Seattle Sportsnet

1. Control the tempo. By now, everyone knows that these two teams implement contrasting styles of play.  Washington wants to push the ball and turn this into a high-scoring affair.  Washington State, on the other hand, wants to slow the pace and turn this into a half-court game on both ends.  The Huskies will need to apply full-court man-to-man defense and force the Cougar ball-handlers to push the ball across the timeline.  Once in the halfcourt, expect the Dawgs to play a tight man-to-man defense, extending their pressure out beyond the three-point line.

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One year ago today, the Huskies were the proud owners of a 7-10 conference record (16-14 overall), and headed for a postseason berth in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational Tournament.  One year later, that same team is 13-4 in Pac-10 play (23-7 overall) and sits atop the conference with a chance to take home their first outright league title tomorrow.  Sure, we could include their last outright title — that of the 1953 Washington Huskies — but that championship was garnered in the old Pacific Coast Conference, before the Pacific 10 Conference was even conceived.  In addition, the team has all but locked up a top-five seed in the NCAA Tournament and appears destined for a strong showing in the upcoming Pac-10 Tournament in Los Angeles.

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Lisa Gangel

Seattle, home to coffee, airplanes, high-tech software, and smokin’ hot sportscasters.  Sorry, Paul Silvi, we’re not talking about you.  This is about the females who populate the local airwaves, the sultry sports goddesses of Emerald City television and radio.  They talk balls, and we’re into that.  More importantly, they give the average local fan a smidgen of a chance, a ray of hope, a glimmer of optimism when it comes to racking up the points with a semi-famous celebrity.

In evaluating the Seattle sports scene, we’ve found four reporters who are more than willing to give it up in the lane and allow you to penetrate their defense. Yeah, right, in our dreams.

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*Editor’s Note: This is our final home game of the ’08-’09 season, and likely our final edition of Dawg Pack Dirt for the year.  On a personal level, I just want to say that when I started doing the Dirt back in 2004, I never envisioned that it would become as popular as it has.  When I left the Dawg Pack in 2007, I wasn’t sure if these info sheets would keep being produced.  This year, however, Nate and Aaron have stepped up to the challenge and taken the Dirt to another level.  I challenge any school in the country to come up with a better gameday info sheet on the opponent than we do.  If you’re a Husky fan, you can thank guys like Nate and Aaron for helping bring the Dawg Pack alive each game and spreading the infectious atmosphere throughout Hec Ed.  We truly have one of the best home-court advantages in the nation, and a ton of that credit goes to these two guys for helping spark that.  Great work, guys

Aron Baynes and Taylor Rochestie

Volume 5, Issue 20, Washington State University, March 7th, 2009

By Nate Taggart and Aaron Bean

Here we go guys, one more W and we win the Pac-10 outright! Not only is this game huge because of the Pac-10 title, but it’s also against our rival, Wazzu. It’s our last home game of the year and we need to leave a lasting impression on our team that they can carry on to the Pac-10 and NCAA Tournaments. The Dawg Pack has come a very long way this season and in the words of Coach Romar, “Willed us to victory.”  So let’s end this home season right and take back our city.  We haven’t beaten the Cougs in Seattle for three consecutive years now, it’s time.  Come early, be loud, stay late, and wear purple!

Also, its senior night, so anything you want to do to show your appreciation for our three seniors, do it. Artem Wallace has been a guy who has done anything asked of him and even though his playing time has dramatically decreased this season, he still works hard. Justin Dentmon had a great freshman season, then a couple down seasons, but this season has been amazing and shows that his hard work in the off-season has paid off. And then there is Big Jon Brockman. We couldn’t have asked for a harder working big man, who just goes out there and plays like it’s his last game, every game. He will go down as one of the best to put on a Husky basketball uniform.

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