If WSU wants to play in its third consecutive NCAA Tournament, the only likely scenario would be to win the Pac-10 Tournament.

To do that, the Cougars would have to win four games in four nights – beginning tonight against Oregon about 8:30 p.m.

To Head Coach Tony Bennett, winning four games in four nights is fine.

“I’d love to deal with that, I’ll be honest with you,” he said. “It certainly can be done. The mind and the body can do a lot more than people think.” WSU begins the Pac-10 Tournament as the conference’s seventh seed, meaning if it beats Oregon tonight, it will play UCLA on Thursday night.

That seems like a daunting task for WSU, but the the Pac-10 has been more competitive in past years. WSU beat UCLA in Los Angeles on Feb. 21, and swept the third-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils during the regular season.

“This is a very good league with very many capable teams,” Bennett said.

But looking down the tournament bracket won’t do the Cougars any good right now. The Oregon Ducks are first on the menu, and WSU will face a team that has steadily improved as the season wore on.

“We don’t overlook anybody or take anybody lightly,” senior Taylor Rochestie said. “We still have it in us, and we know what it’s like to be overlooked. It is hard to beat any team three times, let alone play anybody three times. (Oregon) will come out ready to go because it could be a win or go home for them, or it could be a win or go home for us.” Oregon lost its first 14 Pac-10 games of the season before it beat Stanford on Feb. 21. The Ducks got a second conference win against rival Oregon State a week later.

The Ducks’ competitive play of late caught the eye of Bennett and his coaching staff.

“Oregon’s playing better basketball,” Bennett said. “They were battling UCLA for a while. They’re explosive, their slate’s wiped clean, as is ours, and they have an explosive scorer in (Tajuan) Porter, (Joevan) Catron, and then their freshmen are getting better.” WSU guards will have their hands full with Porter, Oregon’s 5-foot-6 junior guard. Porter averages 15.2 points a game and shoots 37.5 percent from behind the arc.

Guarding Porter for much of the game will be Rochestie, who will also give his opponents plenty to handle. To stop or at least contain Porter, Rochestie said he’ll have to stay in motion all game.

“Just keep your legs moving,” he said. “The second you rest or take your eye off the ball or take your eye off him, he’s so quick that he’ll reload, do something different and get himself a shot.” WSU’s offense will also have to find the scoring spark. Against UW on March 7, WSU had freshman Klay Thompson on the bench for large amounts of time due to foul trouble. The reserves had a hard time finding an offensive rhythm against the Huskies.

“When we didn’t have Klay on the floor, (Washington) really sat on Baynes’ lap, and they made it tough,” Bennett said.

Bennett knows keeping Thompson on the floor is important for his team’s success. In Pac-10 games this season, WSU is 0-5 when Thompson scores less than 10 points.

“(Thompson’s) a scorer and he’s capable of getting it going quick,” Bennett said.

WSU and Oregon play in the second game of the two opening round games tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Oregon State and Stanford tip-off at 6 p.m., with WSU and Oregon starting a half hour after the first game ends.