COUGARS HEAD TO WOODEN LEGACY OVER THANKSGIVING: 
• The Washington State men's basketball team (3-0) will spend its Thanksgiving holiday at the 2017 Wooden Legacy tournament held at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Gym, Nov. 23, 24 and 26 at Fullerton, Calif. 
• First up, WSU will take on Saint Joseph's (2-1), Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 23 at 3 p.m. 
• Depending on first-day outcomes, Washington State will face either Saint Mary's (4-0) or Harvard (2-2), Friday Nov. 24; at 10:30 a.m. if WSU wins Thursday, or 12:30 p.m., if WSU loses Thursday.
• The other side of the bracket includes Georgia (3-0) facing Fullerton (1-2) and San Diego State (2-1) taking on Sacramento State (1-2). 
• All of the games can be seen on the ESPN Family of Networks.
• WSU's first game will air on ESPN3, as Eric Rothman (play-by-play) and Dino Gaudio (analyst) will have the call. 
• All season long, Cougar basketball can be heard on the Cougar IMG Sports Radio Network, due to a conflict with WSU football, Derek Deis will have the call for the tournament.
• Please see page one of today's notes for the list of affiliates. 
• Live stats are also available at www.wsucougars.com. 

COUGARS VERSUS SAINT JOSEPH'S; ATLANTIC 10:
• Thursday marks just the third all-time meeting between Washington State and Saint Joseph's, as the Hawks hold a 2-0 advantage.
• The two teams last met Dec. 1, 2013 at the Old Spice Classic at Lake Buena Vista, Fla., in the final game of the tournament with SJU winning 72-67.
• Prior to that, the teams met Dec. 26, 1973 at the Rainbow Classic at Honolulu, Hawaii, a 72-65 win for the Hawks. 
• Both the Cougars and Hawks were in the Paradise Jam last season at the U.S. Virgin Islands, but the teams did not meet. 
• Saint Joseph's is one of just four current members of the Atlantic-10 Conference that WSU has faced, as the Cougars hold a 2-5 mark against the league. 
• WSU is 1-1 against Dayton, 1-1 against Rhode Island and 0-1 against Saint Louis...all of those games came prior to 1980.
• The Cougars have not faced Davidson, Duquesne, Fordham, George Mason, George Washington, La Salle, Massachusetts, Richmond, St. Bonaventure or VCU. 

AGAINST THE REST OF THE FIELD:
• The Cougars will face either Harvard or Saint Mary's in the second game of the Wooden Legacy on Friday.
• WSU has never faced Harvard and is 0-1 against Saint Mary's.
• The lone meeting with SMC came March 17, 2009, a 69-57 WSU loss in the first round of the NIT. 
• On the other side of the brackets, WSU could face Cal State Fullerton, Georgia, Sacramento State or San Diego State.
• Fullerton is the only school the Cougars have not met and are 0-1 against Georgia, 9-1 against Sacramento State and 5-0 against San Diego State. 

LET'S BE FRANK(S): 
• Robert Franks is off to a hot start in his junior season, averaging 18.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while shooting .486 (17-for-35) from the field and .611 (11-for-18) from 3-point range. 
• The 6-7 forward leads the team with his 11 3-pointers made and his 3.7 made 3-pointers a game leads the Pac-12 and ranks 31st in the national rankings.
• He's perfect from the free throw line this year (10-for-10) to lead the league and nation, and is fifth in the Pac-12 and 25th in the nation with a .611 3-point field goal percentage. 
• Last year Franks averaged 6.3 points and had 3.3 rebounds per game...he's already a fourth of the way to both his total points from last year (195) and his total rebounds from last year (101). 

FLYNN'S HELPING HAND: 
• Sophomore Malachi Flynn has remained solid for the Cougars in his second year, as he's the only Cougar to score in double figures in every game this season.
• On top of that, he leads the team and ranks fifth in the Pac-12 with 5.3 assists per game.
• He has 16 total assists and just one turnover in three games this season, ranking third in the country and second in the Pac-12 in assist/turnover ratio. 

SKAGGS' LONG BALL: 
• Sophomore Carter Skaggs had the half of his career, as he scored all 26 of his points in the second period on 7 3-pointers as WSU defeated Seattle U, 75-59, Nov. 15.
• At one point in the second half, Skaggs accounted for 17-straight WSU points, as he made 7-consecutive 3-pointers in the period. 
• Skaggs was 7-for-8 from 3-point range, the WSU record for 3-pointers made in a game is 9, originally set by current WSU assistant coach, Bennie Seltzer and last done by Derrick Low in 2006-07.
• Skaggs only shot two 3-pointers in WSU's next game, a win over Idaho State, but made both, carrying a streak of 9-consecutive 3-pointers made into the Wooden Legacy.
• Skaggs' .714 (10-for-14) 3-point field goal percentage leads the Pac-12 and ranks fourth nationally. 

COUGARS USE MASSIVE COMEBACK TO SAVE SEASON OPENER: 
• WSU erased a 22-point first-half deficit to defeat Texas Southern, 86-84, Nov. 12, in WSU's season opener at Beasley Coliseum.
• Junior Robert Franks scored a career-high 25 points, grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds and had his first career double-double. 
• Franks scored just 3 points in the first half and had 22 in the second before fouling out in the second half. 
• Franks also had a career-high 8 free throws made and attempted, shooting all 8 in the second half. 

COMEBACK KIDS:
• WSU trailed at halftime in its first two regular season games, and its exhibition game this season.
• The Cougars trailed Saint Martin's, 44-41, at the half in exhibition action, Nov. 5.
• They were behind, 42-24, to Texas Southern at halftime in their season opener, Nov. 12.
• Against Seattle U, Nov. 15, the Redhawks led the Cougars, 31-26.
• Washington State trailed by as many as 13 to Saint Martin's, 22 against Texas Southern and 10  against Seattle U. 

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A HALF MAKES:
• Washington State is a different team in the second half compared to the first.
• It is averaging 48.3 points per game this season in the second half, compared to just 28.3 in the first.
• Washington State is allowing 29.7 points in the second half and 34.7 points in the first half.
• On top of that, WSU is shooting .465 (46-99) from the field and .500 (27-54) from 3-point range in the second half, compared to just .384 (33-86) from the field and .261 (12-46) from 3-point in the first half. 
• Carter Skaggs is the team's second-half scoring leader at 12.7, while Robert Franks leads the first half scoring with 6.7 first-half points a game.
• The Cougars also have 23 more rebounds in the second half total this season with 70, compared to 47 in the first. 

COUGS FIRING FROM DOWNTOWN: 
• WSU leads the league and ranks second nationally with 14.0 made 3-pointers per game.
• The Cougars made 15 3's in the season opener, 12 against Seattle U and 15 again against Idaho State.
• Last season WSU made 10 or more 3-pointers in a single game just five times, and only once made more than 11 in a game. 
• If WSU were to continue to shoot at this clip, it would finish with at least 434 3-pointers made...the school record is 240 set during the Klay Thompson era, the 2010-11 season.

ABOUT THE COUGARS: 
• With the graduation of four of its starters from 2016-17 and just three players who averaged 9 or more minutes a game returning, gelling is key for the 2017-18 Washington State men's basketball team. 
• One piece in place on fourth-year head coach Ernie Kent's squad is at point guard, where sophomore Malachi Flynn, the only returning starter, looks to expand upon where he left off as a freshman.
• Flynn was fourth on the team averaging 9.7 points, with a team second-best 2.9 assists per game last season, earning Pac-12 All-Freshman Honorable Mention. 
• Kent also expects break-through seasons from juniors Robert Franks and Viont'e Daniels, who averaged 16.4 minutes and 17.1 minutes per game last season, respectively, along with sophomore Jeff Pollard who averaged 8.5 minutes in 24 games.  
• Redshirt junior KJ Langston and senior walk-on Steven Shpreyregin also return for WSU.
• Fans will see three familiar faces, that didn't see any action on the court in 2016-17, but were a huge presence on the bench and in practice, in the Cougars' three redshirt freshmen, Milan Acquaah, Arinze Chidom and Jamar Ergas. 
• WSU's four scholarship newcomers come with a wealth of experience in graduate-transfer Drick Bernstine, and JC-transfers Davante Cooper, Kwinton Hinson and Carter Skaggs. 
• Bernstine will have one year of eligibility with the Cougars, Cooper and Hinson two apiece and Skaggs three.  
• Freshman walk-on TJ Mickelson also joins this year's squad.

KENT IN FOURTH YEAR: 
• Veteran head coach and former Fox Sports and Pac-12 Networks basketball analyst was named the 18th head coach in WSU men's basketball history, March 31, 2014.
• Kent came to Pullman with a 325-254 (.561) mark as a head coach, having spent six seasons at the helm for Saint Mary's in Moraga, Calif., and 13 at Oregon.
• In his 13 years at Oregon, Kent compiled a 235-174 (.575) record and a 109-125 (.466) conference mark. 
• His 123 conference wins rank him 15th-best in Pac-12 history (including Pacific-8 and Pacific-10 Conferences). 
• His win, Feb. 18 against Arizona State moved him out of a tie for 15th with former UCLA coach Ben Howland.
• While at Oregon, Kent led the Ducks to seven postseason appearances, including five NCAA Tournament Appearances (2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008) as well as a Pac-10 regular-season (2002) and two conference tournament (2003, 2007) titles.
• Kent's first season with the Cougars wasn't much different than his first with the Ducks, as he led Oregon to a 13-14 overall record and 8-10 league mark as Oregon finished sixth in the then-Pacific-10 Conference...he led WSU to a 13-18 overall record and 7-11 league mark.
• WSU's 13 wins in his first season tied him for third-best in Washington State history for wins by a men's basketball coach in his first season…he's tied with Kelvin Sampson (1987-88) and Dick Bennett (2003-04), as both of those were also improvements from the previous season. 
• Kent has 361 career wins, as he got his 350th win Nov. 19 against Montana at the Paradise Jam. 

WSU DEFEATS SAINT MARTIN'S IN EXHIBITION ACTION:
• Robert Franks put up 32 points and grabbed 10 boards as Washington State overcame a 13-point first-half deficit, to defeat Saint Martin's, 85-74, Nov. 5, in exhibition action at Beasley Coliseum. 
• Redshirt freshman Milan Acquaah, making his first appearance in a Cougar uniform, added 21 points and 5 assists off the bench for Washington State. 
• Sophomore Jeff Pollard led the team in rebounding with 11 boards, chipping in 6 points, an assist and a steal as a starter. 

WSU SIGNS ELLEBY DURING EARLY PERIOD: 
• Charles 'CJ' Elleby (6-6, 195, Forward, Seattle Wash./Cleveland High School) signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at WSU beginning in the fall of 2018.
• As a junior at Cleveland HS in 2016-17, Elleby averaged 23.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game en route to being named to the All-Metro League team for the third-straight season. 
• As a sophomore, Elleby averaged 16.0 points and 10.0 rebounds while helping lead Cleveland HS to the 3A state tournament. 
• Heading into his senior season, Elleby has scored a total of 1,055 career points. 

FLYNN AND FRANKS SPEND SUMMERS PLAYING BALL:
• Sophomore Malachi Flynn was chosen as one of 28 of the nation's top 19-and-unders and was invited to attend the 2017 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Cup Team training camp, June 18-25 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center at Colorado Springs, Colo. 
• Flynn did not qualify for the team, but spent several days training with team coaches, Kentucky head coach John Calipari, Colorado head coach Tad Boyle and Wake Forest head coach, Danny Manning. 
• Franks spent part of his summer in China as part of the USA Eagles' summer tour.
• Other former Cougars to compete in the China with the USA Eagles include Valentine Izundu (2015), Josh Hawkinson (2014) and DaVonté Lacy (2012).

NEW SEASON, NEW LOOK STAFF: 
• Fourth Year WSU head coach, Ernie Kent, has a new look to his coaching staff for the 2017-18 season.
• With the departure of veteran assistant coaches, Greg Graham and Silvey Dominguez, Kent added former WSU standout and veteran coach, Bennie Seltzer (WSU, 1990-93) and well-known high school coach, Ed Haskins...Haskins' late-brother, Aaron Haskins, played basketball for the Cougars from 1980-83.
• Seltzer most recently served as an assistant coach at Loyola out of Chicago, Ill....prior to that, he was director of player performance at Indiana, head coach at Samford and an assistant coach at Indiana, Marquette and Oklahoma, respectively.
• Haskins came to the Palouse from Seattle where he was the head coach at Garfield HS...he led the team to the 3A State Championship in 2015 and the 4A State Championship in 2014, while being named the Coach of the Year four times.
• Former WSU student-athlete and grad assistant, Junior Longrus, earned his master's degree, making room for another new member of the staff, recruiting coordinator, Elwyn McRoy.

NEXT UP:
• Following the Wooden Legacy, WSU returns home to host UC Davis, Saturday, Dec. 2 at noon, followed by road games at Idaho (Dec. 6) and UTEP (Dec. 9).