As we move into the final basketball season for the Conference of (real NCAA) Champions, it’s time on Pac-12 Friday to look at the best of the individual schools’ hoops history. We did this for football; now we’re doing it for basketball. We start with the Washington State Cougars, who have never been a basketball school, really. So this list is not going to jump off the screen at you, but it’s still worth remembering, too.

5. 1995

On the back of a fifth-place finish (10-8) in conference play, the Cougars qualified for the NIT and reached the third round before losing to Canisius. Overall at 18-12 for the season, WSU ended up 40th in the SRS rankings while playing the No. 29 SOS. Offensively, the Cougars averaged 83.5 ppg, and that helped them beat 5 ranked teams in the conference play, even though WSU was never ranked itself. Why no NCAA bid?

4. 1992

Coached by Kelvin Sampson, who is still employed these days by the University of Houston, this Cougars squad started off 9-0 before crashing back down to Earth a little bit, ending up 22-11 overall after a second-round NIT exit. The Cougars beat only 1 ranked team all season, despite a No. 32 finish in the SRS rankings. Going just 9-9 in conference play didn’t help, as WSU posted a 1-6 record against ranked teams. Tough luck.

3. 2007

With a final Associated Press poll ranking of 13th, this Cougars team overachieved, for sure, with its 26-8 record. WSU was just 42nd in the SRS rankings, despite a 13-5 finish in conference play—good enough for second place. The Cougars, coached by Tony Bennett who would go on to brighter fame at Virginia, had the No. 16 defense, nationally, but they were upset in the second round of March Madness by Vanderbilt.

2. 1994

Sampson’s best (and last) WSU team lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to complete 20-11 season, which included fourth place in the Pac-10 with a 10-8 league mark. Sampson would leave for greener pastures at Oklahoma, after guiding this team to a 1-6 record against ranked teams. The Cougars ended up No. 34 in the SRS rankings, and they earned a No. 8 seed in March Madness before losing there.

1. 2008

Bennett’s best team on the Palouse finished No. 21 in the AP poll after a Sweet 16 run that ended against cheating North Carolina. With a 26-9 record overall and 11-7 in Pac-10 play, WSU also earned the No. 15 SRS ranking overall. Defensively, the Cougars were third nationally, as well. The team went 3-6 against ranked teams, including a nice win against friendly geographic rival Gonzaga. Hard to ask for more than this.