Complete Release in PDF Format 
March 14, 2008
COUGARS FACE CARDINAL IN SEMIFINALS: Twenty-first ranked Washington State University men's basketball (24-7) continues its run in the 2008 Pacific Life Pacific-10 Conference Tournament as it takes on No. 11 Stanford (25-6), Friday, March 14 at 8:30 p.m. at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The third-seeded Cougars and second-seeded Cardinal will meet for the third time this season live on FSN.
THE SERIES WITH STANFORD
• The Cardinal leads the all-time series 65-55 including 3-1 at neutral sites.
• WSU and Stanford have met twice in the Pac-10 Tournament with the Cardinal holding a 2-0 lead. The two met in both 2004 (Stanford 68, WSU 47) and 2005 (Stanford 60, WSU 58).
• Stanford has won six of the last seven meetings, including the regular-season sweep this year.
• The Cougars have led the Cardinal at halftime in the last five games. WSU is 1-4 in those games.
• The first meeting went into overtime, marking the second-straight season that the two teams have gone into an extra period.
• Derrick Low is averaging 16 points per game in the two meetings this season. Kyle Weaver is adding 13.5 points per game, including 17-for-21 from the free throw line.
BENNETT GETS 50TH CAREER WIN
• WSU'S 75-70 victory over Oregon Thursday gave second-year head coach Tony Bennett the 50th win of his career. He is 50-15 (.769) as head coach at WSU.
• He is tied for 10th in NCAA history for wins by a coach in his first two seasons.
• With a win Friday, Bennett could move into a tie for eighth place in the category.
• Below is a look at the 10-best coaching starts in NCAA history through two seasons.
Coach, Team Seasons W L Pct.
Bill Guthridge, North Carolina 1998-99 58 14 .806
Everett Case, North Carolina St 1947-48 55 8 .873
Todd Lickliter, Butler. .2002-03 53 12 .815
Ben Carnevale, North Carolina 1945-46 52 11 .825
Mark Fox, Nevada 2005-06 52 13 .800
Mark Few, Gonzaga 2000-01 52 16 .765
Don Monson, Gonzaga 1998-99 52 17 .754
Bill Carmody, Princeton 1997-98 51 6 .895
Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh 2004-05 51 14 .785
Gary Cunningham, UCLA. 1978-79 50 8 .862
Kermit Davis Jr., Idaho 1989-90 50 12 .806
Nolan Richardson, Tulsa 1981-82 50 13 .794
Thad Matta, Butler & Xavier 2001-02 50 14 .781
Tevester Anderson, Murray St 1999-2000 50 15 .769
Tony Bennett, WSU 2007-08 50 15 .769
John Phillips, Tulsa 2002-03 50 17 .746
Stan Watts, BYU 1950-51 50 21 .704
COUGARS IN THE PAC-10 TOURNEY
• WSU is now 4-8 all-time in the Pacific-10 Tournament.
• The Cougars have never gotten past the semifinal round. Last season they won their first game to Washington, then fell to USC.
• Against the Cardinal, the Cougars are 0-2 in the tournament with losses in both 2004 and 2005.
ON THE VERGE OF BACK-TO-BACK 25-WIN SEASONS
• The Cougars are just one win away from their 25th win of the season. Last year's team finished 26-8.
• WSU has never had back-to-back 25-win seasons. Its back-to-back 20-win seasons is the first time since 1940-41 and 1941-42.
• WSU's 50 wins in two years is the school record for most wins in a two-year span. The previous record was 49 wins last done in 1939-40 and 1940-41.
IN THE SEASON RECORD BOOKS
• Several Cougars are nearing the top in the WSU season record books:
Derrick Low 3-pt Field Goals 81-T-3rd 2nd-83
Taylor Rochestie Assists 141-5th 4th-145
Kyle Weaver Assists 138-6th 5th-141
Kyle Weaver Steals 52-NR T-9th-55
IN THE CAREER RECORD BOOKS
• Several Cougars are nearing the top in the WSU career record books:
Kyle Weaver Assists 452-3rd 2nd-256
Robbie Cowgill Blocks 117-4th 5th-118
Kyle Weaver Blocks 88-9th 8th-89
Derrick Low 3-pt Field Goals 209-4th 3rd-230
(For more information on the career record standings, see Thursday's WSU game notes.)
ROAD WARRIORS
• WSU is 15-3 in games played outside Pullman, tied with North Carolina, Butler and Robert Morris for the most road/neutral-site wins in the nation this season.
• WSU went 10-3 on the road, marking the first time since the mid 40's that the Cougars have had 10 or more road victories.
AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
• The Cougars are 2-4 against top-25 opponents this season.
• They are 1-4 against top-25 Pac-10 opponents this season.
• WSU is 2-13 against ranked opponents at neutral sites.
• The Cougars are 3-20 all-time against ranked Cardinal teams.
• Stanford comes in the game ranked 11th in the nation, WSU is 5-5 all-time against the 11th-ranked team.
• At 5-5, the Cougars hold their best record against the 11th ranked team than any other top-25 ranking.
