It wasn’t long ago that those hoopers out east would regularly serve as a feast. For 13 consecutive seasons, the Washington State men’s basketball team failed to produce a winning season in conference play and were consistently devoured by the who’s who — or even the who’s not — of the Pac-12. The days of Tony Bennett guiding the Cougs to NCAA tournaments had nearly faded into oblivion. The idea of another Klay Thompson pulling up in Pullman seemed impossible. Then coach Kyle Smith took over the program in 2019. After going 11-9 in conference play the past two seasons, WSU (16-6, 7-4 Pac-12) h…