at Prairie View A&M (2-0, 0-0) | Tuesday, Nov. 15 | 6 pm CT | William J. Nicks Building
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  Watch | ESPN+ & Pac-12 Washington (David Saltzman & Lemont Williams)
  Listen | WSU Learfield Radio Network (Matt Chazanow & Craig Ehlo)

OPENING FIVE
1. The Cougars travel to Prairie View, Texas for their first true road contest of the season, facing Prairie View A&M, Tuesday, Nov. 15 at William Nicks Building. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT (4 p.m. PT) with coverage on ESPN+ and simulcast on Pac-12 Washington. The Panthers and Cougs last met, Dec. 21, 2020 in Pullman, with WSU winning 90-62. Five Cougars scored in double figures in the win, including now-junior Andrej Jakimovski with 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
2. Last time out, the Cougs traveled to Boise for a neutral-site meeting with Boise State at Idaho Central Arena, Saturday, Nov. 12. WSU lost 71-61, despite a career-high 24 points from TJ Bamba and a career-high 14 rebounds from DJ Rodman. The Cougs tallied just three assists, the fewest since recording four assists against Gonzaga, Dec. 2, 2015.
3. Junior transfer Justin Powell dished out a career-high 12 assists in his WSU debut against Texas State, the most assists by a Coug in a season opener since assists became an official stat in the 1985-86 season and the most by a WSU player in any game in 13 years, when Reggie Moore tallied 12 assists against Portland State, Dec. 19, 2009. It's also the first double-double with assists since Malachi Flynn dished out 11 assists to go with 11 points against Arizona, Jan. 31, 2018.
4. Sophomore Mouhamed Gueye picked up where he left off after his freshman season, leading the Cougars against Texas State with 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds en route to his fourth-career double-double. He scored 12 points against Boise State, his 12th double-digit performance of his career.
5. The Cougars travel to Prairie View A&M for the first time in school history, as part of the Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series, placing an emphasis on true road games against SWAC opponents.

COUGARS VS PANTHERS
Washington State visits Prairie View A&M for the first time in school history, Tuesday, Nov. 15, as part of the Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT / 4 p.m. PT with coverage on ESPN+ and simulcast to Pac-12 Washington. The Panthers and Cougs last met, Dec. 21, 2020 in Pullman, with WSU winning 90-62. Five Cougars scored in double figures in the win, including now-junior Andrej Jakimovski with 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. The teams have met three times in program history, all in Pullman, with the Cougs holding a 3-0 all-time record.

LAST TIME OUT – VS BOISE STATE
Boise State beat Washington State 71-61 Saturday night at Idaho Central Arena. TJ Bamba and Justin Powell hit back-to-back 3-pointers before Bamba made a layup to give Washington State an 8-0 lead about 3 minutes into the game. Boise State responded with an 11-0 run to give the Broncos' the lead and never again trailed. Bamba led WSU with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, 4 of 7 from 3-point range. The Cougars shot just 34.9% (22 of 63) from the field, including 6 of 26 (23.1%) from behind the arc.

NEXT UP
Washington State will return to Pullman before traveling up the road to Spokane, Wash., to face Eastern Washington in a neutral site game at Spokane Arena, Monday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. PT with television coverage on SWX.

THE PAC-12/SWAC LEGACY SERIES
Announced in Sept. 2021, the allyship between the Pac-12 and SWAC is the first of its kind pertaining to basketball scheduling between Power 5 and HBCU leagues, but also places crucial emphasis on raising awareness for anti-racism and social justice initiatives. Another central element of the Legacy Series is the opportunity for Pac-12 programs to travel and play true road games against SWAC opponents, enabling Pac-12 student-athletes and coaches to visit campuses and cultural sites they may not have experienced otherwise.

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS
The Cougars will play two games in Texas this season, facing Prairie View A&M, Nov. 15, and facing Baylor in Dallas, Dec. 18. In addition, WSU opened the season with a win at home over Texas State. It's the most games against Texas universities since the 2015-16 season, when the Cougs hosted Texas Southern, Texas State, and UTEP in Pullman. It's the first time since the 2014-15 season the Cougs played two games in Texas, opening the season at UTEP, Nov. 14, and at TCU, Nov. 17.

SMITH HOMECOMING
Tuesday's game at Prairie View will be something of a homecoming for WSU Head Coach Kyle Smith, who attended high school in western Houston at Alief Hasting High School. Smith was a standout guard under coach Rick Sherley, who accumulated over 800 wins, before Smith graduated to attend Hamilton College (N.Y.).

GUEYE TAKING OVER
Sophomore Mouhamed Gueye, a preseason All-Pac-12 selection and All-Freshman honoree last season, picked up where he left off, leading the Cougars in scoring and rebounding in the season opener versus Texas State. The 6-11 forward picked up his fourth-career double-double and led the Cougs in scoring for the third time of his career. He followed up with 12 points against Boise State for his 12th double-digit performance of his young career.

POWELL'S PERFECT PASSING
Junior transfer Justin Powell dished out a career-high 12 assists in his WSU debut, the most assists by a Coug in a season opener since assists became an official stat in the 1985-86 season and the most by a WSU player in any game in 13 years, when Reggie Moore tallied 12 assists against Portland State, Dec. 19, 2009. It's also the first double-double with assists since Malachi Flynn dished out 11 assists to go with 11 points against Arizona, Jan. 31, 2018.

MULLINS' DREAM DEBUT
Junior transfer Jabe Mullins wasted no time opening his scoring account at WSU. Mullins scored the opening basket for the Cougs in the season opener against Texas State – a fast-break layup 3-point play after a block from TJ Bamba at the defensive end. Mullins finished the game with 13 points in a career-high 34 minutes played, and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, both career highs.

ROSARIO'S RETURN
Junior Carlos Rosario made his return for the Cougars in the season opener versus Texas State. It had been 627 days (Feb. 18, 2021) since Rosario last played for Wazzu, having to medically redshirt his sophomore season after playing just seven games his freshman season due to medical issues. In his return to the court, Rosario scored his first-career field goal and finished with a career-high six points and three rebounds.

MAEL BLOCK PARTY
True freshman and Parisian Mael Hamon-Crespin made his collegiate debut against Texas State. Hamon-Crespin picked up two points in the win and a team-high three blocks. The Frenchman's three denials tie for second most in the country by a true freshman in their debut and the most blocks by a WSU freshman in a season opener since DeAngelo Casto blocked four shots against Mississippi Valley State, Nov. 15, 2008.

RODMAN RETURNING VETERAN
As the Cougars' veteran senior, Rodman entered WSU's starting lineup in the season opener against Texas State. Rodman scored 16 points, the most since scoring a career high 21 points against Northern Colorado, Dec. 18, 2021. He finished with a +14 plus-minus and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Rodman followed up with a career-high 14 rebounds against Boise State to lead WSU on the boards, with 5 offensive rebounds.

COUGAR DEBUTS
In the season opener versus Texas State, seven players made their WSU debut, including four Cougar freshmen (Darling, Diongue, Hamon-Crespin, and Houinsou), two junior transfers (Mullins, Powell), and one redshirt-senior (Olesen).

DARLING LEGACY COUG
Darling is a legacy Coug as both of his parents, James and Kim, are WSU graduates. His father played four years on the gridiron for the Cougs and was a first-team All-Pac-10 honoree twice and second-team Sporting News All-American as a senior. He went on to play 10 years in the NFL.  Darling made his collegiate debut as the first substitute in the season opener versus Texas State, despite playing only two minutes due to injury.

INJURY BUG BITES EARLY
The Cougs have been short-handed since the start of the season due to injury. Prior to the season starting, the Cougars announced they will be without junior Dishon Jackson or redshirt freshman Myles Rice. Both are out indefinitely due to medical issues. Rice announced publicly in October he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and is undergoing treatment. Jackson did not disclose his medical issue and asked for privacy. In addition, Darling (hip) and Jakimovski (foot) have been nursing injuries since preseason.

ABOUT THE 2022-23 COUGARS
Washington State men's basketball tips off the 2022-23 season, Monday, Nov. 7, hosting Texas State at Beasley Coliseum. Tip off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. with coverage on the Pac-12 Network. WSU returns five letterwinners from last season's team, including two starters in TJ Bamba and Mouhamed Gueye. The Cougars welcome 10 new faces to the roster, including seven freshmen, two junior transfers, and a returning senior redshirt in Ben Olesen. After losing three starters including All-Pac-12 First Teamer and leading scorer Michael Flowers, the Cougs will look to preseason All-Pac-12 honoree Mouhamed Gueye to lead the way in the paint in 2022-23.

WASHINGTON STATE IN SEASON OPENERS
The Cougs improved to 100-22 all-time in season openers and 61-8 when opening the season at home. WSU has won every season opener when opening at Beasley Coliseum and its last 27 season openers at home. WSU has won 33-consecutive Beasley Coliseum openers (not necessarily the first game of the season, but the first at home), with their last loss coming to BYU, Dec. 3, 1987.

NEW FACES READY TO MAKE AN IMPACT
The Cougs' seven freshmen and two transfers are ready to contribute early. Three of the freshmen bring international experience to the Cougs, including Mael Hamon-Crespin and Kymany Houinsou from France and Adrame Diongue from Senegal. Incoming transfers Jabe Mullins from Saint Mary's and Justin Powell from Tennessee are expected to be starters or heavy contributors to the Cougar lineup. Mullins saw action in 53 games at SMC, including playing in all 34 contests in 2021-22 off the bench a veteran laden Gaels squad. Powell saw action in 30 games for the Volunteers including playing in his first postseason contest against Longwood in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

GUEYE RETURNS WITH PRESEASON HONORS
In October, sophomore Mouhamed Gueye was named to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference First Team. A member of the 2021-22 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, Gueye established himself as an elite rebounding presence during his freshman season, earning five Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors. The 6-11 forward posted a team-best three double-doubles last year, including his first Pac-12 double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds against Stanford, Jan. 13. Over the season, Gueye averaged 7.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He also tallied 33 blocks, 4th all-time by a WSU freshman, and pulled in 181 rebounds, 5th all-time by a Coug freshman.

WSU LOOKING TO BUILD OFF NIT RUN
The Cougs finished their postseason run in the NIT Semifinals for the second time in six tournament appearances and for the first time since 2011. All time at the NIT the Cougs are 10-6 including going 6-2 in their last two tournaments in 2022 and 2011 (both trips to the semifinals). The Cougs opened the 2022 tournament with an impressive 63-50 win over Santa Clara at home at Beasley Coliseum. In round two the Cougs took down 1-seed SMU, 75-63, in Dallas, handing the Mustangs their first loss at home in 2021-22. In Provo, the Cougs blasted BYU, 77-58, to earn their trip to NYC. The run would end at the Garden with a 72-56 loss to Texas A&M.

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