Being close for 20 minutes hasn’t gotten it done for Washington State.

The Cougars, who host Cal tonight at Friel Court, have trailed by a total of 17 points in their five defeats this season. That works out to an average halftime margin of just 3.4 points.

Problem is, WSU hasn’t been able to maintain in the second half. In those losses, the Cougs have been outscored by a total of 57 points, or 11.4 per game, in the second half.

The teams that have conquered the Coug — top-ranked Pitt, Baylor, Gonzaga, LSU and Washington — occupy the same strata as the teams they will face in the Pac-10.

“Obviously, against high-level competition you have to play the majority of the game, 40 minutes, or it won’t be good enough,” WSU coach Tony Bennett said this week.

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In my discussion earlier today of how Cal’s Jerome Randle compares to the top point guards in the country, I left out one player who probably deserves mention, if only for his statistical accomplishments.

Cal fans might remember Ben Woodside of North Dakota State. Then a junior, the 5-foot-10 point guard scored 15 points in the Bison’s 86-72 loss to Cal at the Golden Bear Invitational.

But Woodside is having quite a senior season: 23.5 ppg, 7.5 apg, 3.1 apg, 2.26 assist-to-turnover ratio, .443 FG, .434 3-PT and .837 FT.

What’s most notable is Woodside owns the Division I single-game scoring high of 60 points this season. In a 112-111 triple-overtime loss to Stephen F. Austin, he shot an astounding 30-for-35 from the free throw line. No one would argue Woodside is one of the nation’s elite players, but his numbers deserved mention.

Arizona State coach Herb Sendek conceded his team did not execute its defensive game plan in Sunday’s 81-71 loss at Cal.

He also said Bears point guard Jerome Randle is playing as well as anyone in the country at his position.

“I thought Cal was outstanding, They’re really difficult to guard,” Sendek said Tuesday during a Pac-10 media teleconference call. “It certainly starts with Jerome Randle. He’s playing as well as any point guard I’ve seen.

“If there’s a faster guard I don’t know who he is: Ty Lawson? He’s in that category. The difference maybe is the way (Randle) shoots. Aside from just early-season (publicity), I don’t know if his play is any different than a guy who maybe everyyone would consider the best point guard in the country, Ty Lawson.”

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The Arizona Republic is reporting that Arizona State senior forward Jeff Pendergraph suffered a medial collateral ligament sprain in his right knee during Sunday’s loss at Cal, and his availability for Thursday’s game against Oregon State could be impacted.

The Bears fly out of Oakland on Wednesday for Spokane, Wash., from where they will bus the 80 miles or so to Pullman for Thursday’s Pac-10 game with Washington State.

During his Tuesday press conference, coach Mike Montgomery joked about the conditions that may greet the team.

“Have we run into weather at Washington State?” he said. “The question is, `Have I been there?’ Which answers your question. It is what it is. You get there, you go play.

“I’ve been going there for 33 years. I can only imagine there’s been some weather along the way.”

But maybe not quite like this.

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Keep in mind it’s the first week of January and none of this means a thing, but my buddy Joe Lunardi, ESPN’s very smart “bracketologist,” projects Cal as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament. He says the Bears will play No. 11 Dayton at Minneapolis.

UCLA will earn a No. 3 seed, Arizona State a No. 7 and Stanford a No. 11, according to Lunardi. Arizona and USC are not in the mix at this point.

Saint Mary’s College also will get a spot, seeded No. 12 against Memphis in Portland, Lunardi says.

The four No. 1 seeds at this point are Pitt, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Duke.

All of this would be great news for the Golden Bears . . . if the NCAA selection committee were meeting this week.

Cal junior guard Patrick Christopher was named Pac-10 Player of the Week after averaging 21.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in wins over Arizona and Arizona State. Christopher scored 23 against Arizona, then had 21 20 vs. ASU.

Musings after the first weekend of the Pac-10 season:

– Walking down the stairway toward the press room at Haas Pavilion after Cal’s win over Arizona on Friday night, I heard one fan remark, “Wow, that was a surprise.” Wait a minute, that was every Cal fan saying that.

– Not sure which was the bigger stunner – Cal sweeping the Arizona schools or Oregon State beating anyone, much less USC. Congrats to Craig Robinson, who already has a leg-up on his brother-in-law, President-elect Obama, in their respective rebuilding jobs.

– They’re happy in Seattle, too, after UW’s Huskies beat WSU’s Cougs for the first time after seven straight defeats.

– Say what you want about everyone else, UCLA is the only team in the Pac-10 to come out of the first weekend with two road wins. Cal will find out how tough that is this weekend in Washington.

– Still, it’s clear that while no road win will come easily, the Northwest is the place to try to steal a few this season.

– I want to see a free-throwing shooting contest between UCLA’s Darren Collison and Cal’s Jerome Randle. Collison is 41-for-42 for the season and has made a school-record 40 in a row. Randle is at 87.4 percent for the season — not even best on his team — but he’s made 19 of his past 20 and seems to never miss in the final 5 minutes of a game.

– Oregon State sophomore Calvin Haynes will be everyone’s go-to quote guy if he continues to pop off as he did after the Beavers’ overtime win vs. USC:  “All this win is going to do is build on the next one, and the next one, and the next one. We’re no longer the team we were last year. We can play with anybody, and today was the day that we actually showed the world we can execute down the stretch of a big game and get it done.”

– Figured you needed a moment to catch your breath. Haynes didn’t. Here’s more:  “It’s going to be like this for the rest of the season. All we’re going to do is get better and better. I hope teams don’t sleep on us, because if they do this is going to happen every single time.”

– Oh yeah, ASU sophomore guard James Harden is good. Real good. NBAdraft.net has him going No. 2 next spring. Now that he can shoot it from the 3-point arc, there’s almost no way to guard him. Still, I’d try to make the left-hander go right a bit more often.

– Stanford got out of the weekend with a split, which is as good as it gets after a 30-point home loss. But if senior Anthony Goods doesn’t snap out of his 5-for-25 shooting for the two games, more tough days will be ahead for the Cardinal.

– When you see that the RPI has UCLA at just No. 50, you’re reminded not to take computer rankings too seriously this early in the season.

After its home sweep of the Arizona schools, Cal is No. 27 in today’s latest AP Top-25. The Bears are still No. 34 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.

Arizona State dropped from 17th to 20th in the AP rankings, from 14th to 16th in the ESPN/USA Today poll.

Here’s this morning’s story on Cal’s win over Arizona State.

Also, columnist Monte Poole’s take on the changing face of Cal hoops.

By the way, the Bears have climbed to No. 14 nationally according to RealTimeRPI.com, and No. 17 in the Sagarin computer ratings.

Cal 81, Arizona State 71

   HEADLINER: Jerome Randle played the game of his life, equaling his career-best with 26 points and setting a new high with 10 assists. His first double-double also included 7-for-10 shooting, five rebounds and just two turnovers in 40 minutes.
   MOMENT THAT MATTERED: ASU twice closed within two points in the final 5 minutes, and both times Patrick Christopher answered with a basket for Cal.
   MAGIC NUMBER: 14 _ Cal’s turnover total for the weekend, coughing up just six vs. Arizona and eight vs. Arizona State.
   NEXT UP: The Bears (13-2, 2-0) return to the road for the first time since Dec. 10 when they visit Washington State in snowy Pullman, Wash., on Thursday night. Tipoff is 7 p.m.