WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (2-0) VS MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS (3-0)
Saturday, Nov. 18 at 9 a.m. PT
Uncasville, Conn.
Mohegan Sun // 8,300
Radio Coverage
Luke Hallett & Craig Ehlo
WSU Learfield Network
Television Coverage
ESPN+
Derek Jones & Chris Spatola

OPENING FIVE
1. The Washington State Cougars hit the road for the first time during the 2023-24 season, traveling to Uncasville, Connecticut, for the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off at Mohegan Sun Arena beginning Saturday at 9 a.m. PT
2. Myles Rice continued his strong freshman start, scoring in double figures both games in Week 1, dishing out five assists in the win over PVAM and averaging 14 points over two games
3. Wazzu has three former Washington 4A State Player of the Year recipients on its roster – Jabe Mullins (2020), Dylan Darling (2022), and Parker Gerrits (2023) and boasts six student-athletes in total from the Evergreen State (Jones, Olesen, Watts)
4. Isaac Jones recorded his first double-double as a Coug, last Friday with 11 rebounds and 18 points...Jones is second in Pac-12 with 10.0 rebounds per game and 10th in the Conference with 64.7 fg percentage
5. Oscar Cluff is currently second in Pac-12 with a 75% shooting average...against Prairie View, Cluff scored 17 points, including 5 of 5 from the floor and 7 of 8 from the free throw line

LAST TIME VS MISSISSIPPI STATE
The Cougars met the Bulldogs at the 2010 Diamondhead Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Cougars, led by Klay Thompson, beat MSU by double-digits in the opening round, before knocking off No. 15 Baylor and advancing to the MTE title game. Thompson finished the game against the Bulldogs with 28 points, as Wazzu outscored MSU 44-17 in the second half for the win.

COUGARS VS BULLDOGS
The Washington State Cougars travel to Uncasville, Connecticut, for the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off event, beginning Saturday, Nov. 18 against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Cougars have faced the Bulldogs twice in the programs' histories, both in neutral site MTEs in the last 15 years. Wazzu won both matchups by double digits. WSU Head Coach Kyle Smith has never coached against the Mississippi State side in 14 years of coaching. In the last meeting between WSU and MSU, then junior Klay Thompson dropped 28 points in an opening round win at the 2010 Diamondhead Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.

LAST TIME OUT // VS PRAIRIE VIEW
WSU 83 // PVAM 65 // NOV. 10, 2023 // PULLMAN, WASHINGTON
Isaac Jones scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Oscar Cluff scored 17 points on near-perfect shooting and Washington State beat Prairie View A&M 83-65 Friday night. Cluff, who finished with five rebounds, four assists and two blocks, made 5 of 5 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. Myles Rice had 15 points and five assists for Washington State and Andrej Jakimovski added 14 points, nine rebounds, and four steals.

NEXT UP // BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME TIP-OFF
Washington State concludes the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off against Rhode Island or Northwestern, Sunday, Nov. 19, from Mohegan Sun Arena on ESPN2 or ESPNU.

SMOOTH SHOOTING
The Cougars have gotten off to a hot start from the floor, shooting above .500 in each of their first two games. Wazzu is second in the Pac-12 Conference with s .540 field goal percentage, trailing only Colorado in shooting. WSU also shoots at an efficient rate with 30.5 field goals made per game (fifth in Conference), compared to 56.5 shot attempts (10th).

BLOCK PARTY
WSU has owned the height advantage each of the first two games, boasting 17 blocks, 8.5 per game, to lead the Pac-12. True freshman Rueben Chinyelu swatted away three blocks in the season opener, marking the second year in a row with a true freshman tallying three rejections in the season opener. Chinyelu's three blocks marked the most by any high-major freshman in the country this year.

CLUFF FINDS HIS FOOTING
Junior college transfer Oscar Cluff found his footing in the second game of the season, exploding for 17 points and five rebounds. The Australian center shot a perfect 5 of 5 from the floor, and finished 7 of 8 from the free throw line. Cluff holds a .750 shooting average, second-best in the Pac-12 Conference.

MYLES MIRACLE RETURN
Redshirt-freshman Myles Rice waited two seasons on the sideline before getting to play his first college basketball game. After redshirting his true freshman year during 2021-22, Rice was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma prior to the 2022-23 season and underwent chemotherapy treatment throughout the academic year. Last spring, Myles received his last chemotherapy treatment and was declared in remission. The Columbia, S.C. native got the starting nod in the season opener and played 29 minutes in the win last Monday night. Rice went for 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while grabbing four rebounds, and dishing out three assists in his career debut. He followed with a 15 point performance with four rebounds, while dishing out a team-high five assists in last Friday's win over Prairie View.

JONES JOINS DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB
Fifth-year senior transfer Isaac Jones notched his first career double-double as a Coug in last Friday's win over Prairie View. The Spanaway, Washington native scored a team-high 18 points with a team-best 11 rebounds, becoming one of only nine Conference players with a double double this year. Jones currently has 18 career double-doubles, including last season at Idaho.

WATTS WORKS INTO LINEUP
True freshman Isaiah Watts played 10 minutes off the bench in WSU's win over Idaho, marking his collegiate debut. The Washington native made two crucial 3-pointers in the contest, finishing with six points, one rebound and a blocked shot.

JAK IS BACK
Senior Andrej Jakimovski returned as the Cougars' only 4-year veteran and entered the season fully healthy for the first time since his freshman year. Jakimovski exploded for a game-high 21 points in the season opener, one shy of his career high. The North Macedonian made eight baskets from the floor, including three from beyond the arc. Jakimovski also blocked two shots in Monday's win, his first career game with multiple blocks, while also distributing two assists. Against Prairie View, Jakimovski added 14 points and nine rebounds, while grabbing a career-high four steals and dishing out two assists. Dating back to last season, Jakimovski is on a six-game double-digit scoring streak.

KYLE STARTING WITH SUCCESS
Kyle Smith is the first head coach in Washington State men's basketball history to finish with a .500+ record in his first four seasons on the Palouse. Tony Bennett posted three-consecutive winning seasons before leaving the program.

COACH KYLE - KING OF THE PNW
Since arriving on the Palouse prior to the 2019-20 season, WSU Head Coach Kyle Smith has dominated his fellow Pac-12 Pacific Northwest opponents. Against Oregon, Oregon State, and Washington, Coach Smith is a combined 15-5 and defeated all three regional rivals in succession for the first time since 1993-94 under Kelvin Sampson. The Cougars have swept the Huskies, Ducks, and Beavers in Pullman for two-straight seasons and are 6-1 at Beasley Coliseum against Conference PNW opponents under Coach Smith.

HOMEGROWN ROSTER
The Cougars boast six student-athletes on the 2023-24 roster from the state of Washington, including three former Washington State Players of the Year. Senior Jabe Mullins was named the WIAA 4A Player of the Year in 2020, followed by sophomore Dylan Darling in 2022, and incoming freshman Parker Gerrits last spring.

HOME SWEET HOME
Washington State will complete its entire nonconference schedule without a true road game. WSU will host seven nonconference games at Beasley Coliseum, while participating in four neutral-site games before kicking off conference play. The scheduling quirk marks the first time since the 2020-21 season that the Cougars do not play a true nonconference road game.

TWO COUGS SIGN TO PLAY FOR WAZZU
WSU announced two new Cougars who signed National Letters of Intent to play college basketball in Pullman next fall. Evan Stinson signed as the No. 2 prospect in Washington State, a small forward from Cheney, Washington. Marcus Wilson, a native of Albuquerque, signed as a combo guard currently competing at highly-regarded Bella Vista Prep.

WAZZU IN SEASON OPENERS
The Cougs improved to 101-22 all-time in season openers and 62-8 when opening the season at home. WSU has won every season opener when opening at Beasley Coliseum and its last 28 season openers at home. WSU has won 34-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.

MULLINS MAGIC
Jabe Mullins returns as one of the country's top 3-point shooters. Last year, Mullins finished second in the Pac-12 with a 43.0% (55-of-128) 3-point field goal percentage. Eight times he made 3+ shots from beyond the arc. Against Eastern Washington, Nov. 21, Mullins made eight 3-point field goals - the most made 3s by a Pac-12 player in the 2022-23 season and tied for third-most by a high-major player in Division I.  The Snoqualmie, Wash., native also rarely misses from the line, having missed just four charity shots since arriving at WSU (27-of-31).

TOP HALF OF THE PAC
The Cougars finished fifth in the Pac-12, earning Kyle Smith's highest finish in four seasons at WSU. For the first time since the 2007-08 season, Wazzu finished with back-to-back winning Conference records. Smith is the only coach in Washington State history to post a winning record in the Pac-12 era. It's the first time WSU finished in the top half of the Pac-10/12 back-to-back years since the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. In the Pac-X Conference era, WSU has posted 14 winning conference records.

GUEYE HIGHEST COUG DRAFT PICK SINCE KLAY THOMPSON
Sophomore Mouhamed Gueye, an All-Pac-12 First Team selection was drafted in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft at No. 39 by the Charlotte Hornets. Gueye, who led the Pac-12 Conference with 15 double-doubles and grabbed more offensive rebounds than any player in the Pac-12, was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, where he played significant minutes throughout NBA Summer League and made his NBA regular season debut last weekend.

WSU POSTSEASON
The Cougars bid to the 2023 NIT marked the program's seventh all-time appearance in the postseason event. Twice Wazzu reached the semifinals, during the 2021-22 and during the 2011 NIT. WSU holds a 10-7 record all-time in the event. WSU earned back-to-back postseason berths for the first time since reaching the Sweet Sixteen in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and earned a bid to the 2009 NIT the following season.

FOLLOW THE COUGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA ALL SEASON LONG
Get all the info, photos, and videos a true Coug Fan could want by following the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (WSUCougarMBB).