Cougars prepare for Arizona schools

Does losing by two points each to No. 17 UCLA and Southern Cal help or hurt the confidence of the young Washington State basketball team?

Both, coach Tony Bennett said this week as the Cougars (11-8, 3-4 Pac-10) prepared to travel to No. 14 Arizona State on Thursday and Arizona on Saturday.

Last week, the Cougs lost twice at home, 61-59 to UCLA and 46-44 to Southern Cal.

"I thought we played pretty darn well" against UCLA, Bennett said.

Against Southern Cal, the Cougars led most of the way before some late turnovers cost them the game.

"Against USC we had one of our best defensive performances all year," Bennett said.

The problem was they made just 14-of-51 shots. Still, they managed to remain in the game.

With the Cougars heavily dependent on three freshmen - Klay Thompson, DeAngelo Casto and Marcus Capers - to support starting seniors Taylor Rochestie and Aron Baynes, there is a concern about player confidence as losses pile up.

"Doubt will creep in," Bennett allowed. "But we were in those games, so let's keep going.

"We have to bounce back and keep scrapping."

This was expected to be a rebuilding year as the Cougars lost the bulk of a team that posted back-to-back 26-win seasons. So close losses are no surprise.

But it has not escaped notice that a bit more offensive production might have converted the last two losses into wins.

Bennett is puzzled why the Cougars are shooting so poorly.

"I'm open if you've got any suggestions," he said.

The team is mostly taking good, open shots, but they are not falling, Bennett said.

"We're not going to make a major overhaul," he said. "A lot of it is mental."

The Cougars continue to have the nation's stingiest defense, allowing just 52 points per game.

That will be tested by Arizona State's James Harden, who leads the league in scoring at 22 points per game.

"When his jumper is falling, it's a nightmare," Bennett said.

But the Cougars are also a nightmare for opposing scorers. In their 19 games, they have held the leading scorer on the other team below his scoring average 14 times. Eight of those times the top scorer was held to single digits.

And while Washington State is having trouble scoring from the field, the Cougars are lethal at the free-throw line. They have made 49 of their past 50 free throws.

The Cougars are 42-206 all-time against Top 25 teams, 18-155 against teams ranked in the top 15.