Cougars Drop 13th Straight: On to Next Year!
By Ben Renner
The Cougars dropped their 13th straight game in an 80-62 defeat to the Cal Bears. Is there hope for the future?
The Cougars are in the midst of a lost season under Ernie Kent. They dropped their 13th straight game in a loss to the Cal Bears on Sunday on Senior Night and so far have one Pac-12 win for the season. They are locked into the 12th seed for the Pac-12 tournament at this point.
So the Cougars are bad this year. They can’t seem to run with anyone in a deep league this year. Expectations for the Cougars and Ernie Kent weren’t high, but what is disturbing is their inability to even get close to most of their opponents this year. Aside from their double-overtime defeat at Colorado on February 11th, they have lost every game since January 23rd by more than ten points or more. That’s seven defeats by more than ten over their past eight losses. That includes an epic drubbing by Utah in Salt Lake City 88-47 on Valentine’s Day.
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Is there hope for the future? Ernie Kent is an experienced coach who is known for his excellent work with the Oregon Ducks. He has the experience and the intelligence to work with what he has to turn the program around. Next season, Cougars’ most important players will be returning, including Ike Iroegbu, Que Johnson, and Josh Hawkinson. They’ve been without center Valentine Izundu for most of the season because of his foot injury. He could return next year and add some size and rim-guarding ability to a team that can’t defend or score with consistency this year.
Next: The Sad State of Cougars Basketball
It’s been rough for Ernie Kent and the Cougars, but with a fresh batch of recruits to fit in Kent’s system, there is hope that this team could come back next year and at least be a contender in the Pac-12. First we have to sit through the rest of this season, though. The Cougars will play Oregon in Eugene on February 24th next.