It's the glamour matchup of the week in college basketball, as fourth-ranked and undefeated Washington State (14-0, 2-0), popping with confidence, steps into Pauley Pavilion to meet fifth-ranked UCLA (15-1, 3-0).
That the game is at 11:30 a.m. and will be televised by FSN Prime Ticket and not one of those other networks where the rest of the country might feel the buzz does not mean today's result won't give a good indication of who probably will win the Pacific 10 Conference and even get a No. 1 seeding in the NCAA tournament's West Region.
And there was Bruins Coach Ben Howland speaking Friday in a monotone, wearily deflecting questions about which of his players will be available for the game.
Swingman Michael Roll is out indefinitely because of a foot injury. Point guard Darren Collison bruised his left hip and forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute bruised his right knee in Thursday's 69-55 win over Washington, leaving Howland's substitution patterns in tatters.
Collison and Mbah a Moute participated in Friday's light practice and are listed as probable starters.
Howland said he watched the tape of the moment Collison said he got hurt. It came early in the second half when Collison and Washington guard Ryan Appleby touched hips while going for the ball.
"If you just looked at it, it looked very benign," Howland said. "If you look at that moment, you'd think nothing happened. Appleby must have hit him in the right spot."
On Thursday night, after he hobbled out of the locker room, Collison said he was frustrated.
"This team's got a bright future ahead and all I can do is keep my head up and stay positive," he said. "I'm going through a lot of adversity right now and it's really going to challenge me to see how I progress and mature through these situations."
Both Howland and assistant coach Donny Daniels went to the end of the bench where Collison stayed after hurting himself to see if their point guard could return to the Washington game.
The answer was no.
"I tried to go and if I have a slight advantage by playing and if I can play I'm going to try," Collison said. "But I couldn't."
With or without Collison, Howland said dealing with the Cougars, their experienced perimeter players and the massive inside presence of 6-foot-10, 270-pound center Aron Baynes will be a severe test. Howland noted that Derrick Low, Kyle Weaver and Taylor Rochestie can all run Coach Tony Bennett's well-choreographed offense.
