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Pac-12 Tournament: Cougars go Quietly

By Ben Renner

March 9, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Washington State Cougars forward Josh Hawkinson (24) shoots the basketball against Colorado Buffaloes guard Dominique Collier (15) during the second half of the Pac-12 Conference tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Buffaloes defeated the Cougars 80-56. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
March 9, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Washington State Cougars forward Josh Hawkinson (24) shoots the basketball against Colorado Buffaloes guard Dominique Collier (15) during the second half of the Pac-12 Conference tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Buffaloes defeated the Cougars 80-56. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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In the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament, the last-place Cougars lost, as expected, to Colorado yesterday.

The Pac-12 Tournament is under way, and before we get to the more exciting games, like the one going on right now between Washington and Oregon (follow @EmeraldCitySwag on Twitter for up-to-date info on that one), we have to talk about the Cougars.

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Washington State ended their season with another blowout loss. This time, they fell 80-56 to Colorado in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament. They weren’t expected to go far or make much noise, but even after a horrendously disappointing season for the Cougars, this last one was still very disappointing. The Cougars played Colorado tough during their last meeting, falling 88-81 in double overtime in Boulder. George King sank a three pointer at the buzzer to force the first overtime period in that game.

King poured in 21 points for the Buffaloes this time around, taking advantage of the Cougars’ focus on stopping Josh Scott. Washington State coach Ernie Kent must have thought his sorry team would have a chance if they could shut down King, because he threw a constant barrage of double teams at him. Colorado kept their spacing, however, and distributed the ball well against the Cougars’ defense.

Colorado recovered against the Cougars following their season-ending debacle against Utah in which they squandered a 14-point lead. Their NCAA Tournament case is strong heading into the next round of the Pac-12 Tournament.

I haven’t seen much ire from Cougars fans so far after their terrible season under Ernie Kent. If there is pressure to replace him it hasn’t caused much rumblings as of yet. Kent just finished only his second season as Washington State’s coach, so firing him now would be a terrible mistake and a step backward in my opinion. Let’s see how he rebuilds and reloads for next year before we cast judgement.

Next: Seahawks Free Agent Target: Donald Penn

Colorado plays Arizona today after the Washington game in the Pac-12 Tournament.

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