WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (17-6, 8-4) at OREGON DUCKS (16-7, 8-4)
Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024
2 p.m. PT // Eugene, Ore.
Matthew Knight Arena  // 9,604
Radio Coverage
Cougar Sports Network // KXLY 920AM
Matt Chazanow & Craig Ehlo
Television Coverage
Pac-12 Network // Washington // Oregon
Ted Robinson & Bill Walton

OPENING FIVE
1. WSU concludes a 3-game road trip in Eugene, Ore. to face the Ducks, Saturday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. from Matthew Knight Arena
2. Myles Rice is a strong candidate for Pac-12 FotY, the reigning and 5-time Freshman of the Week, the Cougs 2nd-leading scorer, the Pac-12's 2nd highest scoring freshman, the country's 8th-highest scoring freshman, and WSU's freshman single-game scoring recordholder (35 pts)
3. The Cougars hold opponents to just 41.0% shooting, best in the Pac-12 and top-50 in D-I, while blocking 5.4 shots per game, 2nd in the Pac-12 and 16th in D-I
4. Isaac Jones has tallied seven double-doubles, 4th-most in Pac-12 – Jones scores a team-high 15.7 ppg, 8th in Pac-12, grabs 7.7 rpg (4th), and shoots 58.2% (5th), and is on pace to eclipse 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in just two years of Division-I
5. Rueben Chinyelu with a 7'8" wingspan is the new shotblocker on the west coast, averaging 1.48 bpg (3rd in Pac-12) and on pace to break the WSU freshman record (39)

SERIES HISTORY WITH OREGON
Oregon and Washington State have been playing each other in basketball since February 1908. Since then, the Cougars and Ducks have played 305 times, the 7th-longest series in college basketball history, with Oregon holding a 176-129 advantage.

LAST TIME VS OREGON
Brennan Rigsby scored 18 points, one of five Ducks in double figures, to help Oregon hold off Washington State 89-84 Jan. 6 in Pullman. Jermaine Couisnard finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Myles Rice led the Cougars with 22 points and matched his then-career-high with seven assists. Jaylen Wells had 15 points and Andrej Jakimovski hit three 3-pointers and scored 13. Isaac Jones added 10 points and five boards, while freshman Isaiah Watts scored 10 with eight assists off the bench. Washington State entered play holding opponents to the lowest overall shooting percentage (38.8) and the lowest from 3-point range in the conference. Oregon shot 58.2% overall and sank 14 of 24 from beyond the arc (58.3%).

CURRENT COUGS VS OREGON
WSU Head Coach Kyle Smith holds a 4-4 record against the Ducks as a head coach, all during his Cougar tenure, and a 1-3 record against UO in Eugene. Andrej Jakimovski is the only Coug with multiple years of experience against the Ducks, having faced Oregon six times with three wins and 49 career points against Oregon. Myles Rice is the only Coug to score 20+ points on the Ducks in a single game.

COUGARS VS DUCKS
Washington State visits Eugene, Ore., to conclude a 3-game road swing, Saturday, Feb. 10 in a 2 p.m. game at Matthew Knight Arena. In the first meeting this season, Oregon beat the Cougs in Pullman, 89-84 behind 58% field goal shooting, in an offensive bout. WSU and UO have one of the longest-running series in college basketball. This week marks the 306th all-time meeting between the Cougs and Ducks, tied for the 6th-longest series in D-I history. Oregon leads the all-time series 176-129.

LAST TIME OUT // AT OREGON STATE
WSU 64 // OSU 58 // FEB. 8, 2024 // CORVALLIS, ORE.
Jaylen Wells hit six straight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 24 points, Andrej Jakimovski hit two of his five 3-pointers down the stretch and Washington State beat Oregon State 64-58 on Thursday night. Wells made 9 of 15 shots, missed just twice from beyond the arc and added seven rebounds for the Cougars (17-6, 8-4 Pac-12 Conference), who have won four in a row and seven of eight. Jakimovski made 5 of 9 from distance with two coming over a 47-second span late in the game. Isaac Jones had 12 points and seven rebounds for Washington State. Freshman Myles Rice scored eight points with six assists. WSU coach Kyle Smith notched the 250th victory of his career, the last 86 with the Cougars.

KYLE ECLIPSES 250
With Thursday night's win over Oregon State in Corvallis, WSU Head Coach Kyle Smith earned his 250th Division-I coaching victory, the last 86 coming at Washington State. Smith holds the sixth-most wins in WSU coaching history, and sits 8th in all-time career wins by a WSU coach.

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 19-7 and defeated all three regional rivals in back-to-back-to-back succession last year for the first time since 1993-94 under Kelvin Sampson. The Cougars swept the Huskies, Ducks, and Beavers in Pullman for two-straight seasons and are 11-2 at Beasley Coliseum against Conference PNW opponents under Coach Smith.

COUGS ON HISTORIC CURTAIN CALL THROUGH CONFERENCE
Kyle Smith has become associated with the most successful coaches to come through the Palouse, including Marv Harshman, George Raveling, Kelvin Sampson, and Tony Bennett. The Cougs are 17-6 for the first time since 2007-08, the last time Wazzu went to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Sweet 16. Kyle has guided the Cougs to their best 22-game start in the Pac-12 era with an 8-4 Conference record, best since starting 9-3 during the 2006-07 season. The Cougars have clinched back-to-back postseason berths for the first time since the Tony Bennett era (2008 and 2009) and are seeking three-straight postseason appearances for just the second time in program history. Washington State has won four-straight games and 7 of the last 8 matchups.

DON'T SQUANDER THE LEAD
Wazzu is 15-0 this year when entering the halftime break with a lead. Mostly recently, the Cougs eeked out a 64-58 win in Corvallis after taking a 1-point lead into intermission. By contrast, WSU is 1-6 this year when trailing at the half, and 1-0 when tied at halftime.

NEXT UP // HOME HOSTING THE GOLDEN BEARS
Washington State returns to Pullman to finish the regular season with five of seven games at home. The Cougars will face California, Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. from Beasley Coliseum, seeking redemption for an overtime defeat in Berkeley during January.

RICE MAKING FRESHMAN HISTORY
Redshirt-freshman Myles Rice has emerged as WSU's second-best scorer at 15.3 points per game, the 2nd-highest scoring freshman in the Pac-12 Conference, and the 8th-highest scoring freshman in the country. Rice led the Cougs to an overtime win at Washington, finishing with 18 points, five assists, five rebounds, two steals, and only one turnover. The redshirt-freshman has scored 10+ points in 9 of the last 10 games. Seven times in Pac-12 play, Rice has distributed at least five assists. The Columbia, S.C., native is re-writing several WSU freshman records, including a 15.3 points per game average, which would be second-best all-time by a Coug freshman. Rice is projected to finish in the top-3 in WSU freshman history in steals, steals per game average, assists, and assists per game average. Rice now holds a tie with Gueye for the school record in Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors, and just two recognitions shy of the all-time Conference record set by USC's Evan Mobley with seven awards during his 2020-21 freshman season. Myles became the first Cougar in program history to earn back-to-back Pac-12 weekly awards multiple times in a season.

ISAAC IS HIM
In his outing in the win at Washington, Jones scored 20 points for the sixth time this year. Jones shoots the ball at a .582 clip (135 of 232),  fifth in the Pac-12 and 34th nationally. Jones has excelled on the glass and at the free throw line. The fifth-year senior is 89 of 122 at the charity stripe, going 37 of 48 over the last eight games. Jones has also led the Cougars in rebounding 12 times.

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 100th game appearance and started his 60th game against Oregon, Jan. 6, and has scored in double figures 12 times, including five-straight games. Jakimovski dropped a team-high 20 points at Cal, marking his third 20+ point game of the season. Jakimovski has increased his points per game average output by 5.2 ppg since arriving on campus and upped his rebounding average by 1.5 rpg over the same four-year timeframe. Jakimovski has moved into the WSU record books top-10 for career 3-pointers made (166) and 3-pointers attempted (470). Jakimovski also has grabbed 481 career rebounds and is on pace to surpass 500 career rebounds this season.

MYLES MIXES IT UP
Myles Rice has shown his skills with the ball, dominating ball control on both the offensive and defensive ends. Rice dished out a career-high eight assists at Stanford and has distributed at least three assists in 10 of his last 11 games, and 5+ each of the last three games. The standout freshman leads the Cougs with 87 assists (3.78 apg, 5th in Pac-12, top by a freshman) and moved into eighth all-time by a Cougar freshman in season assists. Rice also averages a team-best 1.61 steals per game (37 total, 5th in Pac-12) and top in the Conference for a freshman. Myles is on pace to finish as the second-highest scoring freshman in WSU history, averaging 15.3 ppg with 353 total points (fifth).

STIFLING DEFENSE
The Cougars' defense has fit Coach Smith's mold of winning with grit, as WSU leads the Pac-12 Conference in field goal percentage defense (.410) and second in the League in blocks per game (5.4). Wazzu's defensive field goal prowess ranks 50th in the country (FG defense). The Cougs limit opponents to 67.3 ppg, second in the Pac-12. In the win over No. 8 Arizona, the Cougs held the Wildcats to their lowest output of the season, following with the lowest output by Utah (57) and its worst 3-point shooting game of the year (18.2%).

JAYLEN JOINS THE CLUB
Junior transfer Jaylen Wells has found his form in Conference play, starting the last eight games and averaging 16.1 ppg as a starter. Most recently, Wells set a career-high with 24 points in the win at OSU, his first 20-point game of D-I. Wells has enjoyed double-digit performances in 10-straight games, averaging 13.9 points per game in Conference play. The former Division-II star and All-American scored 10 points in a win over Rhode Island to open his WSU account back in November. Since then, Wells has found his form, scoring in double figures 15 times.

NATIONAL RIM PROTECTORS
WSU has owned the height advantage early into conference play, boasting 121 blocks, 5.4 per game, second in the Pac-12 Conference. The Cougars' average is 16th nationally and the Cougs are ranked No. 24 in the country according to KenPom's effective block percentage. True freshman Rueben Chinyelu leads the Coug with 34 rejections, and is on pace to break the WSU freshman block record. Four Cougs have 17+ blocks each (Chinyelu, Cluff, Houinsou, and 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.

NEW YEAR SUCCESS
Washington State finished with a 6-2 record in January, marking the first time in 41 years with six Conference wins in the first calendar month. WSU last achieved the feat in 1982-83, wracking up a program-record eight wins in the month, seven Pac-10 victories under the direction of future Hall of Fame Head Coach George Raveling.

MYLES SETS WSU FRESHMAN SCORING RECORD
The 5-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week continued to make a strong case for Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, dropping a WSU freshman single-game record 35 points at Stanford, Jan. 18. Rice scored more points than any freshman in the Pac-12 this year, adding eight assists. Rice became just the third freshman in the last 20 years to put up 35 points with eight assists as a freshman, joining Trae Young and Markelle Fultz. Rice finished 15 of 24 from the floor, including 5 of 10 from downtown in the win on The Farm, adding four steals with just two turnovers. Rice's performance is the highest single-game scoring output by a freshman in high-major basketball this year.

RUEBEN'S BIG BLOCKS
True freshman Rueben Chinyelu has turned heads on the West Coast with a 7'8" wingspan and as one of the best young rim protectors in college basketball. Chinyelu, a native of Nigeria, has 34 blocks, fourth-most by a Cougar freshman, and is on pace to finish as WSU's all-time freshman block leader at 1.5 blocks per game, currently third overall in the Pac-12 Conference. If Chinyelu continues to average over two field goals per game at a similar clip, he will also finish in the WSU freshman top-10 for field goal percentage. Most recently, Chinyelu passed Aron Baynes in single-season freshman rebounding and is ninth in freshman program history.

NOT SO FAST...
Fast break points have been hard to come by for Wazzu's opponents with just 129 transition points allowed all season (5.6 per game). Wazzu is quick to get back on defense, outscoring opponents in fast break opportunities 8.7 to 5.6 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. Wazzu has outscored its opponents 826-654 in the key. Against Stanford, WSU scored a season-high 58 points in the paint and three times has scored 50+ points in the key. The Cougars are getting just shy of 50% of their scoring from inside the key (35.9 points per game), while holding opponents to an average 28.4 points in the paint per game.

COUGS CLAIM BOTH WEEKLY CONFERENCE AWARDS
For the first time in Washington State history, the Cougars earned both the Pac-12 Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors, Jan. 15, after winning at USC and beating No. 8 Arizona at home. Isaac Jones was named the Pac-12's Player of the Week after a pair of 20-point double-doubles, becoming the first Coug since Noah Williams earned the weekly honor, Feb. 22, 2021. Myles Rice earned his third nod as the top freshman in the Conference, becoming the second-most decorated WSU freshman in history behind Mouhamed Gueye, who earned five Freshman of the Week awards in 2021-22.

A CENTURY'S ACHIEVEMENT
With last Saturday's win in Seattle, the Cougars won four of the last five games against the Huskies in the Emerald City. The feat marked the third time in the series history when WSU won four of five at Washington. The last time WSU traveled west and picked up as many wins came during a stretch from February 1918 to March 1920, part of a larger 6 of 7 and 7 of 9 winning streak at the University of Washington.

JONES CLAIMS NATIONAL ACCOLADES
Fifth-year senior transfer Isaac Jones has taken a leading role as the Cougars leading scorer at 15.8 ppg (eighth in Pac-12) and top rebounder with 7.8 rpg (fourth in Pac-12). In January, the Spanaway, Wash., native recorded back-to-back double-doubles with 26 points and 11 rebounds in a win at Southern California, before scoring 24 points with a season-high 13 rebounds in a win over then-No. 8 Arizona. The performance earned Jones several national player of the week awards, including ESPN, Naismith, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and the Pac-12 Conference honors. Jones recognition as Pac-12 Player of the Week marked the first Cougar honoree since Noah Williams was named the Conference Player of the Week, Feb. 22, 2021. Most recently, Jones led the Cougs with 20 points in the win at Washington, marking his fourth Conference game with 20+ points and 10th time in Pac-12 play with 10+ points.

CLUFF CLIMBS TO DIVISION-I
Junior college transfer Oscar Cluff has come to life in Conference play. After 16 points in a loss at Colorado, Cluff led the Cougs with a career-high 20 points and matched a career-high with team-best eight rebounds against Oregon State. More recently, the Australian registered his first career double-double with a WSU single-game season high 14 rebounds and 12 points at Stanford, following with 13 points in the win over Utah. Cluff sits ninth in the Pac-12, just behind Jones, with a 55.4 FG percentage.

KRYPTONITE KYLE
Kyle Smith is the only head coach to hold Tommy Lloyd's Arizona Wildcats to under 35% field goal shooting on multiple occasions. Arizona has only shot under 35% five times under Lloyd, and WSU is the only school to claim multiple clampdowns against the 'Cats. With the win over then-No. 8 Arizona, WSU claimed wins over a top-10 team in back-to-back seasons since the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. WSU snapped a 14-game home losing streak to U of A and secured wins over Arizona in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.

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 54 assists. At USC, Jan. 10, Houinsou played in his 50th collegiate game. At Washington last Saturday, Houinsou sealed the win fo Wazzu with clampdown defense on the final overtime possession.

WINNING THE GLASS BATTLE
The Cougars have used their height advantage all season, outrebounding opponents in all but three games. On the defensive glass, WSU holds opponents to an average of 7.7 second-chance points per game. In the game at Utah, Dec. 29, the Cougs grabbed a season-high 51 rebounds, the most in two years. WSU boasts a +5.7 rebounding margin, which ranks 41st nationally, and scores 12.0 second chance points per game. In the win over Utah, the Cougs outscored the Utes 21-4 on second-chance points, later beating Colorado with a 16-4 advantage in second-chance, outscoring the Buffs 13-0 in the second half.

WATTS WORKS INTO LINEUP
True freshman Isaiah Watts had his best game of his young career against Oregon, Jan. 6. The West Seattle native finished with a career-high 10 points and matched a career high with three rebounds. Watts matched a career-high with 21 minutes played in the win over USC, adding his first-career steal and block in Conference play.

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.

COUGS FLIRT WITH  TOP 40 OF LATEST NCAA EVALUATION TOOL
In the 2023-24 season's NET rankings released by the NCAA, Feb. 9, Washington State checks in at No. 42. The Cougars are the 4th-highest Pac-12 team, ranked behind national No. 4 Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. WSU climbed as high as No. 24 early in nonconference play.

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.

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. In the Dec. 21 nonconference finale against Boise State, Mullins scored a season-high 13 points and made two free throws in the win. When Mullins checked in against Colorado, he eclipsed 100 career games played in his Division-I career across Saint Mary's and Washington State.

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.

NONCONFERENCE SUCCESS
WSU concluded the nonconference schedule with nine wins, matching Kyle Smith's most preseason wins during his five years in Pullman. Smith and the Cougs also won nine nonconference games in 2019-20, Smith's first season. Washington State completed its entire nonconference schedule without a true road game for the first time since the 2020-21 season.

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.

HOME SWEET HOME
Washington State completed its entire nonconference schedule without a true road game. WSU won all seven nonconference games at Beasley Coliseum, while participating in four neutral-site games before kicking off conference play. The scheduling quirk marked the first time since the 2020-21 season that the Cougars did not play a true nonconference road game, and the 9-2 marked the best nonconference record in Coach Smith's tenure on the Palouse.

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.