With tonight's dominating win over Arizona, the Washington State Cougars have now beat two respecable teams in consecutive games.  Sitting at 15-13, they've clinched a .500 season, with two games remaining.

All of a sudden, people are wondering: can they still make the tourney?

It's not as crazy as it mgiht sound.  Here's why:

 

1. The Pac 10 is competitive.  If they can win their final two, they'd finish the regular season at 17-13, a respectable record that could put them in the top 5 in the Pac 10.  
2. Both remaining games are against ranked opponents.  If the Cougs could win out, with wins over UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, and Washington, the Cougs would have an impressive end-of-season run to bolster their tournament credentials.
3. They have a chance for a sweep against ASU.  If the Cougs are able to win on Saturday, they will have swept the Sun Devils, who are the highest ranked team in the Pac-10.  A sweep agasint the sparks would make an otherwise unimpressive resume a little more glossy.
4. They're peaking at the right time.  It's an old cliche, but holds true year after year: teams that finish the season strong, tend do well in the NCAA Tournament.  The NCAA Selection Comittee knows this, and tends to give favor to hot teams when evalating teams on the bubble.
5. The Pac 10 Tourney is coming up.  If the Cougs continue their hot streak and have a strong showing in the Pac-10 tournament, they might not have to win the tournament in order to secure a bid.  
6.  Klay Thompson and Tyler Rochestie.  The selection comittee loves marquee players to showcase.  While neither Thompson or Rochestie have the TV ratings appeal of some team stars, there's no denying the Cougs would be an interesting team to watch in the tournament, between the hot-shooting freshman, son of a former NBA star, and the gritty senior who sacreficed his scholarship so that Marcus Capers could join him at WSU.
7. Tony Bennett.  Like it or not, Tony is still a darling in the NCAA coaching community, and the tournament would love to have his boyish good looks and growing resume to promote an otherwise dull first-round matchup.

 

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