PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State men's basketball earned an at-large bid to the 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, the NCAA Selection Committee announced Sunday afternoon. The Cougars earned the No. 7 seed in the East Region and will face No. 10 Drake Thursday, March 21 at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb. in the First Round.
 
WSU earns its seventh NCAA berth in program history and first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2008, when Tony Bennett and the Cougars reached the Sweet 16. WSU Head Coach Kyle Smith, the John R. Wooden Pac-12 Coach of the Year, nabbed his first bid as a head coach in his 14th overall season after guiding the Cougs to their best season in the Pac-12 era and a 20-win regular season for the first time since 2007-08.
 
The Cougars Smith finished the Pac-12 with a 14-6 Conference record, matching the WSU all-time League wins record set in 1979-80 and 1982-83. The Cougs knocked off Arizona twice this season, marking the first time in school history with two top-10 wins in the same season. WSU won eight straight League games for just the third time in program history (1946-47) and earned its highest AP Top 25 ranking since March 2008.
 
Six new faces headline the Cougar lineup, with only two returning players in the primary rotation, led by Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Myles Rice and All-Pac-12 First Team selection Isaac Jones. Rice, a 7-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, averages 15.1 points per game and leads the time in steals and assists. Jones is Wazzu's leading scorer and rebounder with 15.4 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game.
 
Drake, champions of the Missouri Valley Conference, knocked off top-seeded Indiana State to clinch the Conference title. The Bulldogs are 28-6 this season, led by 6th-year head coach Darian DeVries, and reach their third NCAA Tournament in the last four seasons.
 
Thursday's opening round game will tip off at approximately 7:05 p.m. PT (9:05 p.m. CT) with television coverage on TruTV. The winner of Thursday's First Round matchup will advance to face the winner between No. 2 Iowa State and No. 15 South Dakota State, Saturday, March 23 in Omaha, Neb.