A column by Eric Umphrey

#9 Washington (26-8) vs. #8 Utah State (28-6) in Columbus, Ohio, Fri. March 22 at 3:50 p.m. on TNT. Washington’s loss to Oregon in the PAC 12 tournament finals likely cost them a slightly higher seed in the tournament despite not having won against a top 20 team all season. Normally, the team with the best record coming out of the PAC 12 would be favored over any team out of the Mountain West Conference but the PAC 12 has been weak this year and Utah State had a top 20 win versus #12 Nevada earlier this year. In this matchup between a strong defensive team, Wash...