PARADISE CITY IS IN PULLMAN.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN COLLEGE BASKETBALL 

In Honolulu, the sweet smell of flowers blown by trade winds tantalizes one's nose.

In Pullman, Wash., the hairs inside one's nose can freeze on any given winter day.

Junior guard Derrick Low might have ignored that fact when he opted to trade paradise for a chilly purgatory, but his decision to attend Washington State, despite never being there, has the Pacific-10 Conference in an altered state.

Sparked by Low's scoring and experience, Wazzu has taken the headlines away from Gonzaga and Pac-10 brethren Washington in the Evergreen State, and created quite a stir.

The No. 20 Cougars, who host Oregon State today and Oregon on Saturday, are ranked for the first time in more than two decades and are poised to earn their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1994 under first-year coach Tony Bennett, who took over for his father, Dick.

Washington State (16-3, 5-2 Pac-10) is tied for third in the conference, remarkable since the Cougars have not finished in the top half of the Pac-10 standings since 1994-95, while Washington (11-7, 1-6) is tied for eighth.

Low has led a renaissance that has seen Wazzu win more games in a season since it went 18-11 in 1995-96.

``We built a pretty good relationship with (Low),'' the younger Bennett said. ``I think his desire was, `I want to go to a place where I can have a chance to play early in my career and I want to be part of something, maybe special, if we can help turn a program around.'

``We got to know him well and he felt real comfortable with my father and our staff, and he just said, `Hey, I would like to come there without even seeing the campus.' We were real honest with what Pullman was like. It's not like Hawaii. They've got the oceans. We've got the rolling wheat fields. I guess there's some similarities there.''

Low (14.6 ppg) and guard Kyle Weaver (11.3 ppg) lead the offense, but it is no surprise the Cougars are still playing well defensively, utilizing their deliberate style. Opponents are shooting 40.3 percent and averaging 58.1 points, which makes up for the Cougars being outrebounded by nearly two a game.

``Not a lot of (Wazzu's players) are very highly recruited,'' Bennett said. ``We try to find those kids that are real hungry to play and sneaky-good, hidden gems. Whatever you want to call them, and just try and develop them, and they come in with the right attitude.''

To illustrate how Washington State's season is no fluke, the Cougars' losses were at Utah, at UCLA and in overtime at improving Stanford.

The Cougars beat Gonzaga for the first time since 1997, and throttled Washington 75-47 on Saturday. It was the Cougars' biggest margin of victory against the Huskies, and the crowd of 11,618 was the largest attendance for a game in Pullman since 1983.

When the Cougars host Oregon State, it will mark the first time since 1950 they play a home game while ranked by the Associated Press.

``We talk about how important it is to, obviously, remain humble,'' Bennett said. ``Now that we've gotten off to a decent start, you're going to be dealing with different things. ... It's just to remain as hungry as possible, and know how fleeting it can be.''

Other gems, courtesy of the WSU sports information staff, from the last time the Cougars played at home as a ranked team: Harry Truman was President; the minimum wage was 75 cents; milk was 82 cents a gallon; gas was 27 cents a gallon; a loaf of bread was 14 cents; and stamps were three cents.

Brooks out: Although Washington is in a terrible slump, having lost six of seven, the Huskies may have a chance against No. 7 Oregon because of what transpired in last year's Pac-10 tournament.

Ducks point guard and leading scorer Aaron Brooks (18.4 points per game) was ejected because of a flagrant foul against Washington's Ryan Appleby. Brooks was suspended for the Ducks' season opener, and part of the punishment is he must sit out Thursday's game at Washington.

In fact, the Pac-10 is not allowing Brooks, who is from Seattle, to attend the game.

Top 25 mediocrity: Coaches love to call it parity, but in reality what is going on in college basketball has more to do with mediocrity.

Look no further than the bottom part of the weekly Associated Press top 25 poll, which is nothing more than a week-to-week revolving door.

Last week, the six of the bottom seven teams lost at least once. No. 19 Clemson (1-1), No. 20 Notre Dame (1-1), No. 21 Texas (0-2), No.22 Tennessee (1-1), No.23 Virginia Tech (1-1), No. 24 Marquette (1-0) and No. 25 Kentucky (1-1) combined to go 6-7.

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Guard Derrick Low, right, has helped lead Washington State to its first top-25 ranking in more than 20 years. The Cougars are tied for third place in the Pac-10.

Kody Whiteaker/Associated Press