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The Cougars are ranked No. 6 in the nation.

By University Communications
January 23, 2008

Arizona (12-6, 2-3 Pac-10) returns home to face No. 6 Washington State (16-1, 4-1 Pac-10) Thursday at McKale Memorial Center. It’s the Wildcats’ first home game in 19 days.

Last time out, Arizona managed to maintain its composure and capitalized on opportunities late in the contest to pick up a much-needed victory with a 79-75 win Saturday at California

Trailing by six points with 6:21 remaining, Arizona went on a 21-11 run to close the game, forcing five California turnovers and connecting on 13-of-15 free throws of its own during the run. For the game, Arizona held an 18-4 advantage in points off turnovers. Jerryd Bayless and Chase Budinger each scored more than 20 points and Nic Wise scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half.

The Cougars enter play Thursday with a 16-1 record (4-1 Pac-10) following Sunday’s 69-60 win over Oregon. Through 17 games, WSU averages 69.2 points per game, shoots 50.1 percent (412-of-822), and posts a +2.8 rebound margin per game. Opponents shoot 39.8 percent from the floor and are outscored by an average of 16.6 points per game.

The game is the 62nd meeting of the two schools, with Arizona holding a 48-13 series advantage. Arizona has won 41 of the last 44 meetings in the series, which dates back to Dec. 22, 1959, but the Cougars claimed the last one, 72-66 on Feb. 1, in Tucson. Overall, Arizona is 23-7 in series games played in Tucson, 20-6 in Pullman, Wash., and 5-0 in neutral-site games.

On the season, Arizona is 1-2 against ranked teams; that lone win came at home against No. 9 Texas A&M (78-67 on Dec. 2). Overall, Arizona is 48-36 (.571) against ranked teams at home.

The Wildcats close this two-game homestand Saturday against Washington. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 1 p.m. MST and can be seen nationally on Fox Sports Net.