesn't mean that law doesn't serve a purpose. Hopefully this is a life lesson to Overton and he uses this to help his life out. College is supposed to prepare young men for the real world. This won't change my opinion of Overton's career one bit. He made a mistake like we all have. Now the Huskies might pay the price of his mistake or rally and repeat as Pac-10 champions.

Struggling Huskies lose on senior night to Trojans 62-60

The Washington Huskies for only the second time in the Lorenzo Romar era lost on senior night. The Huskies(20-10,11-7) fell to the Trojans(18-13,10-8) 62-60 in a game that wasn't that close. The Huskies were never within one possession the entire game. A season that once started off with so much promise is in serious trouble of missing the NCAA tournament. The Huskies who defeated the Trojans earlier in the year are struggling big time. The Huskies started the year off 7-1 in Pac-10 player but limp into the Pac-10 tournament losers of 6 out of 10 pac-10 games. To make things even worse the Huskies will have to face the Washington State Cougars who swept them this year. The Huskies can still salvage this season and are very capable of doing so.

In the first half the Huskies struggled for the third straight game which were all at home. Before last Sunday's loss to the Cougars the Huskies low for a half was 28 points. In the past three games they have scored 17 points, 24 points and against the Trojans 26 points. The Huskies found themselves trailing 36-26 at halftime. Huskies shot just 12-27(44.4%) from the field but just one for three from free throws. The Huskies were also one for six from three point range. The Trojans had shot 14-28(50.0%) from the field and a perfect six for six from free throw's. The Trojans were dominating the rebounds outrebounding the Huskies 19-10 in the first half.

The Huskies were led by Scott Suggs who scored nine points off the bench and hit the only three pointer for the Huskies. Then Venoy Overton provided a spark off the bench scoring five points. The Huskies big three continued to struggle as Isaiah Thomas scored just six points, Matthew Bryan-Amaning had just four points and Justin Holiday was held scoreless. The Huskies were playing like they didn't even want to be there. Despite the game being senior night the Huskies were playing like a team who had already clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament.

In the second half just like the previous two games the Huskies made a push. Unfortunetly just like the Cougars game when you dig yourself a deep hole that won't make a difference. The Huskies ultimately lost 62-60 as they scored some cheap points at the end. The Huskies simply could never hit that big three pointer when they were trailing by five points. The Trojans dictated the style of play. The Trojans prevailed for the third time in four years at Hec Ed over the Huskies. The Trojans were led by Jio Fontan scoring 20 points including 10-12 from the foul line. Nikola Vucevic also dominated for the Trojans scoring 19 points on 7-11 shooting pulling down 10 rebounds. The Trojans didn't shoot lights out shooting just 20-48(41.7%) from the field, 3-15(20.0%) from three's and 19-25(76.0%) from the free throw line. The Trojans did dominate the glass outrebounding the Huskies 36-25. The Huskies shot just 21-53(39.6%) from the field, 2-16(12.5%) from three point range and 16-22(72.7%) from the foul line. The Huskies struggled for the third straight game to generate offense.

In the losing effort the Huskies were led by Thomas who scored 16 points but shot just 5-13(38.4%)from the field and failed to connect on all three three point attempts. Thomas also had just three assists to two turnovers but hit six of eight free throws. Overton playing in his final home game did all he could do to help the Huskies complete the comeback. He scored 15 points on four for six shooting, seven for nine from the foul line. He also grabbed five rebounds, dished out four assists, didn't turn the ball over and recorded a steal. Suggs had a nice game off the bench scoring 14 points on six for eight shooting including hitting the Huskies only two three pointers. Bryan-Amaning in his final home game struggled once again scoring just 11 points on 5-11(45.4%) shooting from the field. Bryan-Amaning also had just six rebounds but had three blocks and two steals. Then Holiday playing in his final home game was held scoreless first time all season long. He missed all six field goal attempts but did have five rebounds, a steal and two blocks.

Overall the Huskies have to look long and hard in the mirror. The great thing and sad thing about college basketball is your season is defined by what you do in the NCAA tournament. Last year's squad that barely made the tournament as an 11th seed will be more remembered than two years ago team that won the Pac-10 regular season title. The reason is last year team made the sweet 16 while two years ago they lost in the second round. Nobody will remember these type of losses if the Huskies can turn their season around. Time is ticking on them and a loss to the Cougars on Thursday could end everything. This team had so much promise and hope. This team has six upperclassmen and plenty of talent. There is no excuse for these type of performances. Time for the players and coaches to re-evaluate how they are going about things. The Huskies can still turn their season around but time is ticking. Like the slogan the 1999 Seattle Seahawks had "It's now time!". Well Huskies it's now time no more messing around.

Observations:

- Overton played his heart out in a loss to the Trojans. I felt bad for him as KIRO tried their best to ruin his senior season. I also felt bad for Overton because when he struggled most of the fan base turned on him and wanted him kicked off the team. Overton is playing extremely well right now and has been outplaying Thomas of late.

Overton scored 15 points, grabbed one less rebound than Bryan-Amaning with five and dished out four assists. Overton is the Pac-10 active leader in career assists and steals. Unlike everyone else on the team his play has improved as the year has gone on. For the year Overton is averaging 6.0 points per game, 3.4 assists, 1.2 steals and shooting 42.8% from the field.

Now in the last seven Pac-10 games Overton has been averaging 9.9 points per game, 3.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds and six steals during that span. He has also shot 20-38(52.6%) from the field. Overton has been attacking the hole. Overton has been the only Husky lately driving the lane instead of settling on three pointers. Overton although in a losing effort ending his Husky career at Hec Ed in style.

- Thomas was looking like the clear cut Pac-10 player of the year when the Huskies were 7-1. Now he has been struggling ever since winning Pac-10 player of the week against the Bay Area schools. At least Thomas snapped his five game streak of 60.0% from the free throw line or worst. Thomas scored just 16 points on 5-13 shooting and had just 3 assists. Thomas is averaging just 3.8 assists per game the last four games.

Since winning Pac-10 player of the week Thomas in the last six games(3-3,2-3) is averaging 14.8 points per game, 5.2 assists per game, 2.7 turnovers a game. Thomas is also shooting 31-74(41.9%) from the field, 6-29(20.6%) from three point range, 21-38(55.2%) from the free throw line. When Thomas struggles the Huskies struggle that is just the facts.

In the teams 10 losses this year Thomas is averaging just 14.3 points per game, 5.1 assists per game to 3.8 turnovers a game. He is also shooting 42-116(36.2%) from the field and 11-47(23.4%) from three point range. Pretty easy to see why the Huskies were winning in the first half of the season and losing now. The season goes where Isaiah Thomas goes. Hopefully for the Huskies sake Thomas can turn his game around fast or the Huskies are in trouble.

- For this game I took my dad for his birthday. His 50th birthday was actually on March 3rd in a win over the UCLA Bruins. I wish the Huskies could have won as that would be been great. Before the game we checked out the Huskies hall of fame which was pretty special. I also bought some Holiday Bowl champions shirts at the team store.

Games are always fun to go to even the losses. I love the atmosphere and checking out cool exhibits like the Huskies hall of fame. Pretty neat to see all the football history, basketball and Tim Lincecum's Cy Young award. Overall had a good experience going to the game with my dad on his 50th birthday present.

- I'm going to focus on the other two seniors who played their last game at Hec Ed. Both players although had bad games had great senior seasons at Washington.

First I'll start with Matthew Bryan-Amaning who has been struggling lately. On the year Bryan-Amaning is averaging 16.0 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game, 1.7 blocks, 1.0 steals while shooting 56.4% from the field. Now those are good numbers he is the active pac-10 leader in rebounds and blocks. He will most likely make the first team all Pac-10 team which is something to be proud of.

Now the bad in the last three games Bryan-Amaning is averaging 10.7 points per game, 9.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 1.3 blocks per game. So as you can see he is doing well in the hustle stats so he is playing hard just not producing like he is capable of. That is mainly because his field goal percentage has taken a huge hit. He has shot just 11-33(33.3%) from the field. When you factor in that all his shots are within five feet that makes that percentage even worse. The Huskies can't afford to have all three big guns struggle. Which brings me to my next senior who had a rough game.

When you look up hard worker you'll see Justin Holiday's picture. Holiday just 0.7 points as a freshman and 2.1 points as a sophomore has worked on his game a lot. Holiday a co-captain along with Thomas this year is averaging 11.3 points per game, 5.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 0.9 blocks. Holiday is also shooting 47.5% from the field and 39.2% from three point range making an average of 1.6 a game.

Now the bad which was shooting 0-6 on senior night. Holiday showing his value was the only guy who could defend Trojans big man Nikola Vucevic as he was held to just four points in the second half. Holiday is shooting 5-25(20.0%) from the field the last three games. He is 4-12(33.3%) from three point range during that stretch. Holiday is averaging 5.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.0 blocks. He is playing like Holiday as a junior not the Senior version.

As you can see why the Huskies are struggling when their big three is averaging a combined 31.3 points per game while shooting just 32-99(32.3%) from the field and 7-26(26.9%) from three point range. Hard to win when your three leading scorers all slump at the same time three games in a row. Just amazing the Huskies even won a game on the homestand with those stats.

- I'm not surprised the Huskies lost this game. In fact I told many friends that the Huskies would beat UCLA but lose to USC. Sadly I was right once again. The Trojans are the type of team that always gives Lorenzo Romar teams fits. The last time the Huskies beat the Trojans by double digits was March 1st, 2007. In the last five years the Huskies are just 4-6 against the Trojans with all four wins being in single digits.

The Trojans feature an offense that is very slow, a big frontline and doesn't allow you to run. On all 25 free throw attempts by the Trojans they had all four guys stand past the mid court line. I've never seen a team have zero rebounders. They were not going to let the Huskies run which shuts down all Romar teams. They have figured out Romar's one play that the Huskies ran a lot. Teams are on to the pick and roll where Thomas has Bryan-Amaning set a screen and he drives past them only to pass to Bryan-Amaning for an easy dunk.

Now it is up to Romar to make the adjustment. If he doesn't adjust this year then the Huskies are going nowhere. Even if the Huskies sneak into the big dance they'll quickly go one and done. Hopes of a final four heading into the year derailed by the same things year in and year out. Teams who slow the pace down, have a good halfcourt offense and don't allow the Huskies to run will beat the Huskies seven times out of ten. I also think Romar needs to get after these guys as the team is struggling three games in a row coming out. The Huskies need to jump out on the Cougars this Thursday and show everyone they are ready to repeat as Pac-10 tournament champions.

All in all, the Huskies are struggling at the worst time. Only Venoy Overton is playing better as the season has gone on. The Huskies big three of Thomas, Bryan-Amaning and Holiday are struggling. The freshman are playing like freshman which is great one night then a no show then next. The Huskies bigs of Darnell Gant and Aziz N'Diaye have been horrible the last few games as well. The Huskies aren't looking like a team that 34 of 36 media members picked to win the Pac-10 conference. The Huskies are struggling right now at the worst possible time. Nobody ever imagined at 7-1 that the Huskies would be 11-7 sitting in third place thinking what just happened? Time is ticking for the Huskies and hopefully in staples center the thought of good memories from last year pops up again. The Huskies are very capable of winning the tournament but things must change in a hurry. Romar has one week to turn this mess around or fans might start to whisper about his coaching ability. One week to turn this around and hopefully forget about what just happened. One week that is all to fix what seems like an unfixable mess. One week to decide if this season is a success or a failure.

Wilcox huge second half leads Huskies in season sweep over Bruins 70-63

By Kshell

With the Washington Huskies NCAA tournament hopes looking like they were fading redshirt freshman C.J.Wilcox scored a career high 24 points in the second half to keep those hopes alive. In what has to be the greatest display in decades given the situation in a single half Wilcox scored 24 points in the second half to lead his Washington Huskies(20-9,11-6) to a season sweep over the UCLA Bruins(21-9,12-5) 70-63. This is the Huskies seventh consecutive home win over the Bruins. If the Huskies can beat the USC Trojans on Saturday with the Bruins losing to the Washington State Cougars the Huskies would be in second place due to tiebreakers from a season sweep. The Huskies were led by the freshman Wilcox who was on fire in the second half hitting seven of his eight shots while being perfect from all six free throw attempts. This is why the Huskies were picked to win the conference because they are so deep. Wilcox a guy who played just four minutes in the previous meeting was the hero today. With the Huskies season possibly hanging in the balance Wilcox saved the day for the Huskies.

The first half just like the previous game against the Cougars saw a very sloppy first half. The Huskies for the second straight game weren't lighting up the scoreboard which is rare at Hec Ed. The Bruins led the sloppy first half 25-24 as both teams shot horribly. The Bruins shot just 10-27(37.0%) from the field and made just one of four three point attempts. The Huskies were even worse shooting 7-33(21.2%) from the field making just two of seven from three point range. The Bruins were led by Reeves Nelson who scored 10 points while grabbing five rebounds. Freshman Josh Smith who is from Kentwood High School in Kent, Washington scored four points but had nine rebounds.

The Huskies leading scorer was Venoy Overton who scored six points making both field goal attempts. Justin Holiday added five points making a three pointer while grabbing four rebounds. Matthew Bryan-Amaning scored four points but was just two for eight shooting but did pull down seven rebounds. Aziz N'Diaye had four points on just one for four shooting but did pull down six rebounds. One player who was shutout was Isaiah Thomas who scored zero points while missing all six field goal attempts. He only had two assists as he was pretty much ineffective in the first half.

In the second half it was all C.J. Wilcox for the Huskies and Jerime Anderson for the Bruins. These two players traded three for three in trying to get the win. For the Huskies who were struggling offensively C.J. Wilcox provided that lift scoring 12 of the team's first 15 points in the second half. To keep pace Anderson for the Bruins made his first five field goal attempts including four three pointers. Not to be outshined Wilcox had the finishing touches on the Bruins. With the shot clock winding down and the Huskies up 56-52 with a little over two minutes left in the game Wilcox hitting a running two point shot as he was fouled. Of course the shot went in and he sunk the free throw to put the game away. Wilcox finished the second half seven for eight shooting while making four of five three pointers. Wilcox scored a career high 24 points as the Huskies won 70-63 over the Bruins. The Huskies led by Wilcox shot 15-28(53.5%) from the field and made half of their eight three point attempts. The Huskies also shot 12-17(70.5%) from the foul line. If not for Wilcox this blog write up would of course be completely different as is there is still hope for the NCAA tournament.

The Huskies were led by Wilcox who scored 24 points on 7-10(70.0%) shooting and 4-7(57.1%) from three point range. Wilcox also was perfect six for six from the foul line and blocked two shots. The next leading scorer for the Huskies was Overton off the bench scoring 10 points while being perfect from three field goal attempts. Thomas then scored just nine points on 3-12 shooting with just three assists but did have two steals. Bryan-Amaning for the second straight game shot horrible scoring just seven points on 3-11 shooting but he did pull down 13 rebounds including seven offensive. N'Diaye scored six points on two for seven shooting but did have eight rebounds including five offensive. Holiday filled up the stat sheet to make up for his poor shooting effort. Holiday had just five points on one for eight shooting but did grab six rebounds, dished out a team leading five assists and also blocked a shot. The Huskies will obviously need more from their upperclassmen going forward. Wilcox saved the team today scoring 34% of the teams points.

All in all, the Huskies went out and got an important win. The Huskies won a close game when their NCAA tournament hopes for the first time all season long was in jeopardy. The Huskies overcame a strong game by Bruins freshman Josh Smith who scored 12 points while pulling down 16 rebounds including eight offensive. The Huskies overcame a combined 7-31(22.5%) from their three best players Isaiah Thomas, Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Justin Holiday. In a big game usually a freshman will freeze up and the older guys will have to carry the team. Not today as the Huskies older guys appeared to have been frozen so Wilcox had to take over. Wilcox was injured most of the Pac-10 season and is a streaky shooter. Wilcox is only a freshman but eventually will be a better version of Tre Simmons. Simmons was first team all pac-10 his Senior year. Just watch out for Wilcox when he is a Junior and Senior. Thankfully for the Huskies and their current season Wilcox is healthy right now. If not for Wilcox it would be all gloom and doom for the Huskies. As is the Huskies live to see another day and in two weeks hopefully playing their best ball.

Observations:

- For the second straight game Venoy Overton looked like his old self. For games were sloppy as the Huskies scored a combined 41 points. Overton helped the Huskies in both games with his attacking defense, quickness to the hole and just getting under his opponents skin.

Overton scored 10 points while making all three lay ups. Overton in his last six Pac-10 games is averaing 9.0 points per game, 3.5 assists to 1.8 turnovers a game. Overton during that six game stretch is shooting 16-32(50.0%) from the field. It's nice to see Overton is back to being that spark off the bench. Now if the starting point guard can start playing better which brings me to my next point.

- Unlike the previous meeting where Isaiah Thomas played lights out he was pretty bad today. Thomas the last game destroyed the Bruins on pick and rolls but the Bruins stopped that which ultimately stopped Thomas and Matthew Bryan-Amaning from having a good game. Thomas has also the last two games got off to horrible starts shooting a combined 2-13 from the field in the first halves the last two games.

Thomas for only the third time all season long scored in single digits. Showing how great of a scorer he is all three games he scored nine points. In fact Thomas has been pretty boring as his low on the year is nine points and his high is 27 points. Some alarming stats to point since Thomas shot 10-18 from three point range against the Bay Area schools I correctly pointed out it was fools gold. Since then Thomas is shooting just 6-26(23.1%) from three point range. Thomas wasn't as good as his 10-18 but also isn't as bad as 6-26 either. Thomas from the free throw line has been terrible as well shooting just 15-30(50.0%) in the last five games. I'm not worried about Thomas though he has proven he will rise up in the NCAA tournament the past two years.

- When Lorenzo Romar made the decision to redshirt C.J. Wilcox last year he said that move will cost the Huskies a game or two. He also said it will pay off big time when he is a senior. Well if Wilcox realizes his potential hopefully we don't see a senior year from Wilcox. The only Husky who comes close to comparison to Wilcox to me is Simmons who I think Wilcox can be better than.

Remember Simmons we only saw as a junior and senior. We never saw Simmons as a freshman like we have with Wilcox. For a stretch of 11 games Wilcox was a no show lost out of the rotation. Well he is back now and when one guy gets injured that opens up time for another player. Scott Suggs was coming around but then he was injured which opened up playing time for Wilcox and allowed Wilcox to start.

Since Suggs injury Wilcox is averaging 13.4 points per game in five games(I'm counting the Arizona State game since Suggs played just three minutes) while shooting 22-46(47.8%) from the field including 14-34(41.1%) from three point range. Wilcox is also 9-10(90.0%) from the free throw line during that stretch. Wilcox overcame the last two games(his first two career starts) where he shot just 2-14 including 2-10 from three's to shoot 7-10 making 4-7 from three's today for a career high 24 points.

Another aspect that shouldn't go unnoticed is the improved play of Wilcox defense. Wilcox has five blocks and three steals during that five game stretch while grabbing 3.8 rebounds a game. Wilcox has developed into a nice all around player recently which will only help him earn more playing time. Wilcox has made at least one three pointer in 10 consecutive games which including four games where he made four three pointers. Wilcox began his Husky career making at least one three pointer in nine consecutive games. For the year Wilcox has nailed 50 three pointers on the year while shooting 41.0% in the process. He's going to be first team all pac-10 someday for the Huskies. If he somehow really improves his shooting he could eventually be an all-american even. The sky is the limit on Wilcox who is 6'5" and might be the Huskies be three point shooter they've ever had.

- Big win for Lorenzo Romar. Funny how the Huskies can beat the Bruins and Arizona Wildcats but can't beat the Cougars. Romar has a winning record against Ben Howland who has taken his Bruins teams to three straight finals fours(2006-08). Romar all-time against Howland improves to 9-5 all-time against Howland. Overall Romar is 10-9 against the Bruins in his nine years as head coach. Considering the Huskies history against the Bruins that is pretty much amazing and the fact the Huskies went 4-2 against the Bruins when they went to three straight final fours shows the Huskies have their number especially at Hec Ed.

This win was important as this was win #20 on the year for the Huskies. This is the fifth time in the Romar era the Huskies have won 20+ games while in two other seasons the Huskies won 19 games. Put things in perspective the Huskies previous legendary coach Marv Harshman had just four seasons where the team won 20+ games in 14 seasons. Romar has definately brought the Huskies program to great heights.

Now the question is will Romar be the guy who can take them even further. The team played well today when they had to but remember the Huskies were picked to run away with conference this year. The Huskies weren't supposed to be in this situation two years in a row where they have to win the last week or their NCAA tournament hopes are dashed. Romar did show faith in a freshman when the game was on the line with under three minutes to go. Most coaches would have tried to feature their stars instead Romar rode the hot hand. I guess that is why the majority of Pac-10 players called him the coach they would most want to play for. Hopefully between now and NCAA tournament Romar can figure out how to defeat that tough zone defense. Having a streaky shooter like Wilcox going off will make him look smarter against the zone that is for sure.

Overall, the Huskies feel better about their NCAA tournament hopes than they did on Sunday or even this time last year for that matter. The Huskies beat the Trojans on Senior night while winning a single Pac-10 tournament game they will wake up on Sunday feeling good about themselves. This Huskies team is very capable of winning against the Trojans then winning the Pac-10 tournament. Just like last year this team is inconsistent just like I can see this team laying an egg against the Trojans and going one and done in the Pac-10 tournament. The Huskies will have to get better play from their big three if they wish to advance to second week of the NCAA tournament. The Huskies received a huge performance from their X-Factor today in Wilcox now the Huskies will have to have their stars carry them home. Role players are nice to have but they aren't to be counted on. You only go as far as your stars will take you. The good news for the Huskies is on senior night games Romar is 7-1 including wins over #8 Arizona Wildcats in 2005 and #1 Stanford Cardinals in 2004 and #2 UCLA Bruins in 2007. The Huskies win by an average score of 75.9-66.4. The Huskies have always struggled against the Trojans since 2007 going 4-5 against the Trojans. The Huskies aren't in the clear quite yet but this win thanks to Wilcox sure helps. The Huskies are now back in position to make the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in eight years.

Cougars end Huskies unbeaten streak at home in shocking 80-69 win.

By Kshell

The Washington State Cougars(18-10,8-8) swept their cross state rivals the Washington Huskies(19-9,10-6) for the fourth time in six seasons. Just like the previous game the Cougars did a terrific job of defending the three point shot by the Huskies. The Cougars kept their NCAA tournament hopes alive led by Klay Thompson who scored 26 points. As for the Huskies they were led by Isaiah Thomas who scored 21 points but that wasn't enough. The Huskies at the start of the year had people talking about final fours. Now their hopes of making an NCAA tournament are definately in jeopardy. The Huskies for the second straight year will finish below where they were picked to finish in the preseason polls. The Huskies a roster full of scorers had just three guys scorer in double figures. The Cougars are the only team in college basketball to win have a winning record at Hec Ed in the last six seasons. During that span no team has beaten the Huskies more than twice at Hec Ed while the Cougars have done it four times now.

The first half featured some of the ugliest basketball you could have witnessed. Both teams looked CBI bound let alone tournament bound. The first half saw a combined 41 points, 16-61(26.2%) shooting from the field and 3-21(14.3%) shooting from three point range. This was the type of pace which favors the Cougars as the Huskies struggle in these games. After the Huskies fell behind early 11-4 they fought back to take a 15-13 lead after a Thomas layup. Then Abe Lodwick hit a three pointer to give the Cougars the lead 16-15 where the Cougars would never trail again. The Cougars took a 24-17 lead heading into halftime. The Cougars were up seven points despite shooting just 8-25(32.0%) from the field, 2-8(25.0%) from three point range but 6-7(85.7%) from the free throw line. The Cougars were led by Klay Thompson who scored eight points on two for six shooting but was three for four from free throw's. Thompson did have five turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game.

The Huskies were lucky to have been trailing by just seven points. The Huskies shot 8-36(22.2%) from the field and just a ridiculously low 1-13(7.7%) from three point range. The Huskies only attempted two free throws missing them both. The Huskies were led at halftime by Justin Holiday with five points on two for six shooting including a three pointer. Thomas scored four points on two for seven shooting. Venoy Overton provided a spark off the bench scoring four points on two for four shooting. Matthew Bryan-Amaning was held scoreless missing all five field goal attempts. Fellow big man Aziz N'Diaye scored two points on one for five shooting. The Huskies big men just like the previous meeting were letting them down.

The second half saw an increase in the scoring but unfortunately for the Huskies it was mostly done by the Cougars. Klay Thompson scored 10 points right off the bat in the second half. In fact the Cougars stretched their lead to 21 points in the second half. Not only were the Cougars upsetting the Huskies in their own building they were destroying the Huskies. The Cougars led 60-42 when the Huskies finally went on a run. The Huskies went on a 15-4 run which saw them nail three straight three pointers on three straight possessions to cut the lead to 64-57. Then Thompson committed a foul after an Overton free throw the Huskies trailed by just six points. Then the Cougars simply put the Huskies away and clinched the win 80-69.

The Cougars were led by Thompson who scored 26 points 5-13 shooting from the field, hitting three three pointers and was 13-14 from the free throw line. Thompson also turned the ball over just once after turning the ball over five times in the first 10 minutes. DeAngelo Casto had a strong game as well scoring 20 points on 6-10 shooting and was a perfect eight for eight at the foul line. Casto also pulled down 13 rebounds including four offensive. The Cougars also received 10 points from Reggie Moore on three for nine shooting. The Cougars as a team shot 21-53(39.6%) from the field, 6-21(28.6%) from three point range but won the game at the foul line. The Cougars were an amazing 32-36(88.9%) from the free throw line.

The Huskies blew a great opportunity. After the Arizona Wildcats were swept to have the Huskies be within one game of first place the Huskies laid an egg. The Huskies had a great run in the second half but the game is 40 minutes long not five. The Huskies in the second half shot better but the damage was already done in the first 30 minutes of the game. The Huskies shot 23-68(33.8%) from the field, 8-27(29.6%) from the three point range and 15-24(62.5%) from the free throw line. When the game was within six points the Huskies were 12-20(60.0%) from the foul line while the Cougars were 19-20(95.0%) from the foul line. The Huskies just like last game outrebounded the Cougars 42-35 including 23 offensive rebounds. The Huskies just like last game couldn't take advantage.

The Huskies were led by Isaiah Thomas who scored 21 points on 8-16 shooting including three three's but was just two for six from the foul line. Thomas dished out five assists in the loss. The next leading scorer was Matthew Bryan-Amaning who scored 14 points on 3-11 shooting but was eight for nine from the foul line. Bryan-Amaning did add 10 rebounds including four offensive. Justin Holiday finished with 11 points on 4-11 shooting including three three pointers with five assists. Aziz N'Diaye added six points on three for eight shooting and nine rebounds. Venoy Overton scored eight points on three for seven shooting including a three pointer. Ultimately the Huskies didn't get enough from an already thin roster that has seen two starters go down to injury.

The Huskies once again must dig themselves out of a hole they have created for themselves. For the first time all year the reality has to hit that the NCAA tournament isn't a guarantee which seems stunning. The Huskies active roster has played a combined 29 NCAA tournament games including 13 starts so there is plenty of experience on this roster. The Huskies thought they had a special season going into the year and they still could. For the second straight year it appears the Huskies backs will be against the wall for the NCAA tournament. Last year's run was nice but many forget how much they underachieved throughout the season. Now this year's group seems determine to follow that same pace but what if they don't win the Pac-10 tournament? A season which saw them ranked in the top 10 could go down the drains. What could hurt the Huskies even more is if somehow the Cougars make the NCAA tournament over them. The Huskies have two regular season games left at home against two teams who are better than Stanford, Oregon State, Oregon and Washington State you know teams who have given the Huskies fives losses already.

Observations:

- Remember when the Huskies owned Klay Thompson? yes feels like a lifetime ago doesn't it? Thompson in his first four games against the Huskies shot 10-47(21.2%) while scoring just 29 points(7.3 PPG) which were all four losses. Well now Thompson has turned that around this year scoring 51 points(25.5 PPG) while shooting 14-31(45.1%) from the field. Thompson has turned it around against the Huskies. As a Huskies fan knowing that he is a Junior I hope he goes off to end the year so he can leave early.

The scary thing for the Huskies and well for the rest of the Pac-10 is if Thompson comes back. The Cougars start four juniors and one sophomore. If Thompson were to come back they would be on the short list of favorites next year to win the Pac-10 championship. Pretty funny how things change in a short time. This is the same Cougars team that lost to Stanford at home, lost to Arizona State but can sweep the Huskies. Thompson has two home games left to prove his legacy at WSU. If the Cougars win both games they'll be 10-8 with some impressive wins. If the Cougars sweep they might have to just win one Pac-10 tournament game and they'll be going to the NCAA tournament for the third time in five years.

- Matthew Bryan-Amaning for whatever reason has struggled this year against the Cougars. On the year Bryan-Amaning is 4-19(21.0%)from the field against the Cougars. Bryan-Amaning is averaging just 10.0 PPG but 10.5 rebounds a game. This is by far the team that has given Bryan-Amaning the most trouble.

At one point it appeared to be a mental thing for Bryan-Amaning as he was missing easy layups that he is capable of making. I'll give him credit for hustling down the court and blocking shots. He was strong on the rebounds again he just had a bad game. He also logged the most minutes playing in 36 minutes. Unlike games in the past Bryan-Amaning brought the effort just couldn't hit such easy buckets while Castro got the better end of the matchup.

- Isaiah Thomas played a good second half but in the first half he was terrible. Thomas in the second half did shoot six for nine with 17 points including three three pointers. For the game Thomas finished 8-16 with 21 points hitting three three pointers and dishing out five assists. He was also two for six from the free throw line.

Thomas in the last four games has shot 12-25(48.0%) from the free throw line. Thomas who is a career 71.2% free throw shooter needs to start knocking down these FREE throws. He attacks the paint so much and he needs to make teams pay for fouling him. He is too good of a shooter to be shooting that terrible from the foul line. Free throw's has been a problem for the Huskies the last couple of years. Makes you wonder if they even practice free throw's during the practices.

- For the Lorenzo Romar critics out there this loss put more fuel to the fire. Romar in the last six years is 4-9 against the Cougars despite outrecruiting them each and every single year. This year really hurt as Romar was swept by Ken Bone who was his assistent when the Huskies were the #1 seed in the 2004-05 season. Bone many believe was the offensive geru for Romar. Romar has also lost assistent Cameron Dollar who the Huskies just defeated on Tuesday. That is the price of being a successful program other schools will snatch up your assistents. Romar has a losing record against just one Pac-10 team which is the Cougars he is now 9-10 against the Cougars.

The blueprint has been set on how to defeat the Huskies. Run a good zone and you will defeat the Huskies. Romar has done a lot of good things at Washington while he's been the coach. One thing Romar hasn't done a good job of is running a half court offense. He needs to find an offensive geru to help him out. Remember Phil Jackson who has won 11 championships needed Tex Winter to help him run the triangle offense. If Jackson needs an offensive geru than anyone can. The Huskies struggle against teams who run a good zone, slow the game down, and still can't hit their free throws. If the Huskies ever wish to go that next level Romar must swallow his pride and admit he needs help on offense.

All in all, the team takes on the personality of the leaders of the team. Two years ago Jon Brockman was that leader and everyone knew that. That team wasn't the most talented team but they overachieved to win the Pac-10 regular season championship. They were are a hard working tough team who won the close games. Last year the leader was Quincy Pondexter who may have worked even harder than Brockman. Pondexter busted his butt to improve as a player from freshman year to senior year and carried the Huskies. He took the Huskies on his back and even hit the game winning shot in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Now the leaders are all cocky. The upperclassman spend most of their time on twitter and flexing than practicing the fundamentals. These Huskies would rather look good first then win second. The Huskies need to realize that fundamentals is why the Cougars have defeated them 9 out of 13 times. The Huskies need to take a look in the mirror and less on their blackberries or iPhone. These Huskies need to get to work and they need to realize they can't afford to lose another game. One more loss and their NCAA tournament hopes could be dashed. We'll see who is going to step up on this team and be the leader. As of right now I see no leadership at all which isn't a trait of Romar teams. Romar teams always have the Seniors step up as the leaders but this group has shown no leadership. Hopefully somebody steps up and becomes a leader before this season goes down in flames.