WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (5-1) vs PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-1)
Saturday, Dec. 2 at 2:06 p.m. PT
Pullman, Washington
Beasley Coliseum // 11,671
Radio Coverage
Matt Chazanow & Craig Ehlo
WSU Learfield Network
Television Coverage
Pac-12 Network & Washington
Greg Heister & Dan Belluomini

OPENING FIVE
1. Washington State faces Portland State, Saturday, Dec. 2, to begin the month of December and continue a five-game homestand with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m.
2. Myles Rice continued an incredible start to his freshman season with a career-high 28 points in the win over EWU, including starting 6 of 6 from downtown - Rice has scored in double figures in five of the first six games
3. The Cougs shot an eye-watering 65.2% from 3-point range against Utah Tech with 15 made 3-pointers - the most made shots from beyond the arc since setting the school record with 19 made 3-point field goals last November against Detroit Mercy
4. WSU is one of the best rim protection frontcourts in the country, averaging 6.2 blocks per game, tied for 11th in the country, while KenPom ranks WSU fifth nationally in effective block percentage. All four primary frontcourt players have at least seven blocks each (Chinyelu, Cluff, Jakimovski, Jones)
5. Isaac Jones faced Portland State twice last season in Big Sky play, registering double-doubles in both contests, including a 30-point game in Portland, Feb. 2, 2023

COUGARS VS VIKINGS
Washington State welcomes the Vikings of Portland State to Beasley Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. The meeting marks the 10th matchup between the Cougs and Vikings, with WSU boasting a perfect 9-0 record in the series history. The Cougars and Vikings have met once during Kyle Smith's tenure at WSU. WSU beat PSU 69-60 in December 2020 at Beasley Coliseum, during the pandemic season. Andrej Jakimovski was the only Coug to play in the game, scoring 12 points and adding a then-career-high seven rebounds. Isaac Jones, a transfer from Idaho, faced the Viks twice last season in Big Sky play, registering a double-double in both contests with a 30-point game in Portland.

LAST TIME VS PORTLAND STATE
Sophomore Noah Williams scored 18 points and senior Isaac Bonton scored 16 as Washington State held Portland State at bay with a 69-60 win in fall 2020. Washington State never trailed. Freshman TJ Bamba scored 15 points and fellow freshman Andrej Jakimovski added 12. Jakimovski finished with a career- and team-high seven rebounds. The Cougars were receiving votes in the AP Top-25 at the time.

KYLE SMITH VS PORTLAND STATE
WSU Head Coach Kyle Smith has coached against the Vikings twice as a head coach and holds a 1-1 record. Smith dropped a close contest to PSU with the Dons in the 2016-17 season. Smith led WSU to a win over the Vikings in the programs' last meeting in 2020, Smith's second season.

CURRENT ROSTER VS PORTLAND STATE
Fourth-year senior Andrej Jakimovski is the only current roster student-athlete to face the Vikings in a Cougar uniform. Jakimovski scored 12 points with a then-career-high seven rebounds in a 69-60 win over PSU during the pandemic in fall 2020. Fifth-year senior Isaac Jones faced Portland State twice last year in Big Sky play, registering double-doubles in both games, including a 30-point performance in Portland.

LAST TIME OUT // VS EASTERN WASHINGTON
WSU 82 // EWU 72 // NOV. 27, 2023 // PULLMAN, WASH.
Freshman Myles Rice had career highs of six 3-pointers and 28 points and Washington State pulled away inside the final nine minutes to beat Eastern Washington 82-72 on Monday night. Rice finished 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 6 of 8 from long range as he continued his strong start, having scored in double figures in five of his first six games. Oscar Cluff added 12 points for Washington State (5-1). Jakimovski and Rueben Chinyelu scored 11 points apiece and Isaac Jones had 10. The Cougars entered play leading the nation with 37 blocks, but didn't swat any shots against the Eagles.

NEXT UP // UC RIVERSIDE
Washington State continues its 5-game homestand next week, hosting UC Riverside, Wednesday, Dec. 6 at Beasley Coliseum with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. WSU last faced UCR in December 2019, defeating the Highlanders, 70-56, in Kyle Smith's first season on the Palouse. Wazzu forced 23 turnovers by UCR and evened the all-time series 1-1, following the inaugural meeting between the programs in 2011.

RICE ROCKETS TO CAREER-HIGH
Redshirt-freshman Myles Rice put together the best scoring performance of the year by a Coug in last Monday's win over Eastern Washington. The South Carolina native dropped 28 points after starting the game with 6-straight made 3-pointers. Rice has scored in double figures five out of six games, and twice eclipsed 20 points in a single game. Rice is also the top-rebounder in the backcourt, grabbing 2.8 boards per game, while dishing out 2.5 assists per game.

NATIONAL RIM PROTECTORS
WSU has owned the height advantage early in nonconference play, boasting 37 blocks, 6.2 per game, to lead the Pac-12 Conference. The Cougars' average is tied for 11th nationally and the Cougs are ranked No. 5 in the country according to KenPom.com's effective block percentage. True freshman Rueben Chinyelu leads the Cougs, twice swatting away three shots in a single game. All four primary frontcourt players have at least seven blocks each (Chinyelu, Cluff, Jakimovski, Jones).

SMOOTH SHOOTING
The Cougars have gotten off to a hot start from the floor, shooting above .500 in four of their first six games. Wazzu is third in the Pac-12 Conference with a .501 team field goal percentage, trailing No. 2 Arizona and Colorado in shooting, and ranks 29th in Division-I basketball. The Cougs have won every game shooting above .500 and also shot an eye-watering .652 from beyond the arc last Friday against Utah Tech, the best since making a school record 19 threes (.655) in last fall's win over Detroit Mercy.

TALENTED IN TRANSITION
Fast break points have been hard to come by for Wazzu's opponents with just 19 transition points all season. Wazzu is quick to get back on defense, outscoring opponents in fast break opportunities 9.7 to 3.2 points in transition per game.

GETTING PAINT TOUCHES
Kyle Smith has made it clear the Cougs thrive when everyone on the team gets paint touches. Through six games, Wazzu has outscored its opponents 238 to 144 in the key. Against Rhode Island, WSU scored a season-high 52 points in the paint. The Cougars are getting just shy of 50% of their scoring from inside the key (39.7 points per game), while holding opponents to an average 24.0 points in the paint per game.

JONES JOINS DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB
Fifth-year senior transfer Isaac Jones has the most experience against Portland State of anyone on this year's WSU roster. Jones twice laid double-doubles on the Vikings, once in Moscow before adding a 30-point performance in the win at Portland State. Jones notched his first career double-double as a Coug in the Nov. 10 over Prairie View. The Spanaway, Washington native scored a team-high 18 points with a team-best 11 rebounds. Jones currently has 18 career double-doubles, including last season at Idaho.

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 his 90th game appearance and started his 50th career game against Utah Tech, last Friday. He made five 3-pointers for the second time in his career and became the first Coug with five triples in a single game since Justin Powell made five at UCLA last February. Jakimovski scored 20 points for the second time this season and the third time in his career.

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 .600 shooting average, tied for third in the Pac-12 Conference.

WINNING THE GLASS BATTLE
The Cougars have used their height advantage on the defense glass to hold opponents to an average of 7.8 second-chance points per game. WSU boasts a +8.0 rebounding margin and scores 13.2 second chance points per game.

JAYLEN JOINS THE CLUB
Junior transfer Jaylen Wells scored his first-career points in the Nov. 19 win over Rhode Island. The former Division-II star and All-American finished with 10 points for his first double-digit performance. The Sacramento native also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds against the Rams. Wells followed the performance with new career highs in the win over Utah Tech, finishing with 16 points on four made 3-pointers and eight rebounds.

KYMANY CAREER HIGHS IN CONNECTICUT
Sophomore Kymany Houinsou enjoyed a double-digit performance in the opening half of WSU's win in Connecticut, scoring 11 of his career-high 13 points in the first period. Houinsou's performance included career-highs in field goals made and attempted, while the Frenchman added three rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one blocked shot.

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.

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.


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