WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (7-2) vs BOISE STATE BRONCOS (6-2)
Saturday, Dec. 7 2024
1 p.m. PT (2 p.m. MT)
Boise, Idaho
Idaho Central Arena
Capacity: 5,732

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

Television & Streaming
CBS & Paramount+
Play-by-Play: Tom McCarthy
Analysts: Jay Wright & Bill Raftery
Producer: Jonathan Segal

Opening Tips
1. WSU travels to Idaho's capital city to face Boise State in a pseudo-neutral site game at Idaho Central Arena in downtown Boise, 1.2 miles from the BSU campus. The Broncos are future members of the Pac-12 Conference and will join prior to 2026-27.
2. Wazzu and Boise State have traded neutral-site nonconference contests at Spokane Arena and Idaho Central Arena each of the last three seasons. The Cougs got revenge in Spokane last season after suffering back-to-back defeats previously in Boise and in Spokane in 2021-22. WSU owns the all-time series record 5-4.
3. Five active Cougs are averaging 10+ points per game and at least four Cougs have scored in double figures in seven games, while four players have tallied 20-point games.
4. Nate Calmese leads WSU's active roster with 16.7 points, 4.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. The junior transfer sits eighth in WCC in scoring, third in steals, and sixth in assists per game. Calmese has led the Cougs in assists six times and steals five times.
5. Isaiah Watts led the Cougs in scoring for the first time in his career at Nevada, Monday night, finishing with 17 points, with five 3-pointers in the second half.

LAST TIME OUT
Wazzu defeated Nevada, 68-57, Monday night at Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nevada. WSU improved to 7-2 and won its first true away game of the season, picking up a Quad 1 win on the first day of the 2024-25 NET release. Isaiah Watts led four double-digit scorers with 17 points and five second-half triples. LeJuan Watts added 13 points, team-high nine rebounds, and matched a career-high with six assists. Nate Calmese added 10 points, eight rebounds, and a career-high seven assists. WSU dished out 19 assists and held Nevada to a season-low 57 points on 20% shooting from beyond the arc.

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 four individuals have tallied 20-point performances. Nate Calmese sits eighth in the conference in scoring and LeJuan Watts ranks sixth 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 defeated Nevada after dishing out 19 assists. As a team, Wazzu ranks second in the WCC behind Gonzaga in assists per game.

UP NEXT
Wazzu returns to the Palouse to host Missouri State in the final home game of the nonconference schedule, Monday, Dec. 14 at 6:30 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.

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 57%, and a larger portion of points coming from beyond the arc.

RIM PROTECTORS
The Cougar team leads the WCC and ranks 14th nationally with 5.7 blocked shots per game. WSU boasts three of the top six shot blockers in the conference with Coward at third, Okafor at fourth, and Erikstrup at sixth. 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.

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 rebounding, steals, and assists totals from last season and is on pace to surpass his freshman scoring total in just his 10th game of the year. Twice Isaiah has surpassed 20 points, including a career-high 22 points against Eastern Washington. Isaiah made his first career start in place of an injured Cedric Coward, Nov. 26, grabbing a career-high five steals against Fresno State and has remained in the starting lineup since.

TINKERING WITH TEMPO
The Cougs are averaging 83.0 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, Monday night in Reno.

'JUAN, TWO, THREE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
LeJuan Watts has recorded three double-doubles this season, most recently against Iowa, Nov. 15, finishing with 11 points and game-high 10 rebounds. The sophomore transfer has scored in double figures in eight of nine games as a Coug, and ranks sixth in the WCC with 7.9 rpg.

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 with a left shoulder injury for the last three games.

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, 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. 2 win over Nevada. Watts has tallied three double-doubles and four 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%, 70th in Division-I as of Dec. 4.

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 nine 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.

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.