QUICK HITS • NATIONAL RANKINGS:     • Scoring: Robert Franks, 3rd (28.3 ppg).     • A/TO Ratio: Ahmed Ali, 6th (7.0); Viont'e Daniels, 28th (4.0).     • Defensive Rebounds: Robert Franks, 47th (6.67 drpg).     • Rebounding: Robert Franks, 49th (9.3 rpg).     • Assists: Viont'e Daniels, 70th (5.0 apg).     • Double-Doubles: Robert Franks, 44th (2).     • Fewest Fouls: Team, 4th (59).     • Fewest Turnovers: Team, 8th (45).     • Assist/Turnover Ratio: Team, 13th (1.64).     • Assists: Team, 15th (18.5 apg). • APPROACHING RECORD BOOKS:     • With 851 points, Robert Franks needs 149 points to reach 1,000 career points.     • With 110 3-pointers, Viont'e Daniels needs 3 3-pointers to move into the career top-20.

WSU LOOKS FOR THIRD-STRAIGHT WIN, HOSTING CSUN: The Washington State University men's basketball team (3-1) concludes its three-game homestand as it hosts CSUN, Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. at Beasley Coliseum.
• The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network as Guy Haberman (play-by-play) and Steve Lavin (analyst) have the call. 
• All season long, Cougar basketball can be heard on the Cougar IMG Sports Radio Network with the Voice of the Cougars, Matt Chazanow on the call. 
• Please see page one of today's notes for the list of affiliates. 
• Live stats are also available at www.wsucougars.com. 

ABOUT THE MATADORS: 
• Located in Northridge, California, CSUN (formerly known as Cal State Northridge), is a member of the Big West Conference.
• The Matadors enter the game Tuesday with a 1-3 mark on the season, having notched their first win in their last outing, against Tennessee State, Nov. 20.
• Two of CSUN's losses have come by 3 points (New Mexico and Portland, both at home), while its lone win also came by 3 points. 
• Head coach Mark Gottfried is in his first season at the helm after coaching stints at NC State, Alabama and Murray State.
• The Matadors have two players averaging 20 or more points, led by redshirt freshman Lamine Diane with 24.8 ppg and sophomore Terrell Gomez at 20.5 ppg.
• Diane is adding 9.8 blocks per game.

COUGARS VERSUS MUSTANGS; BIG WEST:
• WSU's Tuesday meeting with CSUN marks its second Big West opponent in eight days after defeating Cal Poly, 84-70, Nov. 19.
• The meeting with the Matadors is just the fourth all-time as the Cougars hold a 3-0 advantage in the series. 
• The first meeting in the series occurred Dec. 27, 1993 at Fresno, Calif. in the Coors Light Classic. The next two victories took place in Pullman, a 106-59 win in Pullman, Jan. 25, 1995 and a 69-50 victory, Dec. 16, 2006. 
• CSUN is joined in the Big West by UC Davis, Cal Poly, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Fullerton, Hawaii and Long Beach State.
• The Cougars are 16-6 all-time against current members of the Big West, having played
Hawaii the most at 5-1.
• Prior to this season, most recently WSU played UC Davis of the Big West, resulting in a loss, Dec. 2, 2017 at Beasley.

ABOUT THE COUGARS: 
• WSU is 3-1 after winning its season opener over Nicholls, 89-72, Nov. 11, falling at Seattle U, 78-69, Nov. 14 , defeating Cal Poly, 84-70 Nov. 19 and Delaware State Nov. 24, both at Pullman.
• Senior forward Robert Franks missed WSU's game at Seattle U after putting up 31 points against Nicholls in the opener. 
• Franks has reached the 20-point plateau in all three games he's played this season as he added 30 against Cal Poly and 24 against Delaware State.
• Franks has also had two double-doubles and is adding 9.3 rebounds per game along with his Pac-12 leading 28.3 points per game, which ranks third nationally.
• Junior Isaiah Wade is averaging 13.0 points after putting up a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds at Seattle U in just his second game as a Cougar...he missed WSU's game against Delaware State. 
•Junior Ahmed Ali is the only other Cougar in double figures as he's averaging 11.0 points per game after putting up 17 and 15 points, respectively in WSU's last two games.
• Junior Viont'e Daniels leads the team in assists averaging 5.0 assists per game, which is tied for second in the Pac-12.
• Ali and Daniels are first and second, respectively, in the Pac-12 with 7.0 and 4.0 assist/turnover ratios...Ali is sixth nationally, while Daniels is 28th. 
•As a team, WSU ranks eighth nationally for fewest turnovers (45), 13th for assist/turnover ratio (1.64) and 15th for assists per game (18.5).
• Washington State men's basketball returns three starters, including three of its four top scorers from the 2017-18 squad, as head coach Ernie Kent enters his fifth season at the helm for the 2018-19 basketball season.
• Seniors Robert Franks and Viont'e Daniels look to lead the team, which features seven newcomers after putting up their best seasons in 2018-19, averaging 17.4 and 9.0 points, respectively. 
• Franks' big season was capped by being named the Pac-12's Most Improved Player of the Year, which led to him to declare for the NBA Draft, only to withdraw his name prior to the deadline. 
• Daniels was second on the team with 71 made 3-pointers and he, along with Franks and fellow-starter Carter Skaggs, combined for 206 of the team's school-record 341 3-pointers in 2017-18. 
• Senior Davante Cooper, junior Jeff Pollard and redshirt sophomore Arinze Chidom also return for Washington State in 2018-19.
• The Cougars look to fill the void at point guard with two junior college transfers in juniors Ahmed Ali and Jervae Robinson. 
• Ali joins WSU after putting up big numbers, most recently at Eastern Florida State College, where he averaged 16.9 points and 4.8 assists per game in two seasons, while shooting .426 (230-for-540) from 3-point range on route to earning NJCAA Division I All-America second team honors as a sophomore. 
• Robinson comes to the Palouse from Otero Junior College.
• With just six returnees for the Cougs, WSU is looking for immediate impacts from several newcomers, including Iowa Western CC-transfer, Isaiah Wade, who was an NJCAA All-America nominee as a sophomore after averaging 12.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. 
• Freshman and Washington-native, CJ Elleby also joins the Cougars after picking up all-State honors each of his final three years at Cleveland HS in Seattle. 
• Freshman Aljaž Kunc and junior college transfers, sophomore Marvin Cannon and walk-on junior James Streeter also join the 2018-19 squad.

FRANKS NAMED TO JULIUS ERVING WATCH LIST:
• Senior Robert Franks is one of five Pac-12 student-athletes named to the 20-member 2019 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Watch List.
• The list will be cut down to 10 in February and the five finalists will be narrowed down in March, with the winner being announced April 12, 2019.

FRANKS AND DANIELS EYE RECORD BOOKS:
• With 851 career points, Robert Franks needs just 149 points to become the 37th WSU men's basketball student-athlete to score 1,000-career points.
• Franks scored 521 points by averaging 17.4 points per game as a junior...if he can continue at that pace, he will finish with 1,287 points which would put him 16th on WSU's all-time scoring list. 
• Viont'e Daniels has made 110 career 3-pointers which ranks 21st on WSU's career list, just three away from entering the top-20...if he can repeat his 71 made 3-pointers from his junior campaign, Daniels would finish his Cougar career with 172 3s, ranking ninth all-time.

COUGARS SIGN THREE:
• Daron (Duh-ron) Henson, Ryan Murphy and Nigel John each signed an NLI to join WSU men's basketball next season. 
• Daron Henson (6-7, 210, Small Forward, Pasadena, Calif./Salt Lake CC) is in his first season with Salt Lake Community College after two seasons at Utah State...Henson redshirted his freshman season in 2016-17 before appearing in 33 games, including one start in 2017-18. 
• He averaged 4.3 points and 1.9 rebounds a game for the Aggies as a redshirt freshman. 
• Four games into the 2018-19 season, Henson is averaging 14.0 points while shooting .429 from the field and adding 6.3 rebounds per game. Henson will enter the WSU program as a redshirt junior.
• Ryan Murphy (6-2, 190, Guard, Calabasas, Calif./New Mexico Junior College) is in his first season at New Mexico Junior College where he's averaging 17.2 points per game in six games in the 2018-19 season. 
• Murphy transferred to NMJC from Charlotte where he redshirted as a freshman in 2016-17. He averaged 6.7 points per game in 19 games as a redshirt freshman in 2017-18 before an injury cut his season short at 19 games. 
• He shot .400 (32-for-80) from beyond the arc in 2017-18.
• Nigel John (6-9, 250, Center, Allen Texas/Lakeland Christian Academy) comes to WSU from Lakeland Christian Academy in Texas. 

COUGARS ROLL IN EXHIBITION GAME: 
• Eight of WSU's 13 players scored in double, including five newcomers, as Washington State defeated New Hope Christian, 138-63, Nov. 4 in exhibition action at Beasley Coliseum.
• Freshman Aljaž Kunc led the way in scoring with 24 points, while his classmate and WSU's only other freshman had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. 
• Kunc was 10-for-11 from the field, as WSU shot at a .691 (56-for-81) clip from the field as a team. 
• Junior college transfers, Jervae Robinson (16 points), Isaiah Wade (15) and Ahmed Ali (15) also reached double figure scoring in their Cougar uniform debuts. 
• The Cougars assisted on 35 of their 56 baskets and had 41 points on NHCC's 23 turnovers. 
• WSU had 12 dunks on the night...last season in regular season action it had 28 dunks in 31 games.  
• For more, please see the boxscore on page 25. 

KENT ENTERS FIFTH 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 127 conference wins rank him 15th-best in Pac-12 history (including Pacific-8 and Pacific-10 Conferences)....needing just five (132) to catch Howard Dallmar of Stanford (1955-75) for 14th. 
• His win, Feb. 18, 2017, 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 378 career wins as a head coach.

MARRION PROMOTED TO ASSISTANT COACH: 
• Fifth-year head coach, Ernie Kent, elevated Tim Marrion from coordinator of operations to assistant coach for the 2018-19 season.
• Marrion is currently in his third full-time stint with the WSU men's basketball program, as he returned to his alma mater in September of 2016 to assume the role of coordinator of basketball operations. 
• He previously served on the WSU men's basketball staff as the team's director of player development under then-head coach Ken Bone, during the 2013-14 season. 
• Prior to that, he was the coordinator of operations for Cougar basketball from spring of 2009 until the summer of 2012.
• Kenny Tripp joined the staff as coordinator of operations after one year as an assistant coach for Division II Metropolitan State University of Denver in 2017-18. 
• Prior to his stint with the Roadrunners, Tripp served as a graduate assistant for the men's basketball program at Division II Regis University at Denver, Colo., for two years (2015-17).

NEXT UP:
• The Cougars hit the road to take on New Mexico State Dec. 1 before returning to Pullman to host border-rival, Idaho, Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m.