WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (8-2) vs BOISE STATE BRONCOS (8-3)
Thursday, Dec. 21 at 8 p.m. PT
Spokane, Wash.
Spokane Arena // 12,210
Radio Coverage
WSU Learfield Network
Matt Chazanow & Craig Ehlo
Television Coverage
Pac-12 Network
Greg Heister & Dan Dickau

OPENING FIVE
1. WSU travels north for a neutral-site matchup against Boise State, Thursday, Dec. 21, at 8 p.m. from Spokane Arena. The Cougs and Broncos meet for the third-straight season
2. Myles Rice continued an incredible start to his freshman season, the 2-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week is WSU's leading scorer at 15.6 ppg, shooting 46.7%, while dishing out 29 assists and grabbing 19 steals
3. The Cougars shoot the ball at a 48.8%clip, having shot over 50% six times this season - the mark is third in Pac-12 and 35th in the country, while holding opponents to 37.5%, top in the Pac-12 and ninth in Division-I
4. Four Cougs are shooting over 50% from the floor, led by WSU bigs Jones (.648), Chinyelu (.644), and Cluff (.578), with Houinsou shooting 56.1% from the floor and Rice close behind at 46.7 FG percentage
5. WSU is one of the best rim protection frontcourts in the country, averaging 6.1 blocks per game, top in Pac-12 and tied for 10th in the country. Chinyelu leads WSU with 16 blocks and five Cougs have at least 8 blocks (Chinyelu, Cluff, Houinsou, Jakimovski, Jones)

LAST TIME VS BOISE STATE
Washington State traveled to Boise for a neutral-site, pseudo-road game at Idaho Central Arena in the capital's downtown. The Cougs dropped their second-straight contest to the Broncos, playing without Andrej Jakimovski, falling 61-71. The result was WSU largest defeat at the hands of BSU. Junior TJ Bamba led the game with 24 points and senior DJ Rodman grabbed 14 rebounds in the loss.

CURRENT COUGS VS BOISE STATE
WSU Head Coach Kyle Smith has faced the Broncos twice during his tenure in Pullman, having never faced Boise State as head coach at USF or Columbia. WSU has lost both contests with BSU, losing in Spokane by six in 2021, before falling in Boise last year by 10 points. Only two Cougars on the current roster played in last November's game. Junior transfer Jabe Mullins started the contest, finishing with five points and three rebounds. Then-freshman Kymany Houinsou scored two points with one rebound in nine minutes.

COUGARS VS BRONCOS
Washington State travels north to face Boise State in the Numerica Holiday Hoops game at Spokane Arena in Spokane, Wash., Thursday, Dec. 21, with tipoff scheduled for 8 p.m. PT and televised on Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Washington. The meeting will mark the ninth all-time between the programs. Last November, the Broncos evened the series at 4-4 in a neutral-site, pseudo-road game for the Cougs at Idaho Central Arena in the capital's downtown. The Cougs played without Andrej Jakimovski, falling 61-71. Thursday's game marks the third-straight season with WSU and BSU facing off. The Broncos also won in 2021, a matchup at Spokane Arena. Boise State Head Coach Leon Rice, a 1986 graduate of Washington State, is 2-0 against his alma mater during his BSU tenure.

LAST TIME OUT // VS SANTA CLARA
WSU 61 // SCU 69 // DEC. 16, 2023 // PHOENIX, ARIZ.
Santa Clara held off a late comeback to defeat Washington State, 69-61, Saturday at the Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix behind 23 points from Adama-Alpha Bal. Isaac Jones led WSU with 16 points. Andrej Jakimovski added 14 and Myles Rice scored 12 for the Cougars, who had a six-game winning streak come to an end. The Cougars were up 16-12 with 13:55 left in half before Santa Clara went on a 23-1 run. Kymany Houinsou's fast-break dunk off a turnover with 2:56 left in half was the first Washington State field goal since Jakimovski's 3-pointer with 14:42 remaining. The Cougars used a late 10-0 run to pull within 60-54 with 2:23 remaining. WSU's Jones made a dunk with 49 seconds left to cut Santa Clara's lead to four points, but the Broncos went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line the rest of the way to close out the victory.

NEXT UP // PAC-12 PLAY BEGINS
After a week-long respite for the winter holidays, the Cougars will return to Pullman to prep for Pac-12 Conference play. Washington State begins the 2023-24 Pac-12 season on the road in Salt Lake City, Utah. WSU will face Utah, Friday, Dec. 29, at 5:30 p.m. PT (6:30 p.m. MT) live on Pac-12 Network.

RICE CONTINUES STELLAR START TO FRESHMAN YEAR
Redshirt-freshman Myles Rice, a 2-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, has emerged as WSU's leading scorer at 15.6 points per game. Rice has scored in double figures in eight of his first 10 games. The Columbia, S.C. native dished out a career-high seven assists in last week's win over Grambling, the most by a Coug this season and also grabbed seven steals in the win, the most by a Coug in four seasons, and one shy of WSU's all-time single-game record. Rice is currently the conference's second-leading freshmen scorer, behind USC's Isaiah Collier, and 13th overall. Rice became the first Cougar to earn the first back-to-back Pac-12 weekly awards since Mouhamed Gueye was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in the final two weeks of the 2021-22 season.

COUGS TOP 50 IN LATEST NET
In the 2023-24 season's NET rankings released by the NCAA, Dec. 20, Washington State checks in at No. 42. The Cougars are the 4th-highest Pac-12 team, ranked behind national No. 2 Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. WSU climbed as high as No. 24 early in nonconference play.

STIFLING DEFENSE
The Cougars' defense has fit Coach Smith's mold of winning with grit, as WSU ranks No. 1 in the Pac-12 Conference in field goal percentage defense (.375), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.284), and blocks per game (6.1). Wazzu's defensive field goal prowess ranks ninth in the country and  29th from beyond the arc. The Cougs limit opponents to 62.6 ppg, second in the Pac-12 and 21st nationally. WSU's scoring margin (+15.9) is 24th-best in America and rebounding margin (+9.3) checks in at No. 24 in D-I.

NATIONAL RIM PROTECTORS
WSU has owned the height advantage early in nonconference play, boasting 61 blocks, 6.1 per game, to lead the Pac-12 Conference. The Cougars' average is 10th nationally and the Cougs are ranked No. 9 in the country according to KenPom.com's effective block percentage. True freshman Rueben Chinyelu leads the Coug with 16 rejections. Five Cougs have at least eight blocks each (Chinyelu, Cluff, Houinsou, Jakimovski, Jones). In the Dec. 2 win over Portland State, the Cougs swatted away a season-high 10 shots, marking the first time since March 2022 with 10+ blocks in a single game.

SMOOTH SHOOTING
The Cougars have gotten off to a hot start from the floor, shooting above .500 in six of their first nine games. Wazzu is third in the Pac-12 Conference with a .488 team field goal percentage, trailing No. 4 Arizona and Colorado in shooting, and ranks 35th in Division-I basketball. The Cougs have won every game shooting above .500 and also shot an eye-watering .652 from beyond the arc in a Nov. 24 win against Utah Tech, the best since making a school record 19 threes (.655) in last fall's win over Detroit Mercy.

NOT SO FAST...
Fast break points have been hard to come by for Wazzu's opponents with just 49 transition points allowed all season. Wazzu is quick to get back on defense, outscoring opponents in fast break opportunities 10.9 to 4.9 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. Throughout nonconference, Wazzu has outscored its opponents 400-246 in the key. Against Rhode Island, WSU scored a season-high 52 points in the paint and twice has scored 50+ points in the key. The Cougars are getting over 50% of their scoring from inside the key (40.0 points per game), while holding opponents to an average 24.6 points in the paint per game.

JONES STEPS INTO LEADING ROLE
Fifth-year senior transfer Isaac Jones has found a role as a big 4, stretching the floor against bigger defenders, while working inside against smaller matchups. Jones has registered two double-doubles as a Coug, including 27 points with 11 rebounds in a win over Portland State. The Spanaway, Washington native shoots an efficient 64.8% from the field, ranking second in the Pac-12 and 19th nationally. Jones has led the Cougars in rebounding five times and ranks fifth in the Pac-12 with 7.5 rebounds per game. Jones is the Cougs' second leading scorer with 15.1 points per game, 14th in the Conference.

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. Since then, Wells has found his form, scoring in double figures four times, including the first double-double of his Division-I career with 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Cougars over UC Riverside.

KYMANY THE "FRENCH ARMY KNIFE"
Sophomore Kymany Houinsou does a little bit of everything and has taken over additional guard duties with Yesufu out, dishing out a team-best 30 assists. Houinsou enjoyed a double-digit performance in WSU's win over Portland State, his second of the year. Starting the last four games in a point guard role, the Frenchman has distributed 14 assists, grabbed five steals, blocked six shots, and grabbed 15 rebounds, in addition to 27 points scored.

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, Nov 24, and scored in double figures five times. 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.

WINNING THE GLASS BATTLE
The Cougars have used their height advantage on the defense glass to hold opponents to an average of 8.1 second-chance points per game. WSU boasts a +9.3 rebounding margin, which ranks 24th nationally, and scores 14.2 second chance points per game.

MULLINS MAGIC
Senior Jabe Mullins returned for his senior season as the Pac-12 Conference's leading 3-point shooter. Mullins, a former Washington High School State Player of the Year, finished atop the Conference in 2022-23 at 43% from beyond the arc with 55 made triples.

WATTS WORKS INTO LINEUP
True freshman Isaiah Watts had his best game of his young career in a Dec. 6 win over UC Riverside. The West Seattle native finished with a career-high eight points, including a pair of crucial 3-pointers to cap a 23-0 run in the first half. Watts added two dime assists in transition and picked up his first career block.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

TOP HALF OF THE PAC
The Cougars finished fifth in the Pac-12 last season, 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.

RING THAT BELL, MYLES IS CANCER FREE
On March 9, 2023, Myles Rice received his final chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He rung the victory bell at the treatment center in Moscow, Idaho and was declared cancer-free and in remission in June. He received a medical redshirt for this season and entered the 2023-24 season with four years of eligibility, plus a COVID relief exemption.

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