Tonight marks the first conference game of the season for the Washington Huskies, and what better than a home game against the cross-state rival WSU Cougars. The Cougars are a lackluster 7-6 so far this season against a very easy non-conference schedule, and haven't had any significant victories. As 11.5 point favorites coming into this game, the Huskies should be able to establish some dominance early in this one.

Washington State is lead by head coach Ernie Kent, who has yet to lead the Cougs to a winning season in his 4 year tenure. They currently shoot 47.3% from the field, 36.3% from three, and 72.7% from the free throw line; all while scoring 82.2 points per game. Pretty decent offensive numbers considering their 7 and 6 record. To put it into perspective, UW is currently shooting 44.5% from the field, 30.5% from three, and 71.7% from the free throw line. All worse than WSU. However, the Huskies only give up 66.5 points per game, while the Cougs give up 76.1 points. WSU also turns the ball over less, out rebounds, and assists more than UW. With such dominance in so many offensive categories, you would think Washington State would be able to hold their own against Washington. However, you can't forget that Washington's extremely tough non-conference, and Washington State's seemingly easy one. According to ESPN, Washington has played the 31st toughest schedule and Washington State has played the 336th toughest. UW should be well prepared.

The top players to watch for WSU are [OUT] Robert Franks, CJ Elleby, Ahmed Ali, and Carter Skaggs.

[OUT] #3 Robert Franks is a 6-7, 175lb senior out of Vancouver, WA. Franks is currently averaging 22.1 points per game on 52.4% from the field, 33.8% from three, and 72.1% from the free throw line. He also adds 7.9 rebounds and 3 assists a game. Franks is clearly the go to guy for WSU as he shoots the ball over 15 times per game, 6 of them being threes. With Robert Franks already with four 25+ point games, it will be important for the Huskies to shut him down tonight. Check out some of his highlights here.

#2 CJ Elleby is a 6-6 185lb freshman out of Seattle, WA. He averages 15.6 points per game on 48.1% shooting, 37.5% from three, and 65.6% from the free throw line. Elleby has a smooth left handed stroke and can battle for rebounds, averaging 7.5 per game. CJ's stats are impressive for a freshman, but the Dawgs should be able to handle him. Here's some highlights from his high school senior season.

#23 Ahmed Ali is a 5-11 165lb junior out of Toronto. He's tied for third on the team in scoring at 8.9 points per game, but only shoots 40.7% from the field and a decent 36.3% from three. He shoots the third most on the team and is second on the team in assists at 3.3 per game. Ali is a quick guard, and his highlights show that he can pull up and drain jumpers. Check them out here.

#35 Carter Skaggs is a 6-5 215lb junior out of Indiana. Skaggs averages 8.9 points per game on 41.2% shooting. Most of his points and shots come from the three point line. He shoots 5.8 threes out of his 6.5 shots per game. Skaggs doesn't do much else besides hoist threes, but he has been known to go on hot streaks from time to time. He shouldn't be a huge problem for the Huskies, unless he gets on fire. Some highlights here.

It will all come down to defense in this game tonight. The Huskies haven't shown to be a very good offensive team so far this year, but there defense is what keeps them in games, and ultimately puts them in the position to win. They currently force teams to turn the ball over 14.5 times per game, steal the ball 8 times per game, and swat 6.3 shots per game. Compare that to WSU's 13.4 forced turnovers, 5 steals, and 3 blocks per game. UW's defense should be able to disrupt WSU throughout the entirety of this game, and hopefully allow the Dawgs to get some easy transition buckets.

I expect Coach Hop and the Huskies to cover the 11.5 point spread against Ernie Kent and the Cougars.

Go Dawgs!