SPOKANE — The struggling Washington State basketball team should not focus on trying to reach postseason play, coach Tony Bennett says.

Instead, the Cougars need to focus on playing hard in each of their remaining seven regular-season games.

“I want our guys to play with a sense of urgency and battle our guts out and see where that puts us at the end of the year,” Bennett said. “It it’s good enough to get consideration for postseason play, so be it.

“If not, I still want the quality of play to be there.”

Washington State (12-11, 4-7 Pac-10) has lost five of its past six games, making the possibility of a third consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament seem distant.

After consecutive seasons in which the Cougars tied the team record with 26 wins, this is shaping up as the rebuilding year that many people expected. Bennett would like to win at least four more games to finish above .500.

This week they host Oregon (6-17, 0-11) on Thursday and Oregon State (10-12, 4-7) on Saturday. The Cougars swept the Oregon teams on the road in January.

Bennett expects Oregon to come out strong as they seek their first Pac-10 win.

The Cougars have not been able to protect their home court this year. They’ve lost four of their five Pac-10 home games.

“We’ve got to play with a sense of urgency at home,” Bennett said.

The Cougars beat Oregon 74-62 in Eugene, going a perfect 28-for-28 at the free throw line to set a Pac-10 record. Taylor Rochestie made 16 of those free throws.

The senior guard continues to be the team work horse. He played all 40 minutes against California on Saturday, the third time in four games he has not had a rest. Rochestie is averaging 15 points per game in Pac-10 play.

After the Oregon schools, Washington State plays at Southern Cal and No. 11 UCLA, then hosts Arizona and No. 18 Arizona State. The Cougars finish regular-season play March 7 at Washington.

The Cougars continue to rank first in the nation by allowing opponent to score only 54.5 points per game. The problem is that they rank near the bottom by scoring only 58 points per game