vs California (3-28, 2-18) | Wednesday, March 8 | 2:30 p.m. PT | T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas)
  Live Stats | StatBroadcast
  Watch | Pac-12 Network (Roxy Bernstein & Don MacLean)
  Listen | WSU Learfield Radio Network (Matt Chazanow & Craig Ehlo)

OPENING FIVE
1. WSU streaks into Sin City on a 6-game winning streak to face California in the opening round of the 2023 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament. The Cougs and Golden Bears are scheduled to tip off at 2:30 p.m. PT from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with coverage on Pac-12 Network. WSU swept Cal this season, defeating the Bears in Pullman, Jan. 11, 66-51, and at Berkeley, Feb. 25, 63-57. Last year in the Pac-12 Tournament, Wazzu faced Cal in the opening round, defeating the Berkeley school 66-59 to advance to the tournament quarterfinals.
2. Last time out, WSU swept Washington with a win in Seattle, 93-84. The Cougs put out their second-highest offensive performance of the season, notching a sixth-consecutive win, Kyle Smith's longest Conference winning streak at the helm of WSU. TJ Bamba exploded for a career-high 36 points, while Andrej Jakimovski had a career night on the glass with 17 rebounds, adding a double-double with 12 points. Mouhamed Gueye went for 15 points and 10 rebounds in his 15th double-double of the season, while DJ Rodman added 12 and Justin Powell 11 points.
3. The Cougars average 8.9 made 3-point field goals per game, more than any team in the Pac-12 and eighth among major conference programs. Individually, three Cougars are amongst the top-10 shooters in the Conference, led by Jabe Mullins with the second-best 3-point percentage at 41.5% (49-of-118). Justin Powell sits behind him in third at 40.9%, followed by DJ Rodman in ninth in the Pac-12 with a 38.7% clip.
4. Mouhamed Gueye leads the Pac-12 in double-doubles, with 15 double-doubles this season. Last week at Washington, Gueye recorded his fourth-straight double-double, marking eight in the last 10 games. At USC, Feb. 2, Gueye dropped a career-high 31 points. The Senegalese sophomore is averaging 14.5 ppg (ninth in Pac-12) and 8.7 rpg (second in Pac-12). Gueye has grabbed more offensive rebounds than any other player in the Pac-12 with 109 offensive boards, ranked 14th nationally at 3.52 offensive rebounds per game.
5. TJ Bamba has emerged as Wazzu's leading scorer at 15.7 points per game, eighth in the Conference. Against Washington, Bamba scored a career-high 36 points, for the first 30-point game of his career in the WSU win. Bamba has scored in double figures 21 times this season, including six games with 20+ points, and has led WSU is scoring 10 times.

COUGARS VS GOLDEN BEARS
WSU streaks into Sin City on a 6-game winning streak to face California in the opening round of the 2023 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament. The Cougs and Golden Bears are scheduled to tip off at 2:30 p.m. PT from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with coverage on Pac-12 Network. WSU swept Cal this season, defeating the Bears in Pullman, Jan. 11, 66-51, and at Berkeley, Feb. 25, 63-57. Last year in the Pac-12 Tournament, Wazzu faced Cal in the opening round, defeating the Berkeley school 66-59 to advance to the tournament quarterfinals.

LAST TIME OUT – AT WASHINGTON
WSU 93 - WASH 84 | MARCH 2, 2023 | SEATTLE, WASH.
TJ Bamba scored a career-high 36 points, Andrej Jakimovski added a double-double and Washington State won its sixth straight Pac-12 Conference game for the first time in 30 years with a 93-84 victory over Washington last Thursday. Bamba made 13 of 20 shots with three 3-pointers and all seven of his free throws for the Cougars. Jakimovski scored 12 points and grabbed a career-best 17 rebounds. DJ Rodman pitched in with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists, also drawing his 27th charge of the season. Sophomore Mouhamed Gueye finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for his 15th double-double this season. Justin Powell had 11 points and four assists.

NEXT UP
The Cougars look to advance to the Pac-12 Tournament Quarterfinals for the second-consecutive year and improve their resume for a postseason berth. The winner of the WSU-Cal matchup will face fourth-seeded Oregon in a  Thursday afternoon bout, with tipoff scheduled for 2:30 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Networks from T-Mobile Arena. WSU split the season series with Oregon, falling to the Ducks in early December at Eugene, before returning the favor with a win at home in January.

STREAKING INTO SIN CITY
WSU enters the Pac-12 Tournament on a 6-game winning streak, the longest Pac-12 winning streak of Kyle Smith's tenure, and the longest Conference winning streak since winning 6-straight in 1992-93 under Kelvin Sampson (Jan. 21, 1993-Feb. 6, 1993). The Cougars are one of four programs in the Power 6 conferences with a 6+-game-winning streak, keeping company with No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 Marquette, and Duke. The top-ranked Houston Cougars and No. 10 Gonzaga are the only other two high major programs with active winning streaks longer than Washington State.

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. 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.

RECORD IN LAS VEGAS
Washington State played its first game in the Sin City during the 2012 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, March 7, 2012, falling to Oregon State, 64-69. Since then, WSU holds a 2-13 record all-time on The Strip, with wins against Colorado, March 11, 2020 (final Division I basketball game in the country before COVID shutdown) and a win in the opening round of the 2022 Pac-12 Tournament over California, 66-59. The Cougars played in Vegas earlier this season, falling to then-undefeated UNLV, 70-74, in the Las Vegas Clash at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Dec. 10.

GUEYE TAKING OVER THE CONFERENCE OF CHAMPIONS
Sophomore Mouhamed Gueye, a preseason All-Pac-12 selection and All-Freshman honoree last season, leads the Pac-12 Conference with 15 double-doubles this year. Gueye has grabbed more offensive rebounds than any player in the Pac-12 with 109 offensive boards, ranking 14th nationally (3.52 orpg). Gueye is averaging 14.5 points per game (ninth in Pac-12) and 8.7 rebounds per game (second in Pac-12). Nine times this year, he has grabbed five or more offensive rebounds. Gueye tallied his fourth-straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the win at Washington, marking 8-in-10 games with a double-double registering his seventh double-double in the last nine games. At USC, Feb. 2, Gueye dropped a career-high 31 points. Nineteen times this year Gueye has led the Cougs in rebounding.
 
BAMBA BRINGS THE BUSINESS
TJ Bamba, who has nursed a left hand injury since early January, scored a career-high 36 points at Washington, March 2, his first career 30-point performance. Bamba has emerged as Washington State's leading scorer at 15.7 points per game, eighth in the Pac-12. Bamba has scored in double figures 21 times this season, including six games with 20+ points.

KYLE'S QUICK CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Since arriving at WSU four seasons ago, Kyle Smith has quickly become one of the most successful coaches in program history. With WSU's win at Washington last weekend, the Cougs secured a 6-game Conference winning streak for the first time since the 1992-93 season under Kelvin Sampson. The Cougars also completed a road sweep over the Bay Area schools for the second-straight season for the first time since the 1981-83 seasons. Coach Smith has won 35 Conference game in four seasons, more than any other WSU coach in their first four years (Bennetts - 31) and boasts a better winning percentage in the first four years of tenure (.455) than any previous WSU coach (Bennetts - .431). The Cougars secured back-to-back winning conference records for the first time since the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.

BOMBS AWAY
The Cougars aren't afraid to pull the trigger from deep. As a team, WSU makes 8.9 3-point field goals per game, more than any team in the Pac-12 and eighth among major conference programs. Individually, three Cougars are amongst the top-10 shooters in the Conference, led by Jabe Mullins in second with a 41.5% (49-of-118) clip from beyond the arc. Justin Powell sits just behind him in third at 40.9% and DJ Rodman is ninth in the Pac-12 with a 38.7% clip. Twelve times this season WSU has made 10+ threes and are 9-3 in those games.

TURNING THE TIDE
After beginning the season 2-6 in two-possession games, WSU has now won four-straight games decided by 6 points or fewer. The Cougars are now 6-7 in two-possession games. Nine of the Cougars' 16 victories this season have come by at least 10+ points. Closing out close games is crucial for the Cougs, who lost to Utah, No. 11 Baylor, UNLV, No. 11 UCLA, Colorado, and No. 6 Arizona by a combined 20 points. Washington State's smallest margin of victory came Jan. 14 against Stanford, a 60-59 nailbiter and the smallest margin of victory in the Kyle Smith era (first since Santa Clara Dec. 17, 2016).

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
The Cougars have made significant adjustments in ball control throughout the season, reducing the number of turnovers per game from 13.9 in the first 14 games and just one game with fewer than 10 turnovers, to 10.5 turnovers per game in the last 17 games and seven games with fewer than 10 turnovers.

POWELL'S PERFECT PASSING
Junior transfer Justin Powell has been taking care of the rock all season, with a 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. Powell is averaging 2.87 assists per game, 15th in the Pac-12. He is also third in the Conference as a 3-point shooter at 40.9% (72-of-176). Fifteen times this season Powell has committed zero turnovers. Three times this season Powell has tallied 7+ assists without committing a turnover. When he went a perfect 7.0 against Eastern Washington, Nov. 21, he was the first Coug with at least as many assists and no giveaways since Andrej Jakimovski tallied nine assists without a turnover against Cal, Feb. 18, 2021.

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.

DEFENDING THE PERIMETER
In addition to their offensive prowess from beyond the arc, the Cougars are also a top defensive team around the perimeter. WSU is 19th in the country and best in the Conference in three-point field goal defense, limiting opponents to 5.7 made 3-pointers per game. The Cougar backcourt is also quick to run shooters off the line, limiting opponents to 17.6 attempts from deep per game - best in the Pac-12 and third among major conferences. Against Conference opponents, Wazzu is holding teams to 32.4% from 3-point range (sixth in Pac-12).

WHAT, NO LOVE?
Washington State is one of only two programs in the Conference that did not receive a Pac-12 Weekly Performance Award, as voted by members of the media – the other being Stanford. This comes despite a league-leading 15 double-doubles from Mouhamed Gueye and the Pac-12's leader in offensive rebounds, as well as three Cougars in the Conference's top-10 3-point shooting and the second-highest single-game performance (Bamba, 36 points) in the Pac-12 this season. The last time Washington State did not receive a weekly honor over an entire season was 2017-18, before there were freshman honors, and WSU finished 4-14 and 11th in Conference play.

SLOW AND STEADY
The Cougs run one of the slowest offenses in the country, with the 330th tempo in the country, according to KenPom. Despite the pace of play, WSU boasts a top-60 offensive efficiency (58th), and a top-65 defensive efficiency (63rd).

RODMAN'S RETURN
During WSU's Senior Day celebration ahead of tipoff against Oregon,  Feb. 19, senior forward DJ Rodman announced he would be utilizing his COVID eligibility rule and returning to WSU for a fifth season in 2023-24. Since returning for his senior season, Rodman has more than doubled his scoring output, while pulling in 5.6 rpg.

TJ'S JUNIOR JUMP
Bamba has proven to be a formidable force to contain, doubling his scoring output since his sophomore season. The junior has also doubled his assists per game and increased his rebounding average. Bamba gets to the free throw line more than any other Cougar. The Bronx native has attempted 128 shots at the charity stripe, making 94 of his attempts, eighth-most in the Pac-12.

SEASON SWEEP OF BAY AREA SCHOOLS
When the Cougars won back to back games at Stanford and California to conclude the month of February, the Cougars completed a season sweep of the Bay Area conference schools and swept the pair on the road in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 1982 and 1983 seasons.

RODMAN'S NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION
Despite missing two games to illness, DJ Rodman has scored in double figures seven times since Christmas, including a season-high 19 points in the Cougs' 1-point loss to No. 11/8 UCLA. The Newport Beach, Calif., native has averaged 10.9 points per game after averaging just 4.6 ppg through his first 12 games. Rodman is shooting 45.2% from 3-point range over that 16-game span (33-of-73).  The senior veteran is ninth in the Conference in 3-point shooting with a 38.7% clip.

MULLINS MAGIC
After a four-game absence in the early season with minor knee injury, junior transfer Jabe Mullins has returned as one of the country's top 3-point shooters. He is second in the Pac-12 with a 41.5% (49-of-118) 3-point field goal percentage. Mullins averages 1.8 made 3-point field goals per game, 11th in the Pac-12. Seven times this season he has 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 this 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 since arriving at WSU (27-of-31) at 87.1%.

JAK IS BACK
Andrej Jakimovski is finding his form, as the North Macedonian junior returned to the starting lineup after missing the first 10 games of the season with a foot injury. Against Arizona State, Jan. 28, Jakimovski scored a career-high 22 points, leading WSU with his first 20-point game of his career. The North Macedonian grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in the win at Washington, March 2. Jakimovski has made four or more 3-pointers three times. The sharp shooter made 5-of-6 from 3-point range in the win vs Stanford, matching a career-high for made field goals from beyond the arc. Jaki became the third Coug this season to make 5+ 3-pointers in a single game.

COUGS CREATING SECOND CHANCES
The Cougars have become a prominent offensive rebounding team, leading to second-chance scoring opportunities. Washington State averages 11.0 offensive rebounds per game, which has led to an average of 11.5 second-chance points per game, compared to just 8.5 second-chance points per game for Cougar opponents. Wazzu leads the Pac-12 Conference in limiting opponents' offensive rebounds, offering up just 8.4 offensive rebounds per game on average.

TOP-20 TOUGHEST SCHEDULE & TOUGH LUCK
According to the KenPom adjusted strength of schedule, Washington State has played the 20th toughest schedule in the country. WSU is ranked 54th in the March 6 KenPom ratings. According to the KenPom "luck rating," a measure of the deviation between a team's actual winning percentage and what one would expect from its game-by-game efficiencies, the Cougars are the 320th luckiest team out of 363 ranked programs.

GETTING TO THE GLASS
Despite the Cougars lack of frontcourt experience, they hold a 3.1 rebounding margin this season (seventh in the Conference) and eight times they have posted a 10+ rebounding margin or better. When WSU faced Northern Kentucky, Dec. 7, the Cougs held the Norse to four first-half rebounds and just 12 rebounds in the game. It marked the fewest rebounds by a Washington State opponent since Dec. 29, 1992 when Princeton pulled in seven rebounds. The last time a WSU opponent was held below 20 rebounds was when Idaho State gathered 16 boards in Kennewick, Wash., Dec. 29, 2012. The Cougars finished with a +29 rebounding margin against Northern Kentucky, the largest margin since Nov. 15, 2008 when WSU went +34 (53-19) on the glass against Mississippi Valley State and only the second time in the last 25 years.

RODMAN RETURNING VETERAN
As the Cougars' veteran senior, Rodman leads the Cougars and Division-I with 27 charges drawn, more than double any teammate. On the offensive glass, Rodman has pulled in 57 offensive rebounds, second-most behind Gueye, and is second on the team with 5.6 total rebounds per game. The Newport Beach native has scored in double figures eight of his last 16 games, including his second-career double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds at Arizona State (career-high vs Pac-12 opponent). Unofficially, Rodman leads Division I in charges drawn with 27 charges drawn this season. He has also led the team in steals, 10 times grabbing the most steals.