COUGARS RETURN HOME TO HOST AGGIES: 
• The Washington State men's basketball team (6-0) returns home after capturing the Wooden Legacy Championship, to host UC Davis (4-2), Saturday, Dec. 2 at noon at Beasley Coliseum for 'Star Wars' Day. 
• The game will air on Pac-12 Network, as Greg Heister (play-by-play) and Dan Dickau (analyst) will have the call. 
• All season long, Cougar basketball can be heard on the Cougar IMG Sports Radio Network as the voice of the Cougars, Matt Chazanow will have the call.
• Please see page one of today's notes for the list of affiliates. 
• Live stats are also available at www.wsucougars.com. 

COUGARS VERSUS AGGIES:
• Saturday marks just the second all-time meeting between Washington State and UC Davis, as WSU holds a 1-0 mark.
• The only other meeting came Dec. 28, 2014 at Beasley Coliseum, a 90-83 Cougar win.
• In head coach Ernie Kent's first season, WSU was led in the win by then-senior DaVonté Lacy who finished with 22 points on 4-for-6 shooting from 3-point range.
• Then-sophomore Josh Hawkinson had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while then-senior Jordan Railey added 12 points and then-sophomore Que Johnson had 14.
• No current Cougar was on the roster for that game.

WSU VERSUS THE BIG WEST:
• UC Davis is a member of the Big West Conference and is joined by Hawaii, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly, Long Beach State, UC Riverside, UC Irvine and Cal State Northridge. 
• The Cougars have faced all but Cal State Fullerton from the conference, although WSU is fresh off winning the Wooden Legacy Championship on Fullerton's home court.
• WSU has played Hawaii the most, holding a 5-1 mark, followed by Northridge at 3-0. 
• The only conference member WSU has played and not defeated is UC Riverside (0-1). 
• The last time WSU faced a current Big West member was the 2014-15 season when the Cougars lost to UC Santa Barbara, 71-43 in the Great Alaska Shootout and defeated UC Davis, 90-83, at home. 

WSU GETS FIRST WIN AGAINST RANKED OPPONENT SINCE 2015-16:
• WSU defeated No. 21 Saint Mary's, 84-79, Friday, Nov. 24 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.

COUGARS CROWNED 2017 WOODEN LEGACY CHAMPIONS:
• Malachi Flynn averaged 19.7 points, 4.0 assists per game and shot .500 (12-for-24) from 3-point range as he was named the 2017 Wooden Legacy Most Outstanding Player as WSU captured the tournament championship at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Gym, Nov. 26.
• Robert Franks joined Flynn on the all-tournament team as he averaged 18.7 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting .528 (19-for-36) from the field. 
• WSU came back from a 20-point deficit to defeat Saint John's in the opening round. 
• The Cougs then led at halftime in their next two games to upset both No. 21 Saint Mary's and San Diego State to capture the title.
• Viont'e Daniels chipped in 9.3 ppg on 8-for-13 (.615) from 3-point, while Jeff Pollard averaged 9.0 ppg to go along with .556 (10-for-18) shooting from the field.
• As a team the Cougars shot .497 (87-for-175) from the field and .439 (36-for-82) from 3-point range along with .808 (42-for-52) from the free throw line.

TOP OF THE TOURNAMENT: 
• WSU captured the 2017 Wooden Legacy Championship over Thanksgiving weekend, marking its first tournament win since the 2009 Great Alaska Shootout. 
• Then-WSU sophomore Klay Thompson was named the Great Alaska Shootout Most Outstanding Player after setting a tournament record with 8 3-pointers made on his way to 43 points in the championship game against San Diego. 
• WSU's appearance in Wooden Legacy championship game marked its first appearance in a tournament championship game since falling in the finals of the 2010 Diamond Head Classic.

STRONG START TO SEASON:
• WSU is off to a 6-0 start to the 2017-18 season.
• It marks the Cougars' first 6-0 start since the 2009-10 squad started 6-0.
• Washington State's streak of six-straight wins ended Dec. 2, 2009 of that season at then-No. 17 Gonzaga. 
• The Cougars went 10-2 in nonconference play that season as they fell to Kansas State the game after playing Gonzaga, Dec. 5. 
• Washington State had two-straight 7-0 starts in 2006-07 and 2007-08, finishing 11-1 and 12-0 in nonconference play, respectively.
• The Cougars' 6-0 mark in November this season, marks its first undefeated November since going 4-0 in 2015-16.

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, Nov. 23.
• Washington State trailed by as many as 13 to Saint Martin's, 22 against Texas Southern, 10  against Seattle U, 20 against Saint Joseph's, 6 to Saint Mary's (Nov. 24) and 9 with 8 minutes left to San Diego State (Nov. 26), overcoming all the deficits for victories.  

MORE ON COUGAR COMEBACKS: 
• The Cougars have overcome two 20-point deficits in their regular season games this season, marking the two largest comebacks for WSU since at least the 1992-93 season (research ongoing).
• 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 75-71 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. 
• Prior to this season, Washington State's largest deficit overcome for a victory since 1992-93  was  also 20 points, Jan. 30, 1993 at California.
• In that game, current WSU assistant coach, Bennie Seltzer scored 20 points and dished out 7 assists, as Cal's Jason Kidd put up a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists. 
• The Cougars' next-largest comeback was 16 points, also at California, two seasons later, March 11, 1995...the 16-point lead occurred with 9:45 to go in the game. 
• In 2009-10 WSU overcame a 15 point USC lead with 17:26 left for a 67-60 victory at Los Angeles. 
• Prior to this season, the largest lead overcome in the Ernie Kent era was 14 done twice in 2014-15, first against Missouri State at the Great Alaska Shootout and then again a 1-point victory over Stanford, Jan. 31, 2015.
• See page four of today's notes for more on the comebacks. 

CLOSING GAMES: 
• In the final five minutes of WSU's six games this season, the Cougars are averaging 15.8 points, shooting .560 (28-50) from the field and .778 (14-18) from 3-point range.
• WSU is allowing 10.8 points while holding its opponent to .339 (21-62) from the field and .292 (7-24) from 3-point range and forcing 2.2 turnovers per game in that time. 
• Malachi Flynn is a perfect 6-for-6 from 3-point range in the final five minutes and is shooting .600 from the field (9-for-15) to lead the team with 4.8 points per final five minutes a game.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A HALF MAKES:
• Washington State is a different team in the second half compared to the first.
• It is averaging 47.5 points per game this season in the second half, compared to just 32.8 in the first.
• Washington State is allowing 34.0 points in the second half and 37.5 points in the first half.
• On top of that, WSU is shooting .500 (94-188) from the field and .495 (46-93) from 3-point range in the second half, compared to .419 (72-172) from the field and .326 (29-89) from 3-point in the first half. 
• Robert Franks is the team's second-half scoring leader at 11.5, while Malachi Flynn leads the first half scoring with 7.2 first-half points a game.
• The Cougars also have 24 more rebounds in the second half total this season with 122, compared to 98 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 12 or more 3's in five of their six games this season; 15 3's in the season opener, 12 against Seattle U, 15 again against Idaho State, 16 against Saint Joseph's and 13 against San Diego State.
• Last season WSU made 10 or more 3-pointers in a single game just five times, and only once made at least 12 in a game 
• In Washington State's previous 5 seasons, the Cougars made 12 or more 3-pointers in a single game 9 times total, once last season, none in 2015-16, once in 2014-15, five times in 2013-14 and twice in 2012-13.
• 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.
• The Cougars also rank second in the Pac-12 and 33rd in the country with a .417 3-point field goal percentage.
• Four Cougars rank in the top-170 nationally for 3-point field goal percentage, while the same four rank in the top-165 for 3-pointers per game. 
• Skaggs is eighth nationally in field goal percentage, and 163rd in 3-pointers per game, Viont'e Daniels is 16th and 163rd, while Robert Franks is 53rd and 124th, and Malachi Flynn is 168th and 163rd respectively.

FLYNN'S HELPING HAND: 
• Sophomore Malachi Flynn has been a solid ball handler for the Cougars this season.
• He leads the team and ranks seventh in the Pac-12 with 4.7 assists per game.
• He has 282 total assists and just four turnovers in six games this season, ranking fourth in the country and first in the Pac-12 in assist/turnover ratio. 

LET'S BE FRANK(S): 
• Robert Franks is off to a hot start in his junior season, averaging 18.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, while shooting .507 from the field and .485 from 3-point range. 
• Last year Franks averaged 6.3 points and had 3.3 rebounds per game...with 111 points, he's over halfway to his total points from last year (195) and with 40 rebounds, he's nearly halfway his total rebounds from last year (101). 
• Franks currently ranks 7th in the Pac-12 in scoring and tied for 15th in rebounds per game while leading the league with a .885 free throw percentage. 

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' .577 (14-for-24) 3-point field goal percentage leads the Pac-12 and ranks eighth nationally. 


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).

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.

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.

NEXT UP:
• WSU hits the road for two-straight games beginning at Idaho (Dec. 6) and then at UTEP (Dec. 9).