SWX Right Now-Sports News for Washington and IdahoCougars hope third time is the charm

Cougars hope third time is the charm

The Washington State Cougars hope the third time is the charm.  After losing both games this season to Oregon, they hope Wednesday's first round Pac-10 tournament game against the Ducks turns in their favor.

The Cougars last loss to the team from Eugene came last Saturday in Oregon (15-17, 7-11 Pac-10) - a 74-66 loss that marked the final game on the 83-year-old McCarthur Court. Never mind Washington State's Klay Thompson became the third-fastest player to reach 1,000 career points during the game. The Cougars lost the game.

"A thousand what?" Thompson asked after the game when he was congratulated. "There were four or open, really open, shots that are just frustrating not to hit; but you can't lose your confidence, because it's the worst thing anybody can do."

The loss to Oregon put Washington State at the bottom of the struggling Pac-10 - just barely ahead of Oregon.  The Cougars are the No. 9 seed in the tournament.  The Ducks are No. 8.  The winner goes on to play No. 1 California on Thursday. Elsewhere in the conference, No. 2 Arizona State plays No. 7 Stanford, No. 3 Washington plays No. 6 Oregon State and No. 4 Arizona meets up with No. 5 UCLA.

Wednesday's play-in game is the only one of the night for the Pac-10, and can be seen live on FSN at 8 p.m.