WSU Men's Basketball | Marquee matchup for Cougars

LOS ANGELES — The Washington State Cougars can still poke fun at themselves, even if everyone else learned long ago to take them seriously.

Told there were 50 or so UCLA students already camping out near the steps outside of Pauley Pavilion in anticipation of today's 11:30 a.m. tipoff, coach Tony Bennett asked in mock astonishment, "For Washington State?"

And likely for the first time in the history of this series here, which has tilted UCLA's way more heavily than William Perry on a teeter-totter with Paris Hilton.

UCLA has won 41 of 42 games played between the teams at Pauley, WSU winning only in 2004 against a Bruins team that finished 11-17.

Never before, however, have the Cougars come here rated this high — No. 4 in this week's polls to UCLA's No. 5.

"That doesn't mean anything," said WSU guard Derrick Low. "I still feel we are the underdogs."

But any lingering doubt whether the Cougars really deserve their lofty status — their 14-0 record includes only one win against a ranked team, then-No. 17 Gonzaga on Dec. 5 — can be erased in a game that may be the marquee matchup of the weekend.

USA Today featured the Cougars on the front page of its sports section this week, and several other national media outlets will be on hand to take in what is an early showdown for supremacy in the Pac-10. UCLA (15-1 overall) is 3-0 in conference play, while WSU is 2-0. The only other undefeated Pac-10 team is surprising Arizona State (3-0).

Not that Bennett really wants his players worrying about all of that.

"You have to be realistic that this is a game of great significance for our program," he said Friday afternoon. "But it's the third game of the Pac-10 season. You have to kind of put it all in the hopper and funnel it out and then dwell on the substantive things that will help us pull it out."

Scouting the Bruins wouldn't seem especially hard, however, as the two teams appear mirror images in many ways.

Each is built around defense and taking care of the ball. They rank 1-2 in the Pac-10 in scoring defense (WSU allowing 50.4 points per game, UCLA 54.9) and are first and third in turnover margin (Cougars at plus-3.29, Bruins plus-2.31).

Bennett noted that his father, Dick, and UCLA coach Ben Howland both entered the conference before the 2003-04 season, "and those two guys brought a defensive toughness and a half-court system that I think other coaches have followed," he said.

"We [each] try not to beat ourselves and be good in the half-court defense. They apply pressure a little more and extend defensively."

Said Cougars forward Robbie Cowgill: "They play defense the way we do with the energy we do, but with better athletes."

Some of those athletes may be less than 100 percent, however. Point guard Darren Collison suffered a bruised hip while bumping into Washington guard Ryan Appleby during the Bruins' 69-55 win over the Huskies. Forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute suffered a right knee bruise. Both are listed as probable.

Bennett, meanwhile, worries how his players will respond to the quick turnaround from Thursday's win at USC. Five WSU players were on the floor for 30 minutes or more in that game, including 39 for Derrick Low and 38 for Kyle Weaver. The Cougars did little running in Friday's practice as a result.

"Hopefully, adrenaline will help," Bennett said.

The Bruins will have their share, as well, with Howland doing little to diminish the hype.

"They're a Final Four-potential team," he said Friday of the Cougars. "It's definitely a big game."

Few may feel that more keenly than WSU's seniors. Cowgill, Low and Weaver have yet to beat UCLA in six tries, having been particularly vexed at Pauley — WSU lost here by three points last season, by two points in 2006 and in double overtime in 2005.

"The onus is really going to be on us calming down and getting into our game as quickly as possible in a game that is as hyped up as this is," Cowgill said. "It's really going to be if we can relax and execute and not play too tight, and at the same time understand that this is a very important game."

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com