Cougs face tall order

PULLMAN – It’s not hard to find something to be concerned about if you’re a Washington State fan tonight.

While the Cougars are 19-4 and playing as well as they have in decades, tonight’s rematch against Stanford poses some obvious difficulties.

First and foremost, the Cardinal have beaten WSU already this season – something no other Cougars foe to date could say. Stanford won 71-68 in overtime against the Cougars in January, capitalizing on a last-second 3-pointer in the extra session.

“When a team beats you, you get that much hungrier the second time around to get them,” said WSU’s Daven Harmeling, the reigning Pac-10 player of the week after his team swept the Arizona schools last week. “But at the same time, they’re probably brimming with confidence since they beat us already. So I don’t know what’s more beneficial, having the confidence or the revenge factor. Stanford will be ready for us, no doubt.”

This Stanford team, as WSU coach Tony Bennett pointed out, may be better than the one his squad already lost to. Stanford’s Trent Johnson has a young roster that seems to be maturing as the season progresses. The Cardinal have won six of their last seven Pac-10 games, with a double overtime loss to Gonzaga thrown in as well.

A primary reason for the improved play is the maturation of freshmen 7-foot twins Brook and Robin Lopez, who give Stanford an unmatched presence in the low post. With their help, Stanford has become the most imposing conference team on the glass, an area where the Cougars have struggled this season.

“It’ll be a physical one. The big boys are coming in,” Bennett said. “We’re going to have to be at our best.”

“(Rebounding) is going to be an area of concern for us, and they know it,” Harmeling said. … “We need our guards to come back and rebound because the big guys are going to be tangled up with the Lopez twins. If we don’t take care of the glass, forget about it. They’ll have putbacks all night long and we won’t have a chance.”

But it wasn’t the Lopez twins doing most of the damage against WSU the first time around. That honor went to guard Anthony Goods, who torched the Cougars like almost no other player has this season, going for 30 points on a variety of shots that included the game-winner. Without stopping Goods, the Cougars could be in for another trying night.

“You have to be really mindful that he has deep, deep range,” Bennett said. “We only have one way we can defend him. Derrick had a subpar game defensively against him, but you just have to play him to the best of your abilities.”

If there is a benefit for the Cougars, it is that tonight’s game will be in front of a friendlier crowd. About 9,000 fans are expected to surround Friel Court for the 7 p.m. start, giving WSU yet another significant home-court edge.

The Cougars have lost just once on their home floor this season, although that loss came in their last outing in Pullman, an overtime loss to Oregon.

Whatever memories of that game that weren’t erased by the sweep in Arizona would surely vanish with a win over the Cardinal, and a 20th win in this season of so many records would only make things sweeter for the Cougars.

“Every game we have left on our schedule,” Bennett said, “is a significant game.”