The Washington Huskies have announced Terrence Ross will hire an agent and declare for the NBA draft.

No real surprise here, as Ross is easily ready for the jump, in my opinion.

No word yet on Wroten's decision.


Here's the UW release:


SEATTLE - Terrence Ross has decided to enter his name into the 2012 NBA Draft and will forgo his final two years of eligibility at the University of Washington.


"I discussed the pros and the cons with my family and I just think this is a great step for me and it's time for me to take my game to the next level," Ross said about his decision.


"Being at Washington and playing for Coach (Lorenzo) Romar has been a blessing," Ross continued. "On the court, off the court, with school and in life...it's just been a real blessing to consider myself a Husky and get to where I am right now."


Ross (Portland, Ore./Jefferson HS) helped the Huskies to a 24-11 record, NIT semifinal appearance and Pac-12 regular season championship in 2012. As a freshman in 2011, he was part of a Husky team that went 24-11, won the Pac-10 Tournament championship and advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament.


In 2012, Ross established himself as not only one of the Pac-12's most complete players, but one of the nation's top athletes. He ranked among conference leaders in eight categories: points (16.4, 4th), rebounds (6.4, 6th), offensive rebounds (5.1, 3rd), free throw percentage (.766, 11th), steals (1.3, 12th), 3-PT FG makes (2.1, 8th), 3-PT% (.371, 14th) and blocks (0.9, 13th).


He earned first team All-Pac-12 honors in 2012 and led Washington in scoring, tallying 574 total points - tied for 9th most in UW single-season history.


He also was second on the team in minutes, rebounds, steals, 3-point makes, 3-point field goal percentage and blocks.


Ross was the only Husky to reach 30 points this season, doing so twice. He was second with 9 games of 20-plus points.


Ross flourished in Washington's run to the NIT semifinals in New York. He averaged 25.0 points in four games. He was a perfect 15-of-15 from the free throw line and led UW shooters from three point range, making 15-of-37 attempts (.405).


"We wish Terrence the best," UW coach Lorenzo Romar said from New Orleans, where he is taking part in Final Four festivities. "He was refreshing to coach because of his humility and team-first attitude. We wish him well and anticipate that he will have an excellent NBA career."
This post was edited on 4/1 5:22 PM by Ron Newberry

Enjoy

Click here

UW and Golden Gophers play at Madison Square Garden approximately 20 minutes after game 1 on Tuesday.

? UW-Minnesota Notes
? TV: ESPN (Mike Patrick, Bill Rafferty and Fran Fraschilla
? Free Video Link: ESPN3.com
? Unleashed: NIT Run Latest Example Of Romar's Brilliance
? Register for the 2012 Men's Basketball Awards Banquet (April 11)

SEATTLE - For the second time this season, Washington will make the 2,400 mile flight to New York City, this time to play in the NIT semifinals. The Huskies were 0-2 in their first trip to the Big Apple, dropping a pair of games to Marquette and Duke.

This time No. 1 seed Washington will face Minnesota, a No. 6 seed, on Tuesday, March 27 at approximately 6:20 p.m. PT for a chance to play either Stanford or UMass in Thursday's championship game. The Huskies made it to the final four after winning three times at home: beating UT Arlington, Northwestern and Oregon. Minnesota took the long route to get to New York winning road games at LaSalle, Miami and Middle Tennessee State.

This is the first time the Huskies have advanced past the third round in the NIT, so its the first time they will play in the World's Most Famous Arena for the post-season. UW is 1-4 all-time at MSG, with their only win coming in their first appearance: a 72-38 rout of New York University on Dec. 30, 1941.

Tuesday's game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN with Mike Patrick, Fran Fraschilla and Bill Rafferty calling the action. Bob Rondeau and Jason Hamilton will provide home radio coverage on KJR 950 AM & 102.9 FM and the Washington IMG College Sports Network throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Washington-Minnesota History
The two teams last met in a home-and-away series during the 1990 and 1991 seasons. Minnesota won at home in 1990 and UW won in Seattle in 1991. The Huskies hold the all-time advantage 9-6, including 7-3 at home, 2-2 at Minnesota and 0-1 on a neutral floor. No. 3 ranked Minnesota beat UW 77-76 in the 1964 Los Angeles Classic to earn the only neutral site win. Lorenzo Romar has never coached against Minnesota and Tubby Smith has never played Washington during his 21 year coaching career. The Huskies are 41-28 all-time vs. Big Ten teams.

Scouting Minnesota
Minnesota is 22-14 on the season after a 6-12 record in Big Ten play. The Golden Gophers won three road games by an average of 11 points to get to the NIT semifinals. They are 3-2 on a neutral court this season ... Of Minnesota's 14 losses, 13 came to post-season tournament teams. Nine came vs. NCAA tournament teams, including 6 against that made the Sweet 16 ... Tubby Smith is 102-57 (.642) in five seasons at Minnesota and is 489-212 (.698) in his 21-year coaching career ... Forward Rodney Williams leads the team with 12.1 ppg and 5.5 rpg. He is averaging 22 points and shooting 68.4% from the field in 3 NIT games ... Guard Andre Hollins is averaging 17.0 ppg in the NIT, but is only scoring 8.5 ppg over 35 games ... Julian Welch is avg. 10.6 ppg.

Last Time Out Vs. Oregon (3/20/12)
AP - Terrence Ross scored 24 points, Tony Wroten added 22 points and Washington held off a late rally from Pac-12 rival Oregon for a 90-86 victory. Olu Ashaolu led Oregon (24-10) with 20 points and E.J. Singler added 19, although only four came in the second half. Devoe Joseph added 12, but continued his struggles shooting in Seattle, making just 4 of 15 shots. Abdul Gaddy finished with 11 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. C.J. Wilcox added 17 for the Huskies, including 6-for-6 from the FT line down the stretch. Oregon led by 4 at halftime but UW quickly tied the score after the break. The teams seesawed back and forth until UW went on a 9-0 run midway through the half to take a 10-point lead they would never relinquish.

UW In The NIT So Far
? The Huskies have advanced to the NIT semifinals in NYC for the first time in team history.
? The Huskies are averaging 82.7 ppg and have won their three games by an average of 11.7 points.
? UW is shooting 72.5% from the line (58-for-80) after shooting 61% durving the first 31 games of the year.
? Terrence Ross has averaged 26.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg, including a career-high 32 points vs. Northwestern. He is 12-of-30 (.400) from 3-point range and 28-of-54 (.519) overall from the field.
? Abdul Gaddy is averaging 7.7 apg and recorded his first career double-double with 11 pts and 10 assts vs. Oregon.
? C.J. Wilcox is 2nd in scoring with 17.3 ppg.

UW NIT History
Washington is making its first appearance in the NIT since 1997 and its sixth overall trip to the post-season tournament. The Huskies also played in the 1996, 1987, 1982 and 1980 NIT and have compiled a 6-5 overall. They recorded their first victory in 25 years on March 13 vs. UT Arlington. The Huskies have hosted five games and are 4-1 in those home contests. They had previously hosted a game on March 16, 1987 when the beat Boise State 73-68 before losing on the road in the third round to Nebraska in Lincoln. The only other home game they hosted prior to this year was a 1982 second round contest that they dropped 69-65 to Texas A&M.

Post-Seasons Under Romar
For the fifth-straight year Washington is making a post-season appearance. After playing in the 2008 CBI, UW made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. In all, Washington has made 8 post-season tournaments in Lorenzo Romar's 10 years tenure. The Huskies are 11-7 in post-season tournaments, including 8-6 in six NCAA appearances and 0-1 in the 2008 CBI and 3-0 in NIT appearances. This marks the first NIT appearance for Washington under Romar. Romar led his Pepperdine Waves to the 1999 NIT in his last season coaching there and lost in the first round.

Romar released a statement today about UW's NIT semifinal matchup with Minnesta:

"Minnesota presents another tough challenge for us. They play really good hard-nosed defense. Tubby Smith is one of the best coaches around. A tough opponent like this is what you would expect to find in the final 4 of the NIT."

If any Husky fans are considering a trip to New York for the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden, here are a few ways to purchase tickets:

Fans can go online at http://www.thegarden.com/tickets.html or by calling 866-858-0008.

Locally, fans can purchase tickets at the Husky Ticket office beginning Thursday, March 22, at 8:30 a.m. The ticket office can be reached at 206-543-2200 for more NIT information.

Seems like a long shot on this site, and really most message boards, but we wanted to extend an invite to any Husky fans who may be in Salt Lake this weekend and want to check out their gymnastics team:

If anyone is coming into Salt Lake this weekend for the PAC 12 championships, we just wanted to invite you to the tailgate party we are having between sessions. Below is a copy of the information we have sent out to here, so I apologize now for the Utah slant but we would love to have fans from any school or any other gymnastics fans who may be in Salt Lake. Please don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions (kylewhittinghamforgovernor@yahoo.com)

This week is a very exciting time to be a Ute. Saturday, Utah hosts the first ever PAC 12 gymnastics championships and we want to make sure the Red Rocks have an amazing home advantage so they can win a conference championship. How the meet will work is this: At 2 pm the four lowest seeded schools will compete and then at 7 pm the 4 highest seeded schools will compete, including the second seeded Utes.

We want to make this an event, so we are planning a tailgate dinner in between sessions. Whenever the first session ends, we will meet outside to have fajitas prepared by extremeute, who has cooking for large groups down to a science, so all he needs from us is an RSVP by Thursday at noon to me so he can shop and prepare Friday. The cost will be 6.00 per person to cover food costs and you can just bring me the money Saturday and I'll collect. If possible, please bring your own beverages but i will have a cooler full of Pepsi and water to share.

If you have any questions please let me know. You can email me at kylewhittinghamforgovernor@yahoo.com. Please RSVP to me by Thursday at noon so we can get shopping done. Please include an email address, as I will send out an email to all those who RSVP about where we will be located once I can lock down that information

Lets help the Red Rocks win the schools first PAC 12 Championship.

As always, Go Utes!!
Jeff

Interesting read about how we got screwed out of the tournament last season and a look ahead at next season.

UDub Soccer

The Huskies' next NIT opponent will be the Oregon Ducks Tuesday night at Hec Edmundson Pavilion with a trip to the NIT semifinals in New York on the line.

The last time Washington and Oregon met in Eugene, the Huskies were embarrassed by the Ducks, 82-57.

"We have a tough challenge ahead of us," UW coach Lorenzo Romar said Sunday. The last time we played them, they were terrific. We have been watching them ever since and they have been on a roll. They are playing extremely good basketball. This is a game where we have a chance to go to New York -- we are both fighting for that. It should be a great ballgame."

Tickets are $35 for chairback seats (rows 1-20), $30 for bleachers with backs (rows 21-26), $20 for bleachers without backs (rows 27-31). Students' tickets are $10.

The game Tuesday tips off at 6 p.m.

A team like Western Kentucky goes 15-18 but they get a bid because they won the Sun Belt Tournament in 3/4 Days. Washington wins the Pac-12 by Competing for TWO MONTHS.

Yes I know the Pac-12 wasn't great(That's being nice) this year but still.
You can't have a system where a team who gets hot and wins 3 straight games get an automatic bid over a team who fights and claws over 2 and a half months in a Major conference Not get in even though they won the Regular Season Title.

Bo Ryan was even ticked about it also. I feel bad for your seniors and the fans.

Here is a University of Washington release about the Huskies' NIT game against Texas-Arlington Tuesday night in Seattle:

Pac-12 Regular Season Champion Huskies Earn No. 1 NIT Seed

Washington hosts UT-Arlington of the Southland Conference on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

SEATTLE - The Washington Huskies (24-10, 14-4), winners of the Pac-12 Conference regular season title, are a No. 1 seed in the National Invitation Tournament and will host UT Arlington (24-8, 15-1 Southland Conference) on Tuesday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m (ESPNU).

The winner of Washington-UT Arlington will face either Northwestern or Akron in the second round on March 15-19. Tuesday's game is the first time the Huskies and Mavericks will be pitted against each other.

Washington was one of four No. 1 seeds selected to play in the 32-team NIT. The first three rounds will be played at home sites with the semifinals and finals being contested in New York's Madison Square Garden March 27 and 29.

Three other teams from the Pac-12 Conference earned spots in the tournament. Arizona is also a one seed, while Stanford and Oregon are No. 3 seeds. The Huskies and Ducks could potentially meet in the third rounds with a trip to New York on the line.

Washington will be making its first appearance in the NIT since 1997 and its sixth overall trip to the post-season tournament. The Huskies also played in the 1996, 1987, 1982 and 1980 NIT and have compiled a 3-5 overall record.

The Huskies have only hosted two games and are 1-1 in those home contests. They last hosted a game on March 16, 1987 when the beat Boise State 73-68 before losing on the road in the third round to Nebraska in Lincoln. The only other home game they hosted was a 1982 second round contest that they dropped 69-65 to Texas A&M.

The Mavericks won the Southland Conference regular season crown with a 15-1 record but lost 92-72 in the semifinals of their conference tournament to McNeese State. UT Arlington, who earned an automatic NIT bid by virtue of winning the regular season title, is led by sixth-year Coach Scott Cross. LaMarcus Reed, a 6-foot-5 senior forward, is the team's leading scorer with 17.8 points per game.

The Mavericks are moving over to the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, 2012.

Tickets for Tuesday's game at Alaska Airlines Arena go on sale to season ticket holders tonight online only. The season ticket holder priority deadline to order is 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Tickets for non-season ticket holders go on sale to the public Monday morning at 9 a.m. Unsold season ticket locations will go on sale to the public Tuesday morning.

Tickets prices are:
Chairbacks (rows1-20): $35
Bleachers w/ backs (rows 21-26): $30
Bleachers without backs (rows 27-31): $20

I've been telling my co-workers all week that there is NO way U-Dub would get let out of the tourney. Going to be some sad faces at the office tomorrow. I think you got screwed. If you win the regular season in one of the Big 6 conferences you should be a LOCK regardless of what else happens during November and December.

Lorenzo Romar talks to Yahoo! Sports radio and reacts to the Huskies not making the NCAA Tournament.

Romar reacts on Yahoo! Sports Radio

It's not over yet but three of the four regions have been announced and the Washington Huskies have not been selected to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Is it possible that Pac-12 Tournament champion Colorado will be the lone Pac-12 representative?

Yikes.
This post was edited on 3/11 3:45 PM by Ron Newberry

Post your reaction below to the Huskies 86-84 loss to the Beavers in the Pac-12 Tournament.

I'll start by mentioning a few things.

This is the first time a No. 9 seed has beat a No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 tourney.

There were 59 FT taken in the game, and teams made only 29.

The Huskies were 12-26 from the charity stripe. That basically says it all.

I wasn't able to watch most of the second half, but kept up with it on Twitter and ESPN Gamecast. When the Huskies made that big run to start the second half, initially, I was a bit surprised, but I didn't think it was an unreasonable occurance. The Dawgs came out with a lot of energy and even held a decent lead for a good portion of the second half, but just couldn't close it out. They missed way too many FT's down the stretch, and that's the most obvious reason they lost. But, I think there are underlying issues with this team that need to be addressed.

The Dawgs probably went into the game with the assumption that it wouldn't be a grind, and they could coast to the win. That clearly wasn't the case. A lot of territory comes with being the Pac-12 Conference regular season Champion, and the Huskies did not defend their territory well.

Give OSU credit, they seemed to want it more. From the beginning, they came out more energized than UW, and with a higher sense of urgency. They seemed like they needed to win this game, and technically they did need it if they want to get into the NCAA. That's still a long-shot for them though.

In my personal opinion, UW players are so celebrated and talented, and they understand how much they mean to the Seattle community, that sometimes they might feel like they deserve wins. No team deserves anything. You have to work hard, learn from your mistakes, and take no possession or game for granted. Everything has to be earned. I think that's something often overlooked in sports, and Romar should preach it to next years team as well as future teams.

As for the future of this season, it doesn't look like the UW will be playing in the NCAA tournament after all. At this point it would take a miracle for them to make it in. As a result, they will play in the NIT tournament, something they could potentially win. But the way they played today, I doubt they would have much desire to win the NIT. It might not be good enough for them.

As for Wroten, he had a spectacular game up until his final missed free throws. It's pretty crazy how in sports you can go from being the potential hero to the scape goat in such a short amount of time. If Wroten made his free throws, which he sunk up until the end when it mattered most, he'd be celebrated right now for his great effort. But because he missed them, he's being criticized heavily for the loss, when in reality he was the best player for the Dawgs.

More thoughts to come.
This post was edited on 3/8 3:31 PM by lukese7

Tony Wroten, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, showed both his greatness and his biggest weakness in a loss to Oregon State, scoring 29 points yet missing four clutch free throws in the final 20 seconds. He's considered a first round draft pick in the upcoming NBA Draft should he declare to go. What would you tell Tony Wroten if you had the opportunity?
This post was edited on 3/8 7:34 PM by Ron Newberry

Here are the postgame comments from Oregon State after the Beavers' 86-84 win over Washington.

An interview with:

COACH ROBINSON
JARED CUNNINGHAM
JOE BURTON

COACH ROBINSON: Listen, you've got to excuse us. We have a very emotional team right now for a lot of different reasons. But I know I could not and have not been prouder of a team any more than I've been proud of this team. It's not just because of tonight. It’s because of all season.

We have fought hard and lost our share of games five points and under, and it's not due to this guy's these guys'-- hard work. It's not due to these guys' lack of hard work, I should say. I mean, every day, four overtimes, one overtime. The next day, they come to work as if they had won the game.

So this win is for these guys in that locker room, as well as our fans and our staff and all that kind of stuff. But it's special and emotional for these guys because they've been working this hard since the end of the season last year.

One more thing before I open it up for questions. We have talked about all season long that I and my staff have believed in these guys more than they believe in themselves, which shows you it's a special group, because in this day and age most people are believing and talking about themselves, especially their age, than they're talking about anybody else. But these guys are such a tight knit group that they wouldn't allow themselves to believe how good they could be.

We could see it as a staff, and it was just a matter of time. Now, what you saw in the last 4 minutes, after that 4:00 minute timeout, you saw a team that believed they could win the game no matter what was going on there. So with that, I'll open it up for questions.

Q. Jared and Joe, why do you guys suddenly believe in yourselves? Both yesterday and today, there was no panic from you guys, it didn't seem, on the floor. Earlier this season there had been times that you panicked and let games get away from you?

JARED CUNNINGHAM: Yeah, well, we've been together since this season from the start, from summer workouts all the way up until now. We're a close knit group, and we love each other and want each other to do well.

You see it out there on the court. We didn't give up at the end. We just kept fighting, sticking through it, and we grinded it out.

Q. You just knocked off the No. 1 seed. How much do you see in your team them starting to believe about all the things you thought about this group before the year?

COACH ROBINSON: Yeah, these two days have shown it, but I've always believed it, even those close games. And I tell you what, we played this team really well the first weekend of the year, the first game of the year. The game got away from us in the second half because we were still young then.

I can keep some perspective in this game because I'm a bit older than these guys. But I can see their hard work. Hard work always pays off. It may not be the way you want it, but it pays off at some point. It could have not paid off for us right now, but I saw the hard work, so I knew it was going to pay off at some point.

I think these guys started to believe it. Funny enough, the last game we lost, which was the Civil War game at our place where we all thought we were playing well, and we happened to lose the game. Then from then on, this is what you've seen the results from them.

Q. This is the first time you've won two games in the Pac 12 tournament since 1988. What does this mean for you to be able to accomplish that here and then do it with your guys?

COACH ROBINSON: Well, it's great. You've heard me say many times that when a program was in the doldrums that this was that there were going to be a lot of firsts and a lot of firsts since and all that kind of stuff. We try not to really focus on that. We're just trying to get better every day, which these guys are doing.

But it is extremely meaningful to me, to my staff, to these guys that we're doing it for our fans and for the university.

It's been rough these first four years. Now it's four years. But the first three years were rough because we were trying to get these guys in here and get them going, and our fans have really supported us. It is nice to be able to pay them back with a weekend like this.

Q. Joe, talk about the mental toughness that you guys had to have today after being up 13 at the half and then down 8 with only 4:00 left to play?

JOE BURTON: Yeah, that was a rocky time, but we bring it in the huddles all the time and say keep your head. Even Coach at halftime said, they're going to go on a run, so we've just got to play together, keep our chemistry and stick to the game plan.

Q. Joe, talk about going against Washington's bigs in there today. It was a physical battle, but you guys, especially in the first half, played really well.

JOE BURTON: Yeah, N'Diaye, a seven footer, Gant, 6'8", 6'9", very physical, and they know how to play basketball. But the game plan was just buckle down, play good D, help side and we'll come out victorious.

Q. You don't know who you're going to play yet, but could you talk about the possible match ups that you might face tomorrow?

COACH ROBINSON: Do we play the winner of this game? See, that shows you, I really wasn't paying attention. That's UCLA and Arizona. Both teams are very good. They both finished above us in the conference. I think UCLA's strengths are they match us from a size standpoint. Arizona matches us from a speed standpoint. It's pretty interesting. So they're two separate things.

We're so excited to be playing in the semis, that it doesn't matter who we play. But seeing how we only played Arizona once and oh, we only played UCLA once. That's odd. I was going to say the team we played once we'd have a better advantage over, so there you have it (smiling).

Q. Were you not going to be denied on that and one at the end of the game there where you had it in your mind you're going to attack the hoop and try to get the foul?

JARED CUNNINGHAM: Yeah at the beginning of the play I was trying to find Ahmad for the open shot, but the defense gave me the pick and roll, and I attacked the rim as hard as I could, and focused on the rim and made it.

COACH ROBINSON: It should be noted that I have said on numerous occasions to this entire team that your best player has to help you win these kinds of games. I've said it all season long.

Jared had a not Jared like shooting night, but he almost had a triple double and won the game. I mean, he won the game for us with his play.

While all these guys are the reason why we play so well, you can't move to the next level, you can't become an elite team until your best player starts playing the way you've seen him play and not scoring. That's the thing. He's not killing it with the scoring. He's doing everything else for us. That should be noted, even though no one asked that.

Q. The difference between Jared's stats was yin and yang between yesterday and today. Was his point total the difference in today's game, and for Jared after, what was the difference between the way Washington attacked you on defense and the way Washington State attacks you on defense that made that such a fluctuation in numbers?

JARED CUNNINGHAM: It was a little more not as much pressure as Washington State. They sent one man at me yesterday. But today I was able to use the ball screens and find my open teammates. They did a great job of finishing the ball. Once I got open, I didn't really make as many shots as I wanted to, but I passed the ball really well and got everybody involved, and they held their part. In the end I had to make those free throws to help us.

COACH ROBINSON: A big part of the way we play, you look at this. We've got 17 assists on 32 baskets. That's how we play. While Jared's playing a better offensive points game, it's the assists that help us. I mean, his ability to draw people to him and make his other teammates better, really important for us to beat really good teams.

Q. Jared, can you talk about that stretch at the end where you made 1 of 4 free throws and then Tony missed 4? And Coach, in your opinion is Washington an NCAA team?

JARED CUNNINGHAM: Yeah, that stretch at the end was nail biting, because I fouled Tony going to the basket, and that wasn't part of the game plan towards the end. But he got to the free throw line.

COACH ROBINSON: No kidding.

JARED CUNNINGHAM: Some of the shots that he shot weren't that successful. So we got the rebound, and we just wanted to attack and get the last shot at the end.

So they fouled me. I made a couple free throws, and that was it.

COACH ROBINSON: And with regard to Washington being an NCAA team, I sure hope so. I hope that they're an NCAA team, because we just beat an NCAA team, and we think we can be a good NCAA team.

But I'm not well versed in we're not good enough where I've been concentrating on RPI and all that kind of stuff. I know our league is considered down, but people don't understand how many good teams we have in this conference. I know before the game I thought they were well in. I hadn't even thought about us beating them and how that would affect them.

But if they're not and it's because of us, that's a good thing. But with those players and the way they played, they'd be a fantastic team to be in the NCAA Tournament.

Here are some postgame quotes from Lorenzo Romar, Abdul Gaddy and Darnell Gant after the loss to Oregon State:

Oregon State ? 86
Washington ? 84


An interview with Lorenzo Romar, Abdul Gaddy and Darnell Gant:


THE MODERATOR: Coach, an opening remark, please?
COACH ROMAR: Got to give Oregon State a lot of credit. They came out, kind of both teams were feeling each other out early on, and Oregon State kind of took charge a little bit and did what they needed to do to go up at halftime with a double digit lead. You've got to give them a lot of credit.

Our guys fought back hard in the second half. Did a great job of playing good basketball in the second half, but it wasn't enough. We dug ourselves in a hole, and we weren't able to finish. Give them a lot of credit.

Q. Coach, how concerned are you with the seeding into the NCAA Tournament with today's loss?

COACH ROMAR: Well, I'm not in there in the committee. I know we haven't won as many games as we should have in non conference as a league. I would think the Pac 12 champion would be able to find a place in the NCAA Tournament. We certainly didn't help ourselves today, but I would think we'd be able to find ourselves in there.

But I am not on the committee. The committee, they're meeting, and we're kind of at the mercy of their decision.

Q. Probably every emotion you can imagine in the second half. You got down by 15, went up by 8 with 8:00 to go. Can you talk to us about the mindset and the strategy in the final 8:00 minutes when they did make a major come back?
COACH ROMAR: When we made our comeback?

Q. Actually when they made their comeback?
COACH ROMAR: I was trying to think of something positive (smiling). We were going back and forth from man to zone. Thought we did a much better job on Starks till the end in the second half. Our inability to box them out after we would get misses really hurt us. We were getting good shots at the basket. We were making our share.
Either team was able to convert free throws down the stretch, I think. We started before they did, not knocking them down, and that broke up our momentum a little bit, and gave them a little bit of hope, I thought.

Q. Coach, there at the end when you missed the free throw, how do you guys practice that and what is the general plan there?
COACH ROMAR: We were trying to make the first, obviously, and missed the second one. Our guys knew what to do. They were stunning in there. And in Terrence's zeal to get it to come off, he shot a little too hard there.

Q. What did you guys talk about at halftime? Obviously the first half you looked sluggish defensively, and what did you want to do coming out in the second half?
ABDUL GADDY: We just wanted to pick up our energy. We started off slow, sluggish. Nobody was talking on defense. Just little things like that. So we had to pick up our energy and be more physical. Once they started to feel us, especially on the rebounding and defensive end, we started to gain ground and eventually get the lead.

Q. Tony looked pretty upset leaving the court. What did you have to say to Tony?
COACH ROMAR: We haven't said anything right now. You mean after the game?

Q. Uh huh.
COACH ROMAR: No, we haven't had a chance to talk. We address the team as a team, then we came straight here.

Q. The bright side of being bounced out early is you get at least a week to rest. With that moment of rest and focus will it help you in the tournament in the long run?
COACH ROMAR: If I knew for sure we were in the tournament, I could tell you that, but I think I might rather not have the rest and be playing tomorrow.

Q. I'm wondering how much did Aziz, picking up that fourth foul early in the second, how much did that mess up your plan or did it affect your plan at all?
COACH ROMAR: Aziz was on the all- defensive team. He's huge for us defensively. He had to sit out, but he also, I thought, made a bucket down there down the stretch. He just seemed to have really come to life. He really helps us in the zone down there around the middle.
Our guys scrap, but they got some baskets around the rim really close, lot of times Aziz takes care of all that. Couple of offensive boards they have. Usually when Aziz is in there, he handles all that. It took something away from our team when he wasn't able to be in there.

Q. How much of that slow start you guys had you think contributed to the fact that they played yesterday while you guys kind of had the day off?
COACH ROMAR: I would say maybe that's it, but they had a slow start too. In the beginning of that game, either team was playing stellar basketball. From our vantage point, we took it as it was 8 7, I believe after the first or second TV timeout, I can't remember. But we had opportunities in the beginning to jump on them, I thought. We didn't do it, so they took advantage of our lack luster play early on.
So if that was the case and they came out hitting everything, I'd say maybe that was because they had a game yesterday, but I didn't see that happening with them. And I didn't see us playing tight. We didn't have the jitters, you know. If anything, we were playing too lax.

Q. Darnell, you're from Crenshaw High School, local guy. Did you feel any added pressure coming into this tournament playing sort of in your backyard?
DARNELL GANT: No, I felt like I've been in this situation before, and it was nothing new to me. I just wanted to come in with the same mindset as we came in with the past two years and just try to help get our guys ready for this type of atmosphere and this type of feeling. But we came out on the short end of the stick.

Q. Lorenzo, what is your message to the team now as you look forward to next week?
COACH ROMAR: We talked about just how important the little things are. That was the difference in the game. I didn't think we executed the little things. If we have an opportunity to play again, it's something we've got to make sure that we focus on.
Right now we're just kind of playing the waiting game to see what's going to happen. I do believe we will be playing in the postseason somewhere, just not sure where and what tournament it's going to be.

Q. In terms of Tony down the stretch, I know you guys continued to go to him. How good has he been in those moments throughout the season?
COACH ROMAR: He's been really good. There are times he's been exceptional. I thought tonight he was really aggressive getting to the basket. He got fouled a lot. When he's playing in that type of rhythm, finding those holes in the defense, he can be pretty effective, and he was today.

Q. Darnell or Abdul, what, if anything, did you say to Tony after his performance today?
DARNELL GANT: We tried to let him know that we still had a chance to win the game after he missed those free throws. After the first two misses he was really down on himself, and I tried to encourage him instead. Because right after that, Jared Cunningham missed two free throws. Then he got another opportunity, but even though he didn't seize that moment, I tried to stay encouraging towards him and let him know we still have a chance to win this game.
You never want to be negative toward your teammates in that kind of situation.

Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics
Oregon State vs Washington
03/08/12 12:00 p.m. at Los Angeles, Calif. (Staples Center)

Oregon State 86 ? 19-13
Total 3-Ptr Rebounds
## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min
15 Moreland, Eric f 5-8 0-0 3-7 2 4 6 3 13 0 1 4 0 34
44 Collier, Devon f 8-15 0-0 3-6 5 2 7 3 19 1 3 0 1 36
12 Brandt, Angus c 3-6 1-2 1-3 0 0 0 5 8 0 0 0 0 12
01 Cunningham, Jared g 6-15 0-3 6-12 3 7 10 4 18 8 4 0 2 40-
03 Starks, Ahmad g 5-12 4-6 0-0 1 1 2 1 14 2 2 0 1 37
00 McShane, Kevin 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
02 Barton, Challe 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 6
11 Burton, Joe 5-8 0-0 4-4 3 7 10 1 14 6 0 0 1 33
55 Nelson, Roberto 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Team 2 0 2
Totals 32-64 5-11 17-32 16 21 37 19 86 17 11 4 5 200
FG % 1st Half: 18-37 48.6%
3FG % 1st Half: 3-5 60.0%
FT % 1st Half: 7-11 63.6%
2nd half: 14-27 51.9%
2nd half: 2-6 33.3%
2nd half: 10-21 47.6%
Game: 32-64 50.0%
Game: 5-11 45.5%
Game: 17-32 53.1%
Deadball Rebounds 5

Washington 84 ? 21-10
Total 3-Ptr Rebounds
## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min
44 Gant, Darnell f 3-4 0-0 0-2 3 7 10 4 6 4 0 1 1 26
05 N'Diaye, Aziz c 2-2 0-0 0-0 3 4 7 5 4 0 2 0 1 22
00 Gaddy, Abdul g 5-12 3-7 0-1 1 2 3 5 13 6 2 0 0 36
14 Wroten, Tony g 10-19 0-1 9-15 5 2 7 2 29 3 4 2 1 38
31 Ross, Terrence g 6-14 2-5 1-3 0 5 5 4 15 3 2 1 0 34
23 Wilcox, C.J. 6-12 3-7 1-3 1 3 4 2 16 0 1 0 1 26
30 Simmons, Desmond 0-1 0-1 1-2 1 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 10
35 Seferian-Jenkins, A. 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 4
40 Kemp, Jr., Shawn 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 4
Team 3 1 4
Totals 32-64 8-21 12-26 18 26 44 25 84 16 12 5 4 200
FG % 1st Half: 13-33 39.4%
3FG % 1st Half: 4-13 30.8%
FT % 1st Half: 3-5 60.0%
2nd half: 19-31 61.3%
2nd half: 4-8 50.0%
2nd half: 9-21 42.9%
Game: 32-64 50.0%
Game: 8-21 38.1%
Game: 12-26 46.2%
Deadball Rebounds 7
Officials: Chris Rastatter, Kevin Brill, Bobby McRoy
Technical fouls: Oregon State-None. Washington-None.
Attendance:
Score by periods 1st 2nd Total
Oregon State 46 40 86
Washington 33 51 84
In Off 2nd Fast
Points Paint T/O Chance Break Bench
OSU 52 16 17 2 14
WASH 42 16 20 6 17
Last FG - OSU 2nd-00:31, WASH 2nd-03:52.
Largest lead - OSU by 15 2nd-19:25, WASH by 8 2nd-08:46.
Score tied - 5 times.
Lead changed - 13 times.

The Pac-12 conference has been all over the place this year. No team has established itself as a clear
leader, and no team is safe for the NCAA Tournament.

Because of that, there will be a lot on the line for the top five or six schools, who are all likely on the
bubble. Some may call that mediocrity, but it actually points to what will be an evenly-matched, exciting
tournament.

Here’s a quick preview and prediction for each team.



NO SHOT

USC Trojans

USC has seen better years. The Trojans sit at 1-17 in the conference and 6-25 overall, but it’s not
necessarily because of a lack of talent. They have lost five players to season-ending injuries and as a
result are only able to roll out six scholarship players. The Trojans wouldn’t beat many mid-major teams
with this squad.

Prediction: Lose to UCLA in Round 1



Utah Utes

The Utes were already having a rough initiation into the Pac-12, but then things got even worse back in
January when leading scorer and assister Josh Watkins was dismissed from the team. After his dismissal,
the Utes lost 11 of their last 13 games, including a 94-48 drubbing by Oregon to end the season. Utah
enters the Pac-12 tourney at 6-24 and 3-15 in the conference. The Utes have the ability to slow the
tempo which could allow for an upset, but winning four games in four days is out of the question.

Prediction: Lose to Colorado in Round 1



Arizona State Sun Devils

The Sun Devils enter the tournament on a positive note, as they beat both USC and Arizona to turn
around a previous four-game losing streak, but they are too lacking in the talent department to make
much noise in Los Angeles. Their 6-12 conference record and 10-20 overall record further prove that.

Prediction: Lose to Stanford in Round 1



Washington State Cougars

If the Cougs are going to make any noise in the Pac-12 tourney, they will need to ride on the back of
junior Brock Motum, who is averaging 18.1 points per game and should be an all-conference selection.
Unfortunately, the loss of Faisel Aden, WSU’s second-leading scorer, has hurt the Cougs’ ability to score
the ball consistently, as evidenced by their ugly 43-38 win over USC to close out the season. WSU has
failed to win more than two games in row all season in conference, so it’s tough to believe the struggling
Cougs will be able to win four straight.

Prediction: Lose to Oregon State in Round 1



SLEEPERS

Oregon State Beavers

The Beavers are just 7-11 in the conference, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Five of their losses
have come by five points or less, so they could just as easily be 11-7. There is more talent on this team
than there is on teams above it in the standings. Jared Cunningham can score 30 points on any given
night, Devon Collier is a terrific athlete and Joe Burton is an underrated big man. Throw in Ahmad Starks,
who has the ability to light it up from deep, and the Beavers can score in a hurry. They proved that when
they dropped 100 in a win against Texas earlier in the season. OSU is starting to put things together at
the right time, as evidenced by its 14-point win over Colorado to end the year.

Prediction: Beat WSU, Lose to Washington in quarterfinals



Colorado Buffaloes

The Buffaloes knocked off Cal back on February 26 and looked a lot like an NCAA-Tournament team, but
ending the season with losses at Oregon and Oregon State really set them back. Now the Buffaloes have
to play on Day 1, which really decreases their odds of winning the tourney. Still, Colorado has shown it
can play with any team in this league. They’ve beat Washington, Cal and Oregon, the top three teams in
the conference, so anything is possible for CU.

Prediction: Beat Utah, Lose to Oregon in quarterfinals



TOO INCONSISTENT

UCLA Bruins

UCLA entered the year as a favorite in the Pac-12, but turmoil within the team has led to a disappointing
season. Most importantly, Reeves Nelson was booted off the squad. Still, the Bruins possess a lot of
talent with guys like Lazeric Jones, Travis Wear, David Wear, Joshua Smith, Tyler Lamb and Jerime
Anderson. If UCLA constantly plays like it did against Washington last Saturday, it has a real shot of
winning this tournament. However, you never know if the Bruins will fully show up. They’ve failed to win
more than three games in a row in conference and most of their losses have come against the top teams
in the conference. Also, don’t overlook the fact the Bruins will have home-crowd advantage.

Prediction: Beat USC, Lose to Arizona in quarterfinals



Stanford Cardinal

With a nice win over Cal to end the season, Stanford proved that it was a contender in this conference.
The Cardinal just don’t have enough consistent scorers to win the tournament. Chasson Randle is a good
player, but Josh Owens disappeared against Cal and Andrew Zimmermann, who averages 3.5 points per
game, had to step up. They can’t expect that to happen every game and Cal will get revenge on a neutral
court.

Prediction: Beat Arizona State, Lose to California in quarterfinals



CONTENDERS

Arizona Wildcats

The Wildcats were everyone’s preseason favorite in this conference, but they haven’t quite lived up
to expectations, as evidenced by their fourth-place finish. Nonetheless, the talented ‘Cats won seven
of their last nine games and appear to be on the right track. They lost to Arizona State to close out
the season, which is a terrible loss, but this team has too much talent to ignore. Kyle Fogg, Jesse Perry
and Solomon Hill serve as the veteran leaders, while Nick Johnson and Josiah Turner are establishing
themselves as rising stars in the Pac. If this team plays to its full potential, a championship appearance is
very possible, but they’ll run into Washington, who has had their number this year.

Prediction: Beat UCLA, Lose to Washington in semifinals



California Golden Bears

Cal really blew its chance at a Pac-12 title when it lost to Colorado and Stanford to end the season, but
the Bears were the team to beat in this conference for most of the season. Allen Crabbe is one of the
best scorers in the league and Jorge Gutierrez is a Pac-12 POY candidate. Throw in big men Harper Kamp
and David Kravish, and this is a very strong team. You can’t ignore the Bears’ shaky play as of late, but
the No. 2 seed is obviously a team to watch out for.

Prediction: Beat Stanford, Lose to Oregon in semifinals



Oregon Ducks

No one expected the Ducks to finish third in the conference, but they have themselves right on the
brink of the NCAA bubble and will need a strong performance in the Pac-12 Tournament. Led by E.J
Singler and transfer Devoe Joseph, the Ducks have rolled through the conference. They are 11-3 in
their last 14 games, including a blow-out win over Washington. Their only losses have come against Cal,
Colorado and Oregon State by a combined nine points. They might not be as talented as an Arizona or
a Washington, but the Ducks are playing better than anyone right now. They are the most dangerous
team in the conference.

Prediction: Beat Colorado, Beat Cal, Lose to Washington in final



Washington Huskies

Some say the Huskies backed into the conference title, but in reality they went 11-2 after their loss to
Cal. That is an impressive run no matter how weak or strong a conference is. Washington has arguably
the two most talented conference players in Tony Wroten and Terrence Ross, and as long as those two
play with aggression the Huskies will be fine. Nonetheless, Washington is inconsistent just like every
other team in this conference and can play down to competition at times. When it comes down to it,
however, you can’t bet against head coach Lorenzo Romar, who has led his team to a conference title
the last two seasons. His Washington teams seem to thrive in conference play, and when this team has
something to “get up” for, they are easily the best team in the conference.

Prediction: Beat Oregon State, Beat Arizona, Beat Oregon in final

The Beavers just knocked off Washington State in a fairly ugly game, but a win is a win. That means the Huskies get OSU tomorrow (Thursday) at noon.

Who you got?

I've always been a believer that the Beavers are better than the No. 8 or 9 team in this conference, but I still feel like the Huskies can match up well with their athleticism.

I foresee a high-scoring battle.

Washington 80, Oregon State 72

Through one game, my prediction for the Pac-12 tournament games are correct. We'll see how long that lasts...
Oregon State just beat Washington State 69-64, which means the Huskies will be playing OSU tomorrow at noon pacific.
Now that the Huskies know who they are going to play, how do you think they will matchup against OSU? Remember that the Dawgs beat OSU on Feb. 12 in Corvallis 75-72, so this game should be quite a close one. I think if any team runs away with it, it will be UW, simply because they have more talent than OSU. But nevertheless I expect a relatively close game. Sound off with comments below.

At this point in the Huskies season, there are really only two solid potential pro prospects on the roster--Tony Wroten and Terrence Ross. Which one should declare for the NBA draft at season's end? Should both? Should neither? Cast your vote.

As the No. 1 seed, the Huskies will play either Washington State or Oregon State. The question is simple. Who do you want to win on Wednesday?

The Cougars obviously always "get up" for games against the Huskies and have held big leads against Washington twice, but the Beavers have much more talent in my my opinion.

Jared Cunningham is extremely dangerous and seems like the type of player who could take over a tournament. The Beavers just have more talented players and have been playing much better as of late than the Cougs. That's why the Huskies should hope WSU wins on Wednesday.

Thoughts?

Here is a release from the Pac-12 office about the conference's men's basketball tournament schedule. Because California lost to Stanford, Washington has clinched the Pac-12 Conference regular season title outright.

PAC-12 MEN’S BRACKET SET FOR PAC-12 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - The bracket for the 2012 Pacific Life Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament is set as WASHINGTON, CALIFORNIA, OREGON and ARIZONA earned first-round byes in the four-day Tournament. The Tournament takes place Wednesday-Saturday, March 7-10, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

Washington (21-9 overall, 14-4 in Pac-12 play) captured its 11th Conference title, and first since 2009, and will enter the Pacific Life Pac-12 Tournament as the top seed. California (23-8, 13-5) and Oregon (22-8, 13-5) tied for second in the league race, but by virtue of the tie-breaking procedure, the Golden Bears earn the No. 2 seed as they were 2-0 against the Ducks during regular season play. Arizona (21-10, 12-6) grabs the No. 4 seed.

COLORADO (19-11, 11-7) and UCLA (18-13, 11-7) tied for fifth in the Pac-12 standings. UCLA, by its win in the lone meeting between the two schools, takes the tie-breaker and the No. 5 seed, while the Buffaloes hold down the No. 6 seed. STANFORD (20-10, 10-8) finishes the regular season in seventh and with it the No. 7 seed in the Tournament.

OREGON STATE (17-13, 7-11) and WASHINGTON STATE (15-15, 7-11) finish with identical league marks and tied for eighth in the Pac-12 standings. By virtue of the tie-break procedure, Washington State won both meetings over the Beavers in league play and claim the No. 8 seed, while Oregon State enters the Tournament with the No. 9 seed.

ARIZONA STATE (10-20, 6-12) pulls down the 10th seed, followed by UTAH (6-24, 3-15) as the No. 11 seed and USC (6-25, 1-17) the No. 12 seed.

With the additions of Colorado and Utah, the tournament has expanded from 9 games to 11 games. First- and second-round games are set for 12:10 p.m., 2:40 p.m., 6:10 p.m. and 8:40 p.m. on Wednesday, March 7 and Thursday, March. 8.

Semifinal action on Friday, March 9 includes both the Pac-12 men and women as the women hit the court at 12:10 p.m. and 2:40 p.m., followed by the men at 6:10 p.m. and 8:40 p.m.

The Pac-12 Championship doubleheader on Saturday, March 10 concludes the Tournament with the women tipping at 11:30 a.m., followed by the men at 3:10 p.m.

Tickets for the four-day event are still available for purchase by visiting www.pac-12.org/hoopstix.

2012 PACIFIC LIFE PAC-12 MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Wednesday-Saturday, March 7-10
STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, Calif.

Wed., Mar. 7

Game 1 - No. 8 Washington State vs. No. 9 Oregon State, 12:10 p.m. PTFSN
Game 2 - No. 5 UCLA vs. No. 12 USC, 2:40 p.m. PTFSN
Game 3 - No. 7 Stanford vs. No. 10 Arizona State, 6:10 p.m. PTFSN
Game 4 - No. 6 Colorado vs. No. 11 Utah, 8:40 p.m. PTFSN

Thurs., Mar. 8
Game 5 - No. 8/9 vs. No. 1, 12:10 p.m. PTFSN
Game 6 - No. 5/12 vs. No. 4 Arizona, 2:40 p.m. PTFSN
Game 7 - No. 7/10 vs. No. 2, 6:10 p.m. PTFSN
Game 8 - No. 6/11 vs. No. 3 Oregon, 8:40 p.m. PTFSN

Fri., Mar. 9
Semifinal 1, 6:10 p.m. PTFSN
Semifinal 2, 8:40 p.m. PTFSN

Sat., Mar. 10
Championship Game, 3:10 p.m. PTCBS

From everything I've been reading, the Huskies' loss to UCLA today means they'll likely have to win 2 games in the Pac-12 Tournament to assure themselves an at-large bid.

I understand this reasoning because the Huskies' resume is god-awful, but I feel like if anyone on the selection committee watched today's game, they would notice that UCLA isn't really a sub-100 team, like its RPI suggests.

They would have seen that UW came out on fire and easily looked like an NCAA Tournament team, but UCLA played well, stayed with the Huskies and kept the game close.

The Huskies didn't look as great in the second half, but they still have the explosive offense and NBA prospects that makes them look like an NCAA Tournament team to me. I think one win in the Pac-12 Tourney gets them in, but it will be close.

Thoughts?