Washington State University Athletics
Cougars Conclude Nonconference Play Against Lobos
December 24, 2015 | Men's Basketball
WSU FACES NEW MEXICO IN NONCONFERENCE FINALE: Washington State University men's basketball (7-4) will conclude action at the 2015 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic as it faces New Mexico (7-5), Friday, Dec. 25 at 8 a.m. HT (10 a.m. PT).
• Friday's game will air on ESPN3 as Kanoa Leahey (play-by-play) and Cory Alexander (color analyst) have the call.
• Derek Deis will fill in for first-year voice of the Cougars, Matt Chazanow who will be with football for its bowl game, and will have the call on the Washington State IMG Radio Network...please see the list of affiliates on page one of today's notes.
• Live updates can be found on Twitter by following @WSUMensHoops, the official Twitter account of Washington State men's basketball.
COUGARS VERSUS LOBOS; MOUNTAIN WEST:
• Friday marks the fifth all-time meeting between Washington State and New Mexico, as the Lobos hold a 3-1 advantage in the series.
• The two teams last met Nov. 25, 2011 at another ESPN holiday tournament, the 76 Classic at Anaheim, Calf...New Mexico won the matchup, 72-62.
• All four meetings have taken place in tournaments, beginning Dec. 20, 1969 at the New Mexico Invitational at Albuquerque.
• New Mexico is a member of the Mountain West Conference...WSU has faced all 11 of the current members of the conference; Air Force (2-0), Boise State (4-2), Colorado State (1-8), Fresno State (9-3), Nevada (3-1), New Mexico (1-3), San Diego (5-0), San Jose State (8-2), UNLV (0-1), Utah State (1-7) and Wyoming (2-4).
• The Cougars hold a 36-31 overall record against current members of the Mountain West.
COUGARS IN HAWAII:
• WSU is 11-9 all-time in games that take place in the state of Hawaii.
• The Cougars were last in Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic during the 2010-11 season.
• WSU has never made a trip to Hawaii without a win and just once did it have more losses than wins in the state of Hawaii in one trip.
WSU IN REGULAR SEASON TOURNAMENTS:
• WSU has played in 64 regular season tournaments dating back to the 1954-55 season, holding an 82-83 all-time record in those tournaments.
• Five of them have taken place in Hawaii, all of the Hawaiian tournaments have taken place in Honolulu.
• The Cougars have struggled as of late in regular season tournaments, having gone just 4-8 in their last four tournaments, but went 2-1 last season at the Great Alaska Shootout (See page 4 of today's notes for more).
• Prior to that, WSU appeared in the championship game of its 2009 and 2010 tournaments, the Great Alaska Shootout and Diamond Head Classic.
LAST OUTING:
• WSU fell to Northern Iowa, 63-59 in the two teams' first all-time meeting, Wednesday, Dec. 23 in the second consolation game of the Diamond Head Classic.
• Junior Josh Hawkinson had his eighth double-double of the season and 28th of his career with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
• Sophomore Derrien King tied his career-high 10 points…he had 8 points in the first half…he also had 10 points against UTEP Dec. 13.
• Junior Ike Iroegbu scored in double-figures for the third-straight game with 12 points…it marked his ninth double-figure scoring game of the season.
• For the first time this season, WSU did not attempt a free throw in a half, the first half…it marked the first time since March 7, 2015 that the Cougars went a half without attempting a free throw.
• The Cougars totaled 31 rebounds, to just 20 for Northern Iowa…it marked the first time this season that the Cougars lost while out-rebounding an opponent.
• WSU's 29 first-half points are a season low.
• WSU's 59 total points mark a season low.
WSU BIGS PUTTING UP BIG NUMBERS:
• Through games as of Dec. 23, Washington State ranked eighth in the nation with 6.3 blocked shots per game.
• On top of that, big men and juniors Josh Hawkinson and Valentine ranked in the top-25 in the nation in six different categories.
• Hawkinson is second in the nation in defensive rebounds per game, sixth in double-doubles, 14th in rebounds per game and 22nd in field goal percentage.
• Izundu is sixth in the nation in blocks per game and 11th for total blocks.
COUGARS ADJUST TO NEW LINEUPS:
• Washington State welcomed seven newcomers to the court this season, including Houston-transfer, Valentine Izundu, who redshirted last season.
• Of the newcomers, five are transfers and two are true freshmen.
• Four different newcomers have combined for 19 starts this season led by junior Charles Callison (10)...Izundu has five starts, junior Conor Clifford has three and freshman Viont'e Daniels started one game.
• This season, Washington State has never used the same starting lineup for more than two games in a row.
VETERANS STEP UP:
• The Cougars have been led this season by captains and juniors, Josh Hawkinson and Ike Iroegbu.
• Hawkinson leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 16.2 and 10.6 boards a game, while Iroegbu has 13.5 ppg game and leads with 3.5 assists per game.
• Combined the forward and guard are shooting .562 (113-for-201) from the field and are accounting for 38 percent of the Cougar's points this season.
• Only twice this season has neither Iroegbu nor Hawkinson led WSU in scoring, and just once neither of them led the Cougars in rebounding.
