The Pac-10 Tournament opens on Wednesday night in Los Angeles with one game, Washington State vs. Oregon, and it’s quite likely to be the last game for Ducks coach Ernie Kent.
Kent reportedly has told his players he won’t be back next season. The Ducks are 15-15 in Kent’s 13th season at the helm. Kent, 55, has led the Ducks to a school-best 234-172 record, and he is the longest tenured Pac-10 coach. He has taken Oregon to the NCAA tournament five times, but the team has finished in 10th and ninth place, respectively, over the last two seasons.
Washington State had an even more disappointing season, finishing last in the Pac-10 during the regular season. It became the first conference team to finish last despite at least six league wins, and their 16 overall wins are the most ever by a last-place team.
The Cougars closed with six losses in seven games, including a 74-66 loss at Oregon to closet the regular season. Lekendric Longmire had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Ducks, while Klay Thompson had a game-high 22 points for Washington State. Wazzu is technically the No. 9 seed for the Pac-10 Tournament because Southern Cal is not participating due to self-imposed sanctions.
The Ducks have a 157-122 edge in the all-time series with WSU and swept the series this year for the first time since 2006-07. These two teams met in the opening round of last year’s tournament, with the Cougars winning 62-40. WSU has lost its last six road games but is 3-0 in neutral-site games this year.
Thompson leads WSU and ranks third in the conference with 19.6 points per game. He has scored double figures in 24 of the Cougs’ 30 games this season and reached 20-plus points in 16 of the 30 contests.
The winner of this game faces Pac-10 regular-season champion Cal on Thursday. WSU holds a 3-1 advantage against Oregon in the Pac-10 Tournament and has ousted Oregon from the event the past two years.
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