COUGARS COMPETE FOR WOODEN LEGACY CHAMPIONSHIP: 
• The Washington State men's basketball team (5-0) looks for its first tournament championship in eight seasons as it faces San Diego State (5-1) in the championship game of the 2017 Wooden Legacy, Sunday, Nov. 26, at Titan Gym at Fullerton, Calif. 
• The game will air on ESPN2 and is available 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 AZTECS:
• Sunday marks the sixth all-time meeting between Washington State and San Diego State, as the Cougars are undefeated against the Aztecs at 5-0.
• The two teams haven't met in 11 seasons, as they last met Dec. 21, 2006, a 64-54 WSU win in the Cougars Hardwood Classic at Seattle.
• Sunday marks the first official neutral-site game for the two teams, although the WSU home games were held at Spokane and Seattle, respectively and two of the three games at San Diego State were part of the Texaco Star Classic and San Diego Slam, respectively. 

WSU VERSUS THE MOUNTAIN WEST:
• San Diego State is a member of the Mountain West conference, and is the only Mountain West team that WSU will face in the regular season this year. 
• The Cougars have faced every current member of the Mountain West, Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State and Wyoming and hold a 43-33 mark against the league.
• The Cougars have played Fresno State the most, holding a 9-3 mark. 
• WSU has beat every team except UNLV, having fallen in the lone meeting. 

WSU GETS FIRST WIN AGAINST RANKED OPPONENT SINCE 2015-16:
• WSU defeated No. 21 Saint Mary's, 84-79, Friday in the semifinals of the Wooden Legacy.
• The win marked the first over an Associated Press Top-25 team since defeating then-No. 25 UCLA, Jan. 3, 2016. 
• The win over No. 21 Saint Mary's marks its highest-ranked victory since defeating then-No. 18 Washington, Jan. 30, 2011.
• The win over Saint Mary's snapped an eight-game losing streak to opponents ranked in the AP Top-25.

TOP OF THE TOURNAMENT: 
• WSU's appearance in Wooden Legacy championship game marks its first appearance in a tournament championship game since falling in the finals of the 2010 Diamond Head Classic.
• The last tournament victory for WSU came in the 2009 Great Alaska Shootout where then-sophomore Klay Thompson set a tournament record with 8 3-pointers made on his way to 43 points. 

STRONG START TO SEASON:
• WSU is off to a 5-0 start to the 2017-18 season.
• It marks the Cougars' first 5-0 start since the 2010-11 squad started 5-0.
• WSU's first loss that season came Dec. 3 against then-No. 5 Kansas State, 63-58.
• The Cougars then won their next five games following the loss and went 10-2 in nonconference play.

LET'S BE FRANK(S): 
• Robert Franks is off to a hot start in his junior season, averaging 17.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while shooting .517 (30-for-58) from the field and .464 (13-28) from 3-point range. 
• Last year Franks averaged 6.3 points and had 3.3 rebounds per game...he's nearly halfway to both his total points from last year (195) and his total rebounds from last year (101). 
• Franks currently ranks 10th in the Pac-12 in scoring and tied for 13th in rebounds per game. 

COMEBACK COUGS:
• WSU trailed at halftime in its first two regular season games, it's game Nov. 23 against Saint Joseph's, 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.
• WSU trailed Saint Joseph's by 14 (38-24) at halftime, after the Hawks used a 23-0 run.
• Washington State trailed by as many as 13 to Saint Martin's, 22 against Texas Southern, 10  against Seattle U and 20 against Saint Joseph's, overcoming all the deficits for victories.  

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A HALF MAKES:
• Washington State is a different team in the second half compared to the first.
• It is averaging 47.6 points per game this season in the second half, compared to just 30.2 in the first.
• Washington State is allowing 32.2 points in the second half and 36.4 points in the first half.
• On top of that, WSU is shooting .513 (80-156) from the field and .506 (41-81) from 3-point range in the second half, compared to just .401(57-142) from the field and .288 (21-73) from 3-point in the first half. 
• Robert Franks is the team's second-half scoring leader at 11.8, while Malachi Flynn leads the first half scoring with 6.2 first-half points a game.
• The Cougars also have 25 more rebounds in the second half total this season with 105, compared to 80 in the first. 

COUGS FIRING FROM DOWNTOWN: 
• WSU leads the league and ranks third nationally with 13.0 made 3-pointers per game.
• The Cougars made 15 3's in the season opener, 12 against Seattle U, 15 again against Idaho State and 16 against Saint Joseph's.
• 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 403 3-pointers made...the school record is 240 set during the Klay Thompson era, the 2010-11 season.
• Three Cougars rank in the top-100 nationally for 3-point field goal percentage, while the same three rank in the top-200 for 3-pointers per game. 
• Skaggs is sixth nationally in field goal percentage, and 109th in 3-pointers per game, Viont'e Daniels is 29th and 158th, while Robert Franks is 92nd and 158th, respectively.

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 10th in the Pac-12 with 4.4 assists per game.
• He has 22 total assists and just three turnovers in five games this season, ranking 10th in the country and first 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' .583 (14-for-24) 3-point field goal percentage leads the Pac-12 and ranks sixth nationally. 

COUGARS STAGE TWO 20-POINT COMEBACKS: 
• 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. 
• At the Wooden Legacy against Saint Joseph's, WSU trailed by 20 points with 3:30 left in the first and was able to come back for the victory, Nov. 23 at Fullerton.
• Franks scored 15 of his WSU-high 19 points in the second half, while his classmate Viont'e Daniels had 11 of his 17 in the second period. 
• After Saint Joseph turned the ball over just once in the first half, WSU forced 6 second-half turnovers. 

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 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).