There are plenty of stories players and coaches can tell about the Palouse. Or, at least, the trip through it.
The drive from Spokane into Pullman, Washington can be scenic. Depending on the time of the year, it can be a frozen tundra. Add in some mountains and the speed traps in Colfax and Steptoe, and it's a nerve-rattling trip through unfamiliar territory.
Basketball aside, the Washington road trip ? against the Washington Huskies and Washington State Cougars ? is widely considered one of the toughest in the conference. Always has been. This year, both schools are struggling ? Washington is 14-9 (3-8 Pac-12), Washington State is 10-13 (4-7) ? but Arizona isn?t looking past them.
?It?s particularly tough for Arizona,? UA coach Sean Miller said, ?because it?s an incredible distance that we cover.?
Consider: The Wildcats flew four hours from Tucson to Seattle, where they will take on Washington tonight. They'll then fly to Spokane and bus to Pullman, more than 280 miles away from Seattle, for Sunday's game against Wazzu.
That's where things get tricky: The Cougars are 21-13 since 2007 when playing the second game of a Pac-12 weekend homestand. That includes Tony Bennett?s three-year WSU tenure, Ken Bone?s five years and the first two such games of Ernie Kent?s time in Pullman. Add in Dick Bennett, Tony?s father, for three years and that record goes to 27-19.
Wazzu is rarely routed on the back end. Five of those 19 losses have come in overtime, and 16 have come by seven points or less. Factor in how bad the Cougars have been in recent years ? they have five losing seasons since 2003-04, with just two NCAA tournament appearances ? and that means something.
When Washington is on the tail end of that trip ? as it will be for Arizona State this weekend ? the Huskies are 38-11 since 2003, Lorenzo Romar?s first season as coach.
So, why is the Washington-Washington State road trip so tough? Here are three reasons:
The travel
It?s not as bad as it used to be ? thanks to TV money, since 2012-13 most of the Pac-12 takes charter flights to the next stop after Game 1. But it?s still not an easy trip, particularly with the quick turnaround.
Arizona will charter immediately to Spokane after the UW game, spend two nights there and make the 90-minute drive to Pullman on Sunday morning. The Wildcats used to stay in Pullman or Moscow, Idaho ? just 15 minutes down the road from Pullman ? but stopped after losing in Miller's first year.
ASU will take a commercial flight to Spokane, bus to Pullman, then charter to Seattle after Friday?s game against the Cougars. This is the first time ASU has done that because of the late Thursday (9 p.m.), early Sunday (3:30 p.m.) tip-offs.
How bad did it used to be? In January 2001, after playing in Seattle on Thursday night, the Sun Devils had a noon flight to Spokane. It was delayed a few times, then cancelled, so they had to catch another flight and didn?t arrive at the hotel until 1:45 a.m. due to snow. The next day, they tipped off at 3 p.m. and, not surprisingly, lost 81-60.
?Most trips, you can just bus right over after the game,? Washington State forward Josh Hawkinson said. ?I think that might be a little bit of an advantage ? maybe teams are a little more tired because of the extra travel it takes to fly over to Pullman after you?re done with the Seattle game, so that might work out to our favor.?
The crowds
Fans at Washington and Washington State can be hostile, especially when the teams are playing well.
Washington?s crowd ? their student section is called the Dawg Pack ? once frustrated Dick Bennett so much that he flipped off the crowd.
?Washington has always been a tough place to play,? said Oregon coach Dana Altman, who is 4-6 all-time on the trip.
UW's home floor, Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, seats 10,000 people; it?s typically about 70 to 80 percent full, depending on the opponent.
Washington State plays at Beasley Coliseum, which holds more than 11,000. Sell-outs have been few and far between in recent years, but Hawkinson said it?s getting better with the addition of Kent as head coach.
?I feel like we have a lot more fans,? Hawkinson said. ?And the ZzuCru, our student section, has been a huge support system for us, cheering us on and they?re always sticking with us even with our losses. That?s been big for us, them being loud and cheering us on.?
The talent
Since Romar was hired, Washington has won 20 games six times, made six NCAA Tournaments ? including three Sweet 16s ?won three Pac-12 titles. The former UCLA assistant has coached 10 NBA Draft picks.
?He?s one of the great people and coaches in our business,? Miller said.
The Cougars made two NCAA tournaments and one Sweet 16 under Tony Bennett. They?ve only had three NBA players in the same span, although one of them is Klay Thompson, an NBA All-Star.
Arizona is 58-16 all-time against Washington State, but nine of those losses have come in Pullman. They?re 47-28 against the Huskies, with 17 losses coming in Seattle.
Miller is a .500 coach (4-4) when traveling to the Washington schools. His teams are 3-1 against Wazzu in Pullman and just 1-3 against Washington in Seattle.
?Anytime you go and play at Washington, it's going to be a big crowd,? UA point guard T.J. McConnell said. "And they?re going to be ready for us.?
The drive from Spokane into Pullman, Washington can be scenic. Depending on the time of the year, it can be a frozen tundra. Add in some mountains and the speed traps in Colfax and Steptoe, and it's a nerve-rattling trip through unfamiliar territory.
Basketball aside, the Washington road trip ? against the Washington Huskies and Washington State Cougars ? is widely considered one of the toughest in the conference. Always has been. This year, both schools are struggling ? Washington is 14-9 (3-8 Pac-12), Washington State is 10-13 (4-7) ? but Arizona isn?t looking past them.
?It?s particularly tough for Arizona,? UA coach Sean Miller said, ?because it?s an incredible distance that we cover.?
Consider: The Wildcats flew four hours from Tucson to Seattle, where they will take on Washington tonight. They'll then fly to Spokane and bus to Pullman, more than 280 miles away from Seattle, for Sunday's game against Wazzu.
That's where things get tricky: The Cougars are 21-13 since 2007 when playing the second game of a Pac-12 weekend homestand. That includes Tony Bennett?s three-year WSU tenure, Ken Bone?s five years and the first two such games of Ernie Kent?s time in Pullman. Add in Dick Bennett, Tony?s father, for three years and that record goes to 27-19.
Wazzu is rarely routed on the back end. Five of those 19 losses have come in overtime, and 16 have come by seven points or less. Factor in how bad the Cougars have been in recent years ? they have five losing seasons since 2003-04, with just two NCAA tournament appearances ? and that means something.
When Washington is on the tail end of that trip ? as it will be for Arizona State this weekend ? the Huskies are 38-11 since 2003, Lorenzo Romar?s first season as coach.
So, why is the Washington-Washington State road trip so tough? Here are three reasons:
The travel
It?s not as bad as it used to be ? thanks to TV money, since 2012-13 most of the Pac-12 takes charter flights to the next stop after Game 1. But it?s still not an easy trip, particularly with the quick turnaround.
Arizona will charter immediately to Spokane after the UW game, spend two nights there and make the 90-minute drive to Pullman on Sunday morning. The Wildcats used to stay in Pullman or Moscow, Idaho ? just 15 minutes down the road from Pullman ? but stopped after losing in Miller's first year.
ASU will take a commercial flight to Spokane, bus to Pullman, then charter to Seattle after Friday?s game against the Cougars. This is the first time ASU has done that because of the late Thursday (9 p.m.), early Sunday (3:30 p.m.) tip-offs.
How bad did it used to be? In January 2001, after playing in Seattle on Thursday night, the Sun Devils had a noon flight to Spokane. It was delayed a few times, then cancelled, so they had to catch another flight and didn?t arrive at the hotel until 1:45 a.m. due to snow. The next day, they tipped off at 3 p.m. and, not surprisingly, lost 81-60.
?Most trips, you can just bus right over after the game,? Washington State forward Josh Hawkinson said. ?I think that might be a little bit of an advantage ? maybe teams are a little more tired because of the extra travel it takes to fly over to Pullman after you?re done with the Seattle game, so that might work out to our favor.?
The crowds
Fans at Washington and Washington State can be hostile, especially when the teams are playing well.
Washington?s crowd ? their student section is called the Dawg Pack ? once frustrated Dick Bennett so much that he flipped off the crowd.
?Washington has always been a tough place to play,? said Oregon coach Dana Altman, who is 4-6 all-time on the trip.
UW's home floor, Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, seats 10,000 people; it?s typically about 70 to 80 percent full, depending on the opponent.
Washington State plays at Beasley Coliseum, which holds more than 11,000. Sell-outs have been few and far between in recent years, but Hawkinson said it?s getting better with the addition of Kent as head coach.
?I feel like we have a lot more fans,? Hawkinson said. ?And the ZzuCru, our student section, has been a huge support system for us, cheering us on and they?re always sticking with us even with our losses. That?s been big for us, them being loud and cheering us on.?
The talent
Since Romar was hired, Washington has won 20 games six times, made six NCAA Tournaments ? including three Sweet 16s ?won three Pac-12 titles. The former UCLA assistant has coached 10 NBA Draft picks.
?He?s one of the great people and coaches in our business,? Miller said.
The Cougars made two NCAA tournaments and one Sweet 16 under Tony Bennett. They?ve only had three NBA players in the same span, although one of them is Klay Thompson, an NBA All-Star.
Arizona is 58-16 all-time against Washington State, but nine of those losses have come in Pullman. They?re 47-28 against the Huskies, with 17 losses coming in Seattle.
Miller is a .500 coach (4-4) when traveling to the Washington schools. His teams are 3-1 against Wazzu in Pullman and just 1-3 against Washington in Seattle.
?Anytime you go and play at Washington, it's going to be a big crowd,? UA point guard T.J. McConnell said. "And they?re going to be ready for us.?
