Washington State Hosts USC Saturday Evening

Saturday, February 4

Pullman, Wash.

5:00 PM

Washington State University

USC

February 02, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Game Note (PDF)

Tip is set for 5 p.m. at Beasley Coliseum between the Cougars and the Trojans.

By: Washington State Athletics

WASHINGTON STATE FINISHES WEEKEND WITH SURGING USC: Coming off a 79-95 loss to UCLA, Wednesday, Washington State men's basketball (11-11, 4-6) welcomes USC (19-4, 6-4), winners of three-straight, to Beasley Coliseum Saturday, Feb. 4 at 5 p.m.
• The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.

COUGARS VERSUS TROJANS:
• Washington State and USC are meeting for the 120th time in the two schools' histories, as the Trojans hold a 71-48 advantage in the all-time series.
• WSU fell in both contests with USC last season; a Pac-12 opening loss to the Trojans 90-77 at Pullman, and a 10-point, 81-71, defeat at Los Angeles.
• Saturday's meeting is the first of two on the season (March 1), marking the first time the Cougars and Trojans have faced off in two conference games in back-to-back seasons since 2012 and 2013 (WSU was 3-1).
• Over the last 10 games, the series is tied 5-5.
   • WSU held a 3-2 advantage in the first five games of the 10-game span, and USC has defeated WSU in three of the last five meetings.
• The Cougars' last win against USC was at Los Angeles, March 1, 2015 (70-66).
• WSU hasn't beaten USC at home since March 9, 2013 (76-51), as the Trojans have won two-straight at Pullman.

JOSH HAWKINSON EYEING RECORD BOOKS:
• Senior Josh Hawkinson has his eyes on several milestones and records at Washington State.
• With 916 rebounds, he is just 76 rebounds away from the WSU record (992) set by Steve Puidokas from 1974-77, and just 84 away from becoming the 13th Pac-12 student-athlete to grab 1,000 rebounds in his career.
• With 1,286 points, he became the 35th Cougar to score 1,000 career points, and currently ranks 15th on WSU's career scoring list.
• Over the last two seasons, Hawkinson averaged 15.1 points per game...if he continues that this season he will finish with 468 points this season and will finish his career with 1,403 points which would put him 12th in WSU's career scoring record books.
• Hawkinson is also just two double-doubles away from the school record, also held by Puidokas...as he's second with 51.

IROEGBU PASSES 1,000 POINT MARK:
• Senior Ike Iroegbu scored 12 points, Jan. 7 versus Oregon, and became the 36th Cougar to score 1,000 in his career.
• Iroegbu joins his classmate, Josh Hawkinson, as the second Cougar to reach the milestone this season, as Hawkinson scored the 1,000th point of his career, Nov. 19 against Montana.
• Iroegbu and Hawkinson are the first Cougar teammates to reach the 1,000-point plateau in the same season since then-seniors Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver reached 1,000 points during the 2007-08 season.
• Iroegbu is currently 24th on WSU's career scoring list with 1,103 points.
• He's also climbing up the assists list, ranking ninth with 333 career assists.

30-POINT SCORERS:
• Seniors Charles Callison and Josh Hawkinson each had their first 30-point scoring game this season.
• Callison scored 30 in WSU's win over Colorado, Jan. 21, then, two-games later, Hawkinson scored 31 in WSU's win at Arizona State, Jan. 29.
• Callison became the first Cougar to score 30 points since DaVonté Lacy scored 31 against UTSA, Dec. 6 2014.
• Callison and Hawkinson became the first Cougar duo to reach the 30-point plateau in the same season since Royce Woolridge scored 36 (Feb. 16) and Brock Motum scored 31 (March 9) in 2013.
• Washington State is one of two Pac-12 schools two have at least two separate 30-point scorers in league play this season, being joined by UCLA (three)...Markelle Fultz from Washington has scored 30-plus in three Pac-12 games this season.

PASSING THE POINT:
• Freshman Malachi Flynn started at point guard for the Cougars in their season opener, Nov. 11, against Montana State.
• He became the first Cougar freshman to start a season opener since his teammate, senior Ike Iroegbu started his first game, Nov. 9, 2013, a victory over CSU Bakersfield, also at point guard.
• Flynn came one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and 9 boards, adding 2 assists against the Bobcats.
• In his second career game, Flynn led the Cougars in scoring with 18 points against Central Washington.
• Flynn had his best game in the seventh of his career, Nov. 30 against Utah Valley.
• He finished with a career-high 27 points on 11-for-14 shooting from the field.
• His 27 points are the sixth-most in a single game by a WSU freshman and his 11 field goals are a freshman single-game record.
• Flynn is joined in the top-six for single-game freshman scoring by Isaac Fontaine, Klay Thompson, Steve Puidokas and Bennie Seltzer.
• Flynn has scored in double figures in 14 of WSU's 22 games this season, including two 20-points games.
• Five of his double-figure scoring efforts are in Pac-12 play.
• In his first three Pac-12 games, he averaged 13.0 points per game, 8.7 of those in the second half.
• Currently Flynn is sixth on WSU's freshman list for scoring average with 11.0 points per game, just over a point behind Klay Thompson in fourth.
• He's also third for freshman 3-point field goal percentage (.448), sixth for assists average (2.86), and fifth in total 3-pointers made with 43 (25 away from Klay Thompson's freshman-record 68).

HOT CONFERENCE START:
• The Cougars got their first win in a conference opener since 2007-08 when they defeated the Huskies, 79-74, Jan. 1, 2017.
• The last time WSU had won a conference opener was the Pacific-10 opener at Washington, Jan. 5, 2008.
• With WSU's win over Oregon State, Jan. 4, 2017, it moved to 2-0, marking the first time it had started 2-0 in league play since that same season, 2007-08.
• The Cougars defeated USC at Los Angeles, Jan. 10, 2008 to move to 2-0 that year.
• This year the Cougars matched their record in their first three Pac-12 games (2-1) in Ernie Kent's first year as head coach...WSU went on to start 3-1 in league play that year.
• The Cougars have already surpassed their win total from 2015-16 (nine) and quadrupled their Pac-12 win total from a year ago (one).

SHORT BENCH:
• The Cougars were short manned during the nonconference season, as they were down to just eight players Saturday, Dec. 10 at Kansas State.
• Sophomore guard Viont'e Daniels missed four games due to a concussion, while freshman forward Jeff Pollard also missed four due to sickness...it was announced that junior guard Derrien King transferred at the end of the semester, as his last game was Dec. 7.
• Three Cougars are redshirting this season, freshmen Milan Acquaah, Arinze Chidom and Jamar Ergas.
• Against Kansas State, Dec. 10, walk-on, junior guard Steven Shpreyregin saw his first action with the Cougars, logging 10 minutes, while scoring 3 points.
• After that game when the Cougars had just 8 men available, they went 4-0 in their next four games.
• The Cougars are the only team in the league to have three players ranked in the top-10 in the Pac-12 for minutes played per game (Hawkinson, Flynn, Iroegbu).

HAWKINSON MASTERS HIS CLASSES:
• Senior Josh Hawkinson graduated with his business degree in the summer after just three years at WSU.
• He is currently working on his master's in business administration in WSU's one-year program.

TOP OF THE PAC:
• Five different Cougars rank in the top 10 in the Pac-12 in 10 different categories:
   • Josh Hawkinson (points per game, rebounds per game, defensive rebounds per game, double-doubles, free throw percentage, minutes played).
   • Conor Clifford (field goal percentage).
   • Malachi Flynn (3-point field goal percentage, 3-point field goals, minutes played).
   • Ike Iroegbu (minutes played).
   • Charles Callison (steals).
• Hawkinson is also top-25 nationally in three different categories: double-doubles (tied-22nd), defensive rebounds per game (tied-ninth), and rebounds per game (25th).

KENT IN YEAR THREE:
• 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 121 conference wins rank tie him for 15th-best in Pac-12 history (including Pacific-8 and Pacific-10 Conferences). He is tied for the mark 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 358 career wins, as he got his 350th win Nov. 19 against Montana at the Paradise Jam.

JOSH HAWKINSON NAMED TO KAREEM ABDUL-JABAR:
• For the second-straight year, Josh Hawkinson has been named to the 20-member 2017 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award watch list.
• Last season, as a junior, Hawkinson made the mid-season list of 10.
• He is one of three Pac-12 student-athletes to be named to the list, as he's joined by Chris Boucher of Oregon and Thomas Welsh of UCLA.
• By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2017 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award will be narrowed down to just 10.
• In March, five finalists will be presented to Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame's selection committee.

HAWKINSON A CANDIDATE FOR THE SENIOR CLASS AWARD:
• Senior Josh Hawkinson has been named one of 30 men's basketball candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.
• To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
• In February, the 30 candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot.

KENT NAMED TO NCAA COMMITTEE:
• WSU Head Coach Ernie Kent was chosen to serve on the newly created Division I Men's Basketball Competition Committee which will report directly to the Division I Men's Basketball Oversight Committee in an advisory role.
• One student-athlete, two current head coaches, four Division I staff members and three members of the public with significant men's basketball experience will form the committee.
• The committee also will have regular communication with the NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee and will review student-athlete health and safety, sportsmanship and integrity, game operations and presentation, technology, and statistical trends.
• The group will develop strategic principles in these areas, subject to the approval of the Men's Basketball Oversight Committee.
• This committee was announced Dec. 2, 2016.
• The other coach on the committee joining Kent is Bob McKillop of Davidson College.

ABOUT THE COUGARS:
• Washington State returns seven letterwinners including three starters to the 2016-17 squad, led by two-time All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, Josh Hawkinson.
• Fellow seniors, guards Ike Iroegbu and Charles Callison, return as 2015-16 starters, while classmate, center, Conor Clifford also returns after starting 14 games last season.
• Sophomores Viont'e Daniels and Robert Franks round out the returnees for the Cougars.
• Seven newcomers join the WSU men's basketball program, led by Washington's 2015-16 4A Player of the Year, freshman guard Malachi Flynn.
• Sophomore guard KJ Langston and freshman forward Jeff Pollard look to contribute this season, while three freshmen are projected to use their redshirt seasons.
• Freshmen guards Milan Acquaah and Jamar Ergas and forward Arinze Chidom all look to use their redshirts, while walk-on junior guard Steven Shpreyregin may see minutes.

WSU AT THE 2016 PARADISE JAM:
• Washington State finished sixth at the 2016 Paradise Jam, held Nov. 18-21 at the University of the Virgin Islands at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
• WSU senior forward Josh Hawkinson has ties to the tournament as his father, Nels Hawkinson, started the tournament in 2000 after visiting the Virgin Islands on vacation.
• The elder Hawkinson is the executive director of Basketball Travelers Inc., the company that puts on the Paradise Jam, as well as several other college and high school events, and foreign tours, including WSU's to Italy in 2016.
• Hawkinson was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 18.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in WSU's three games.
• Against Montana, Hawkinson had a career-high 29 points, adding 14 rebounds.
• In the process, Hawkinson scored his 1,000th career point to become the 35th Cougar to do so.

BIG GAMES IN PARADISE:
• Washington State's starting big men, 6-10 forward Josh Hawkinson and 7-0 center Conor Clifford, both seniors, each had a 29-point game at the Paradise Jam.
• Clifford had his career night against No. 22 Creighton, setting career highs for points (29), field goals made (12), minutes played (28) and free throws made (5).
• Hawkinson had his the next day against Montana, setting a career high for points with 29, while grabbing a season-high 14 rebounds.

KENT STARTS GAME ON IDAHO BENCH:
• Cougar Head Coach Ernie Kent began the Dec. 7 game sitting next to Idaho coach Don Verlin on the Idaho bench, all in the name of helping to find a cure for cancer.
• Kent bid on an auction item donated by Idaho and Verlin – and won – at the 15th annual Coaches vs. Cancer Gala in Spokane, Sept. 24.
• The 'Coach for a Day' package that Kent won, includes the chance to sit on the Idaho bench for the start of a game this season, in which Kent chose the Dec. 7 game at Pullman.
• Kent made his way to the Idaho bench shortly before tip...after WSU's first possession after winning the tip, he made his way back to the Cougar bench where he remained the rest of the game.
• Both Kent and Verlin lost their fathers to cancer, so the cause is a close one to the pair.

COUGARS BOND IN ITALY:
• The Cougar men's basketball team spent 10 days in August touring Italy as part of its once every four years, international tour.
• WSU started in Rome and worked its way up to Lake Como with stops in Florence, Pisa, Venice and Vicenza, visiting numerous historical sites along the way.
• The Cougars played five games, going 3-2 in those games.
• Josh Hawkinson led the team with 18.6 points and 9.0 rebounds, Ike Iroegbu added 16.0 points and 7.2 assists a game, while freshman Malachi Flynn started all five games and averaged 10.8 points and 6.2 assists per game.