Cougs Welcome Bears in Final Home Nonconference Game

Saturday, December 14

Pullman, Wash.

2 p.m.

Washington State University

Missouri State

Isaiah Watts rises for a shot over Boise State, Dec. 7, 2024

December 12, 2024 | Men's Basketball

WSU Game Notes MOST Game Notes Live Stats Watch Live

By: WSU Athletic Communications

MISSOURI STATE BEARS (5-4) at WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (8-2)
Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024
2:02 p.m. PT (5:02 p.m. ET)
Pullman, Wash.
Beasley Coliseum
Capacity: 11,671

Cougar Radio Network
KXLY 920AM // KHTR 104.3FM
KTTH 770AM // KONA 610AM
Play-by-Play: Chris King
Analyst: Craig Ehlo

Television & Streaming
ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Ann Schatz
Analyst: Matt Muelbach
Producer: Jason Armenio

Opening Tips
1. Wazzu returns to the Palouse to host Missouri State in the final home game of the nonconference, Saturday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. on ESPN+. The Cougars host the Bears in the second all-time meeting after a WSU overtime win at the 2014 Great Alaska Shootout. The Bears are playing their final season in the Missouri Valley Conference before moving to Conference USA.
2. Coach David Riley has the Cougs off to an 8-2 start, the second-best start by a first-year WSU coach in program history, bested only by Tony Bennett, who started the 2006-07 season 9-1. Riley is the fourth Wazzu coach in school history to start 8-2 and the second this century (Ken Bone, 2009-10).
3. Five active Cougs are averaging 10+ points per game and at least four Cougs have scored in double figures in seven games, while five different players have tallied 20-point games.
4. Nate Calmese leads WSU's active roster with 15.7 points, 4.3 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. The junior transfer sits seventh in WCC in scoring, fifth in steals, and sixth in assists per game. Calmese has led the Cougs in assists and steals six times.
5. LeJuan Watts notched his fourth double-double, Dec. 7, finishing with a season-high 20 points and game-high 11 rebounds. Watts has scored in double figures nine times, and ranks 3rd in the WCC with 8.2 rpg.

LAST TIME OUT
Washington State defeated Boise State 74-69, Saturday afternoon at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho for its smallest margin of victory this season. The Cougs secured their second quad one win of the season. LeJuan Watts led the Cougars in scoring with 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, for his fourth double-double of the season. Dane Erikstrup scored 14 points with a pair of triples made. Isaiah Watts scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds. Wazzu dominated the first half, going up 44-24, while holding the Broncos to just 27% shooting from the field and 17% from three. The Cougars also found an advantage in transition, outscoring Boise State 19-2 on fastbreak points.

PICK YOUR POISON
The Cougars have distributed scoring across the majority of the playing rotation with five active Cougars averaging 10+ points through nine games. At least four Cougs have scored in double figures seven times, while five individuals have tallied 20-point performances. Nate Calmese sits seventh in the conference in scoring and LeJuan Watts ranks third in the WCC in rebounding.

SHARING THE ROCK
The Cougs dished out a season high 24 assists in the win over Eastern Washington, Nov. 21, marking the most assists by a WSU team in nearly six years, when Wazzu tallied 27 assists against CSUN, Nov. 27, 2018 (2,186 days). The Cougs followed with 22 assists against Fresno State for the second-consecutive 20-assist game. WSU is undefeated when tallying 15+ assists, most recently defeating Boise State after dishing out 16 assists.

RIM PROTECTORS
The Cougar team leads the WCC and ranks ninth nationally with 5.7 blocked shots per game. WSU boasts two of the top five shot blockers in the conference with Okafor at third and Erikstrup at fourth. Against the Wolf Pack, Dec. 2, the Cougs limited Nevada to just two second-chance points and hold opponents to an average 11.4 offensive rebounds.

UP NEXT
Washington State will travel across the state to face rival and former Pac-12 member, Washington, in the 300th all-time meeting between the schools. The Cougars' and Huskies' series dates back to the inaugural game on the Palouse in February 1910, a win for UW by the old rules that did not allow for dribbling. Since then, the rivalry has become the ninth-most-played series in Division-I basketball history. UW leads the series 188-111, while WSU has found the more recent success, with a 7-3 record over the last four seasons. Both programs are under first-year head coaches with Danny Sprinkle taking over UW.

DIFFERENT KINDA COUGS
WSU is built different this season, regularly playing with four or all five men around the perimeter, a different look from the 2023-24 Cougs, which played with two bigs inside. The change has results in a higher 2-point field goal percentage, over 58%, and a larger portion of points coming from beyond the arc.

ZAY'S SOPHOMORE ASCENSION
Isaiah Watts, the only returning letterwinner from the 2023-24 roster, is on pace to quadruple his scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals output from his freshman season. The West Seattle sophomore has already eclipsed his freshman season totals in points, rebounding, steals, and assists. Twice Isaiah has surpassed 20 points, including a career-high 22 points against Eastern Wash. Zay made his first career start in place of an injured Cedric Coward, Nov. 26, grabbing a career-high five steals and has remained in the starting lineup since. In the win at Nevada, Watts secured a then-career-high six rebounds, only to surpass the mark in his outing at Boise with seven rebounds.

TINKERING WITH TEMPO
The Cougs are averaging 81.2 points per game, second in WCC behind Gonzaga, and are 6-0 when scoring over 80 points. WSU got its first win when being held under 70 points in a 68-57 mudfight at Nevada, Dec. 2, in Reno.

ISAIAH SETTLES AS A STARTER
Isaiah Watts has started every game since November 26, leading the team with a career-high five steals against Fresno State. The sophomore followed as the Cougs' leading scorer for the first time in his career at Nevada, Dec. 2, finishing with 17 points, with five 3-pointers in the second half. Watts grabbed a career-high six rebounds in the win, only to surpass the career mark with seven boards in Saturday's win at Boise.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Ethan Price, a senior transfer from Eastern Washington, has started all 110 games of his career for Coach Riley. The Englishman surpassed 1,000 career points during his junior season with the Eagles. Early this season, Price dished out his 200th career assist and the senior sits at 495 career rebounds. With five rebounds, Price will become the first Cougar player since Kyle Weaver (2004-08) to record at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 200 career assists.

TOMAS TEASES TALENT
With a short bench, true freshman Tomas Thrastarson has found himself playing more significant rotation minutes. The Icelandic native played a season-high 22 minutes at Nevada, Dec. 2, scoring a 3-pointer and setting career highs with four rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.

TRIPLE-DOUBLE THREAT
Head Coach David Riley has describe LeJuan Watts as a consistent threat for a recording a triple-double. The sophomore standout got the closest he's been as a Coug with six assists in a Dec. 7 win over Boise State. Watts has tallied four double-doubles and five double-digit rebounding games so far.

EFFICIENT IN THE ARC
In the Nov. 18 win over Northern Colo., the Cougars shot 71.4% from 2-point range, the highest single-game 2-point percentage by a Wazzu team since WSU shot 74.3% from inside the arc against SMC, Nov. 24, 2017. WSU boasts the top effective FG team in the WCC with a .553 eFG%, 66th in Division-I as of Dec. 12.

TRIO OF 20-PIECES
When Cedric Coward, Dane Erikstrup, and Isaiah Watts combined for 68 points against Eastern Washington, Nov. 21, they became the first Cougar trio to scored 20 points each in the same game in 3,598 days. The last WSU trio to achieve three 20-point games at once came Jan. 15, 2015 against Oregon when Josh Hawkinson, Ike Iroegbu, and DaVonte Lacy combined for 70 points.

DOWNTOWN DOWNPOURS
Wazzu had its best game of the season from beyond the arc against Eastern Washington, Nov. 21, hitting 16 triples at a 53% clip (16-of-30). It marked the most 3-pointers by the Cougs in a single game since setting the school record with 18 three-pointers in a win over Detroit Mercy, Nov. 25, 2022. Dane Erikstrup led Wazzu with six 3-pointers, becoming the first Coug since current Memphis Grizzlies' rookie Jaylen Wells made six triples in a win at No. 4 Arizona last February.

CALMESE SETS SEASON-HIGH
Nate Calmese scored a season-high 27 points, Nov. 15 against Iowa, his first 20-point performance since Feb. 25, 2023 as a freshman at Lamar. The junior transfer scored in double figures in eight of his first 10 games at WSU, adding his second 20-point game in the win over Fresno State.

ERIKSTRUP EXCELLENCE
Dane Erikstrup scored a WSU career-high 24 points in WSU's win over his former team Eastern Washington, Nov. 21, becoming the fourth Coug this year with a 20-point game. The Beaverton, Oregon native also grabbed eight rebounds, setting a WSU career high.

OKAFOR BACK ON THE FLOOR
Junior ND Okafor, a transfer from California, played his first minutes as a Coug in the Nov. 11 win over Idaho. Okafor missed the first two games due to concussion protocol. In his Cougar debut, Okafor delivered a career-high 12 points, with six rebounds, a block, and a steal. In the Nov. 15 game against Iowa, Okafor pulled in five boards to eclipse 100 career rebounds. Against Fresno State, Okafor rejected a career-high three shots, and has established himself as the Cougs premier rim protector.

COWARD NAMED WCC POTW
Cedric Coward was named WCC Player of the Week, Nov. 25, for the first time in his career after matching his D-I career-high with 30 points vs Northern Colorado, while committing zero turnovers, the first 30-point performance of the season by a Coug. The Fresno native followed with 22 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, two blocks, and a steal against his former team, Eastern Washington. Over two games, Coward shot 19-of-30 (.633) from the floor, including 5-of-11 from deep (.455). However, Coward has not seen the floor since winning the award, out indefinitely with a left shoulder injury.

THE CENTURY MARK
When the Cougs defeated Portland State, 100-92, in the season opener, the Cougars eclipsed 100 points for the first time since beating Oregon State, 103-97 in overtime, Feb. 28, 2022, in Corvallis, Ore. It marked the first triple-digit performance at Beasley Coliseum since beating CSUN, 103-94, Nov. 27, 2018. WSU scored 100 points in regulation for the first time since beating Idaho 109-61, Nov. 18, 2021 in Moscow, Idaho.

COUGS PICKED FIFTH IN WCC
Entering the 2024-25 season as an affiliate member of the WCC, Wazzu was selected fifth in the preseason coaches poll. The last time a David Riley team was selected fifth in the preseason conference poll, at EWU in 2022-23, his team rattled off an 18-game unbeaten streak on the way to a Big Sky Conference regular season championship.