Wow. The Cougs Actually Have a Shot at Making the Tourney...

I hate talking about anything Cougar-related, but I felt that this post had to be written.

Well, they do have a shot, pending an upset this Saturday and a serious run in the Pac-10 tournament.

Let me explain why an at-large bid will be hard to obtain at this point in the season. The Cougs have ripped off three impressive wins in a row, at UCLA, and home games against Arizona and Arizona St. However these three games and an additional road win against the Sun Devils are there only "quality" wins.

Theoretically, let's say the Cougars upset the Huskies this Saturday (not going to happen), but if it does, then that would make four quality wins. Still not enough. According to Btn Sports, WSU's rpi is at 89. This is a terrible RPI.

However, there is one factor going in WSU's favor. Reading up on a post at CougCenter, the author makes a crucial point about the weakness of the mid-major this year:

This is something that is going to help all potential bubble teams this year. Some of the mid-major conferences that have been getting multiple bids in recent years just aren't going to get them this year. The WCC and Horizon are only getting one team in unless Gonzaga or Butler lose in their conference tournament. The Missouri Valley and MAC probably are only going to get their conference tournament champion in no matter what happens. Davidson is probably on the outside looking in if it doesn't win its tournament. You get the picture: There's an opportunity here for multiple major conference teams with middling resumes to get into the field.

Okay. If the Cougars can make it to the Pac-10 tournament finals, then they'll be legitmately be on the bubble. Reaching the Pac-10 finals isn't a stretch, this team has proven they can beat every team in the conference. But because of a weak RPI and a weak non-conference schedule, receiving an at-large bid will still be a stretch.

To say that there is a possibility that they could be on the bubble proves that this team is improving and is getting hot at the right time.

Who knows? If the mid-majors absolutely suck this year, if WSU can keep on pulling off upsets, and if WSU can reach the Pac-10 tournament finals, then WSU might sneak in with a #13-#14 seed. You never know.

Will the Cougs make the NCAA tournament?