WASHINGTON STATE CLOSES OUT NONCONFERENCE HOSTING BETHUNE-COOKMAN: 
• The Washington State men's basketball team (7-4) closes out nonconference play hosting Bethune-Cookman (5-8), Friday, Dec. 22 at 6 p.m. at Beasley Coliseum.
• The game can be seen on Pac-12 Network as Guy Haberman (play-by-play) and Ben Braun (analyst) 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 VS. WILDCATS; THE MEAC:
• Out of Daytona Beach, Fla., Bethune-Cookman is one of 13 teams in the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference, joined by; Coppin State, Delaware State, Florida A&M, Hampton, Howard, Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State, Norfolk State, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, Savannah State, South Carolina State.
• Washington State and Bethune-Cookman are meeting for the first time in the two schools' histories.
• WSU has never lost to a current member of the MEAC with a 5-0 mark, holding 1-0 records against Coppin State, Delaware State, Florida A&M, Maryland Eastern Shore and North Carolina A&T.
• Most recently WSU played North Carolina A&T Dec. 28, 2007 at Beasley Coliseum, winning 67-34.

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 got off to a 6-0 start to the 2017-18 season.
• It marked the Cougars' first 6-0 start since the 2009-10 squad started 6-0.
• That season, Washington State's streak of six-straight wins ended Dec. 2, 2009 of that season at then-No. 17 Gonzaga...this season the streak also ended Dec. 2, this time to UC Davis at Beasley Coliseum. 
• The Cougars went 10-2 in nonconference play that season as they fell to Kansas State the game after playing Gonzaga, Dec. 5. 
• This season's 6-1 start was the best since the 2010-11 squad went 6-1, as they went on to a 10-1 start before losing their second game of the season, Dec. 25 in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic.
• The Cougars' 6-0 mark in November this season, marks its first undefeated November since going 4-0 in 2015-16.

COMEBACK COUGS:
• WSU has trailed at halftime in six of its games this season, as well as its exhibition game, coming back from all but three of for the wins.
• 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.
• The Cougars could not comeback from their 42-25 halftime deficit to UC Davis, Dec. 2, falling 81-67.
• Idaho led WSU, 49-30 a halftime, Dec. 9, as the Cougars went on to lose, 91-64.
• WSU trailed Kansas State by 10, 35-25 at halftime after trailing by as much as 17 in the first half.
• The Cougars led by as many as 8 points before the Wildcats regained the lead for good and the 3-point victory.
• 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. 

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A HALF MAKES:
• Washington State is a different team in the second half compared to the first.
• It is averaging 42.2 points per game this season in the second half, compared to just 32.3 in the first.
• On top of that, WSU is shooting .480 (158-329) from the field and .443 (74-167) from 3-point range in the second half, compared to .421 (134-318) from the field and .319 (51-160) from 3-point in the first half. 
• Robert Franks is the team's second-half scoring leader at 9.8, and the first half leading scorer with 7.4 first-half points a game.

COUGS FIRING FROM DOWNTOWN: 
• WSU leads the league and ranks sixth nationally with 11.6 made 3-pointers per game.
• The Cougars made 12 or more 3's in seven of their 11 games this season; 15 3's in the season opener, 12 against Seattle U, 15 again against Idaho State, 16 against Saint Joseph's, 13 against San Diego State, 12 against UC Davis and 12 at UTEP...WSU had 11 against Kansas 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 360 3-pointers made...the school record is 240 set during the Klay Thompson era, the 2010-11 season.
• The Cougars also rank third in the Pac-12 and 66th in the country with a .386 3-point field goal percentage.
• Malachi Flynn ranks second in the Pac-12 and 64th in the country with 2.91 3-pointers per game, while Robert Franks and Viont'e Daniels are ninth and 221st with 2.27 3-pointers per game.
• Flynn is fifth in the Pac-12 and 138th in the nation with a .368 3-point field goal percentage.

GIVING THE HELPING HAND: 
• Sophomore Malachi Flynn has been a solid ball handler for the Cougars this season.
• He leads the team and ranks 10th in the Pac-12 with 4.2 assists per game.
• He has 46 total assists and 22 turnovers in 11 games this season, ranking 136th in the country and seventh in the Pac-12 in assist/turnover ratio with a 2.09 mark. 

LET'S BE FRANK(S): 
• Robert Franks is off to a hot start in his junior season, averaging 17.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while shooting .504 from the field and .424 from 3-point range. 
• Last year Franks averaged 6.3 points and had 3.3 rebounds per game...with 189 points, he's 6 points shy of his total from last year (195) and with 75 rebounds, he's three-fourths to his total rebounds from last year (101). 
• In 11 games this year, Franks has matched his number of 3-pointers made from the 54 games his first two seasons with 25. 
• Franks currently ranks 11th in the Pac-12 in scoring and 13th in rebounds per game while he's second in the league with a .850 free throw percentage. 

COUGAR BIG MEN TURNAROUNDS:
• Robert Franks' drastic improvement from his sophomore to junior year mimics similar jumps done by former WSU forwards Brock Motum (2010-13) and Josh Hawkinson (2014-17).
• Motum's jump occurred between his sophomore and junior seasons, going from 7.6 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, to 18.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in 2011-12.
• Hawkinson's jump occurred between his freshman and sophomore seasons, going from 1.2 points and 1.5 rebounds per game in 2013-14 to 14.7 points and 10.8 rebounds per game in 2014-15. 
• Motum was named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year in 2012 and Hawkinson in 2015.  

BERNSTINE STEPPING UP: 
• In the last three games (Dec. 9 at UTEP, Dec. 16 against IUPUI, Dec. 20 vs. Kansas State), Drick Bernstine has averaged 8.7 points and 9.0 rebounds, along with 3.3 assists.
• His 10 total assists in the last three games are four more than his 6 in his first 7 games as a Cougar. 
• He's first on the team and 13th in the Pac-12 with 6.9 rebounds and second on the team with a .509 field goal 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 nearly duplicated that performance Dec. 20 against Kansas State as he finished with 24 points on 6-for-10 from 3-point range and 9-for-14 from the field.
• In his young WSU career, Skaggs has scored in double digits just twice; his 26 and 24 point performances.

LAST TIME OUT:
• WSU overcame a 17-point first-half deficit to lead by as many as 8 points, but couldn't hold on as it fell to Kansas State, 68-65 at Spokane Arena, Dec. 20.
• Sophomore Carter Skaggs led WSU with 24 points, he had 13 in the first half on 5-for-7 shooting from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point range.
• Skaggs finished 6-10 from 3-point range and made a career-high 9 total field goals.
• It marked Skaggs' second 20-point game of the season/career, two points shy of his career high of 26 done against Seattle U, Nov. 15.
• Sophomore Malachi Flynn had 18 of his 23 points in the second half…he finished with 4 3-pointers made, 3 in the second half.
• His 23 points marked his third 20-point game of the season.
• Flynn and Skaggs combined to go 10-24 from 3-point range, rest of team was 1-10.
• Junior Robert Franks had his streak of 8 consecutive games with double figure points end, as he finished with 6 points.
•  The Cougars trailed at halftime for the sixth time this season, are 3-3.

CLOSING GAMES: 
• In the final five minutes of WSU's seven wins this season, the Cougars have averaged 14.4 points, shooting .556 (30-54) from the field and .700 (14-20) from 3-point range.
• In those wins, WSU has allowed 10.1 points while holding its opponent to .324 (24-74) from the field and .241 (7-29) from 3-point range and forcing 1.9 turnovers per game in that time. 
• In all 11 games this season, Malachi Flynn is 8-for-15 from 3-point range in the final five minutes of games and leads the team with 4.3 points per final five minutes.

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 opens Pac-12 play and closes out 2017 as it travels to Los Angeles to take on UCLA (Friday, Dec. 29) and USC (Sunday, Dec. 31).