It’s 90 minutes till tip at McArthur Court in rainy Eugene.

They haven’t let the students in yet, but their theme for the evening seems clear. Hanging over the bench is front of the student section is a sign reading “Good luck in the NIT.” There also are a lot of signs getting on Ryan Appleby, who a lot of folks around here think started the Pac-10 tournament incident with Aaron Brooks a play or two earlier by swinging his elbows to create space. (He did; but obviously Brooks’ response was the problem.)

Otherwise, no news from here

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UW practiced in the late morning at Mac Court, and the Ducks practiced in the early afternoon, so we were able to get some time with both teams.

Naturally, we resurrected the Ryan Appleby/Aaron Brooks deal agin, and the most interesting comment was Appleby saying he doesn’t yet know how he will receive Brooks if Brooks comes to him and offers a handshake — “Gametime decision,” Appleby called it.

However, we may never find out, because it didn’t sound like Brooks had any such approach in mind.

Other quotes:

LORENZO ROMAR, on his team’s mood after

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After practice at Oregon today, coach Lorenzo Romar stressed that his team is still aiming for the NCAA tournament … even if it takes winning the Pac-10 tournament to get there.

However, he confirmed that if the Huskies don’t get there, they would accept an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament.

He also said that even if he became convinced that winning the Pac-10 tournament was the only way to get to the NCAA tournament, he said he won’t handle the remaining regular season games any differently — resting starters more, etc.

“Every day you’ve got

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We’ll hold our weekly radio discussion on UW athletics on KJR, 950-AM at 2:35 this afternoon.

The conversation also will be streamed over the Internet.

After the game, the Huskies were willing to admit that their loss to Oregon State made their NCAA tournament at-large chances so difficult that their best chance — and perhaps only chance – may now be in winning the Pac-10 tournament.

Four reactions:

COACH LORENZO ROMAR: “I think with this loss, it makes it real tough to get an at-large.”

FRESHMAN QUINCY PONDEXTER: “I think we can get be a tournament team. I have faith. I came to Washington to win a national championship. I have hope.”

CAPTAIN JON BROCKMAN: “These three (remaining regular season)

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Brandon Roy got to see his old team in person for the first time this season. He sat behind the UW bench, and visited them in the locker room after the game. I bumped into him there for a few words.

Here are a few of those words — his take on probably watching UW’s three-season NCAA tournament streak come to an end:

“It’s disappointing. They’re young. I remember when I was a freshman and we were playing Oregon State we got beat by 30. I can’t get too down on them. They can’t fold the tent. They

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Not surprisingly, it was a quiet and disappointed locker room.

Some notes:

Star of the game: Oregon State freshman guard Josh Tarver led his team with 16 points, including a key three-pointer that gave his team the halftime lead.

Key stats: Washington committed 21 turnovers, which OSU turned into 21 points.

Turning point: When Artem Wallace rebounded an OSU miss, UW seemed about to take a one-point lead into halftime. Instead, Wallace’s outlet pass went to Josh Tarver, who hit a three-pointer just ahead of the buzzer, giving the Beavers a 24-22 halftime lead.

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Amazingly bad shooting and lots of unforced errors.

OSU shot 40.9 percent, UW, 40.7 percent. UW had 10 turnovers, several unforced.

For the second straight game, the other team is getting to the line and the Huskies aren’t. Although this time, the other team isn’t taking advantage. OSU is 4-of-12 on free throws, UW 0-for-2.

The Huskies are hanging around because they’re dominating the boards, 23-12, and they’ve turned that into a 10-3 advantage in second-chance points.

Individually, Quincy Pondexter leads UW with eight points. Josh Tarver leads OSU with six, including a gift three-pointer

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