The 11-8, 3-4 Washington State Cougars go to Tucson to play the 13-7, 4-3 Arizona Wildcats who are 9-2 at McKale Center. Two of the best teams on the West Coast beat 'Zona who comes off of a tough 64-63 loss at 13-6, 5-2 Colorado last weekend.

The 'Cats grabbed a defensive rebound and instead of attacking early decided to either win it or lose it on one shot. That one shot was a junior wingman Kevin Parrom three-pointer. Surely Arizona could have gotten a better shot off to win the game, but the Wildcats looked overly passive despite making 22-of-30 free throws.

It's hard to believe 'Zona started out of the gates on top 14-6 the way the 'Cats played the last possession of the game. Altogether Arizona shot 34.5 percent just making 15 percent of their threes. The Wildcats outrebounded the Buffaloes 38-32, 15-7 at the offensive end. 'Zona threw it away four more times and held CU to 40.7 percent shooting. The 'Cats rode senior forward Jesse Perry for 20 points while senior guard Kyle Fogg and junior forward Solomon Hill had 16 and 10.

WSU swept the Bay Area schools impressively last week rallying to win both games. On Saturday the Cougs came back from 11 down with 6:48 to go to win 77-75 over 16-5, 6-2 California. Washington State never possessed the lead during the first half as the Cougars' first lead of the night came on senior wingman Abe Lodwick's three-pointer with 16:30 remaining during the second half. A 9-0 Golden Bears run quickly made it 53-47 Cal before senior guard Faisal Aden's layup.

However WSU fell behind by as many as seven soon afterward. The Cougs' second lead of the night cam with 3:30 left on two senior guard Marcus Capers' FTs. Aiden hit two FTs to reclaim the lead for Washington State who took the lead for good on freshman guard Davonte Lacy's three-pointer with 17 seconds on the game clock. Aden led all Cougars with 24 points as junior forward Brock Motum, Lodwick and Lacy accounted for double figures too. WSU made 17-of-22 FTs and 53.1 percent of their shots including 8-of-18 from three-point distance.

The Cougs also outrebounded the Bears 28-25 and won despite committing six more turnovers. Washington State is 2-4 on the road losing all three of their Pac-12 contests including at 5-14, 2-5 Utah 62-60 in overtime. The Cougars were beaten by 11 and 10 points at 13-6, 5-2 Colorado and 15-5, 5-3 Stanford. During the preseason WSU fell by eight at 16-3, 6-1 Gonzaga, beat 10-9, 3-2 Idaho by two and got by 5-15, 2-5 Portland by 10. Meanwhile No. 12 San Diego State and 15-5, 6-2 Oregon beat Arizona at McKale Center this year.

The Wildcats have won three games by less than double digits at home while beating quality teams 10-6, 4-2 Ball State and 10-9, 2-3 Clemson by 10 or more points. The Cougs lost 79-70 in Tucson a season ago. 'Zona led by as many as 17. While I think we could have ourselves an even more competitive matchup this time around, I'll back the 'Cats scratching out a double-digit win.