Really? Not expected 2 years ago?

I am an alum from WSU and I watched almost every home game last year and the 2 years previous.  Dick Bennett was the one who started everything.  I know his record didn't show it but we played Arizona in Dick Bennett's last season twice and we lost to them in Washington by 3 and beat them in Arizona.  We hadn't beat Arizona in Arizona for 18 years.  We started to beat Washington when they were still good and things started to come together.  I knew we were going to be good but the question was how good? I am not surprised by where we are now but a National Championship might take my breath away.

Now don't think I am taking away from what Tony Bennett has done because he is bringing in fresh talent too (which is very hard to do. you try and convince a great basketball player to come to Pullman). Tony Bennett helped us completely turn the corner. So I would agree with you, UNC it might be time to start holding your breath.

I was at that Arizona game and the officials absolutely robbed WSU of that win.  The media acts as though this PAC 10 referee crisis is something new.  The truth is they have been the worst officials in the land for years (followed closely by the B10's).  But I digress...  I got season tickets as soon as I heard that Dick Bennet took the program over.  Sitting in those seats watching the team I could feel it coming.  It was like being at a small concert at a club and realizing that the band that you're watching is going to be huge some day.  You could just see it as Low, Weaver, Cowgill, and Harmeling took over the team from Marcus Moore and Thomas Kelati that they were ready to turn the corner.  Very proud of this WSU team.

Imagine a WSU vs Wisconsin Final Four matchup.  I would love it!  I would also love all of the media bashing that would occur about the style of play.

Go Bucky!  Go Butch (the Cougar and the Polar Bear)!

If your stuck in the east coast you didn't see this coming, but anyone that knows college basketball and follows this program this started happening 5 years ago when the Bennetts come to town and evry year just a little bit better and now here we are in the Sweet Sixteen. Please Tony don't answer that phone call from IU and keep this thing rolling.

There's a big group of fans in the midwest who saw this coming. We knew that when Dick Bennett went to WSU, well, there'd be a big lurch of a transition, then lots of winning. We also knew that there would be lots of so-called experts that wouldn't ever buy into WSU, that there would be low scoring games where the nasty radio screamers would scream nastily. We have heard that Roy Williams doesn't like that kinda ball, oh yes we have. And finally, we had an inkling that Tony Bennett was going to develop into a heck of a coach.

Congratulations WSU on your sweet sixteen appearance. The fans of Wisconsin salute you. I hope you beat Mr. I-hate-defense Williams. Two notes of caution from a fan of a program that might be a few years ahead of WSU, though:

1) Enjoy the moment. Washington State will never really get the national respect they rightly deserve, even if they win three out of seven Pac ten regular seasons and UCLA becomes mediocre because of a series of coaching scandals. Winning is lots of fun, so no worries.

2) Wisconsin will eventually try to steal your coach. If he's still at WSU, that is. Bo's going strong, but he's over sixty now, and WIsconsin is homeland to the Bennett coaching clan. This might be moot because Indiana's administrators might catch some sense and offer Bennett a truckload of money to coach the Hoosiers. Of course, I wouldn't trust the Hoosier athletic department to hire a dishwasher right now, so maybe not. Anyway, when Bo Ryan retires, UW will come a-looking for Tony Bennett, and you can take that to the bank. He's looking more and more like his dad as the years pass, poor fellow.

Go Washington State!