Back to square one: Disappointment

Washington came into last night's game needing to make believers of a skeptical college basketball community. Instead, the Huskies [HTML_REMOVED] with everything to play for [HTML_REMOVED] were outclassed and outperformed in every facet of the game by an Oregon State team playing for nothing but pride.

You might as well start making some exciting plans for spring break because the team I saw last night doesn't deserve to be anywhere near the NCAA Tournament.

Sure the Dawgs have underachieved on the road, but this effort [HTML_REMOVED] or lack thereof [HTML_REMOVED] was beyond description.

Washington's performance was just as ugly as OSU's ungodly orange-and-black color combination. Even this colorblind fool knows that a school's eternal commitment to Halloween is more trick than treat.

Not even a surprise B-Roy appearance [HTML_REMOVED] who received nothing but cheers from a group of Oregonians happy to have him on their side [HTML_REMOVED] could save the Dawgs tonight.

Nothing wrong with some wishful thinking.

For a second there, in the end, coach Lorenzo Romar enacted the greatest strategy imaginable by making OSU shoot free throws for the final three minutes of the game. But even such ingenuity couldn't save the Dawgs.

The Huskies reverted back to the disappointing team of old.

Quincy Pondexter called the loss "heartbreaking." Spencer Hawes thought it was one of the worst losses of the year. Romar and others now think any postseason hopes rely on a magical run in the Pac-10 Tournament.

But as of right now, there's little realistic chance of that happening.

It wasn't as though the Huskies were facing a rabid home crowd and an inspired team. The arena was so empty I could almost hear the echoes of my clicks on the keyboard. There were more empty seats in the arena than foul calls, and that's saying something.

I guess, in the end, this was a battle between the seventh- and ninth-ranked teams in the Pac-10.

As forgettable as Corvallis is, and as inconsequential as the OSU men's basketball program is, Thursday's game was just a return to the site of many strange occurrences.

In 2003, Nate Robinson's off-balance 3-pointer with nothing but a prayer and a hope of deliverance sparked the birth of the new generation [HTML_REMOVED] as we like to call it. The following year, a Husky team that eventually earned a No. 1 seed and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen was unforeseeably upset at the hands of some scrappy Beavs.

It was just another instance of the latter last night, just without the impending No. 1 seed and the OSU fans storming the court.

The part so baffling about this debacle was how well the team had been playing up until this point.

Washington, in competitive losses to Washington State and Pitt, looked to be on its way up. Last week, a young team looked mature and focused, but last night the Dawgs reverted back to those young pups.

So now, in the three games remaining (is that 21 in Dawg games?) the Huskies will have to dig deep to prove the doubters wrong. They will have to earn it without the expectation of success from anyone but themselves.

But until then, I'll be looking for some intriguing spring break destinations.

Reach columnist Joshua Mayers at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.