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FROM CORVALLIS -- It was a long day of travel on Wednesday, but we're safely in Corvallis and have our usual morning post for you. Read on.

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First, we'll link our advance for today's game, which focuses on Brock Motum and his increased playing time during conference play. We also have this fact box. ... Also, make sure to check out a partial transcript of our conversation with Mike Breske last week. ... Last we asked at WSU whether linebacker Louis Bland was still on the roster, the answer was yes. But freelancer Howie Stalwick conducted a long interview with Mike Leach recently in which Leach told him that Bland, after sitting out the last two seasons with knee injuries, has decided to give up football. It's not a surprising revelation, but further confirms that WSU will have plenty to sort out at the inside linebacker position come spring. On that front, I spoke with outside linebackers coach Paul Volero yesterday. He said that while it's too early to know who might fit where in the linebacking corps in terms of inside vs. outside, incoming freshman Jacob Tuivaiave -- listed as a linebacker when he signed -- is being projected as a defensive end.

As for today's basketball games ...

Washington State at Oregon State, 7 p.m.: It's a showdown between conference Player of the Year candidates, though Jared Cunningham says the NBA is a "longshot" at this point. Also, according to the Pac-12's official website, you can stream the game tonight at OSUBeavers.com. Someone want to chime in on the comments section to let us know if it works once the game starts?

Utah at Arizona State, 5 p.m. (FOXSportsArizona.com): The Utes are led by a banged-up guard, while the Sun Devils are regaining a a guard of their own.

Colorado at Arizona, 6 p.m. (ESPN): The similarities between these teams aren't hard to spot. Is Colorado ready for prime time? They better be, with ESPN in Tucson for this one.

California at USC, 7:30 p.m.: The Bears' quest for a title runs through Los Angeles. USC's Byron Wesley is making the most of a (disparaging adjective here) season for the Trojans.

Stanford at UCLA, 8 p.m. (Prime Ticket): Some difficult math for the Bruins to swallow. Jon Wilner has a take on the Cardinal's struggles in February.

Washington at Oregon, 8 p.m. (FSN): The Huskies are playing on Terrence Time -- as in Terrence Ross -- part of a young UW duo likely to play in the pros. The Ducks are done with stupid catch-phrases. (Also, Washington's new assistant football coaches spoke for the first time yesterday.)

All for now. We'll be back at some point before tonight's game.

Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple