#19 WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (22-7, 13-5) vs UCLA BRUINS (14-14, 9-8)
Saturday, March 2, 2024
4:02 p.m. PT // Pullman, Wash.
Beasley Coliseum  //11,671
Radio Coverage
Cougar Sports Network // KXLY 920AM
Matt Chazanow & Craig Ehlo
Television Coverage
Pac-12 Network
Ted Robinson & Eldridge Recasner
 
OPENING FIVE
1. No. 19 Wazzu welcomes UCLA to begin the new month, Saturday, March 2, at 4 p.m. from Beasley Coliseum in the programs' only regular-season meeting
2. Myles Rice became the only player in Pac-12 history to win 4-consecutive weekly honors, picking up his seventh Pac-12 FOTW last week – Rice is a strong candidate for Pac-12 FOTY as the Cougs' leading scorer, the League's 2nd-highest scoring freshman, and the country's 7th-highest scoring freshman
3. The Cougars boast one of the longest lineups in the country and use it to hold opponents to just 41.6% shooting, best in the Pac-12, while blocking 5.1 shots per game, second in the Pac-12 and 20th in the country
4. Wazzu's current AP Poll ranking is its highest since being ranked 17th in the February 18th, 2008 AP Poll – the Cougars have their best start of the Pac-12 era, reaching 20 wins in the regular season for the first time since 2007-08 and 13 Conference wins for the first time since finishing 13-5 in 2006-07
5. Rueben Chinyelu earned his first-career Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, becoming the third Coug to pick up a weekly Conference honor, after posting his first-career double-double in the win at Arizona – Isaiah Watts followed with a career-high 18 points in the win over USC

SERIES HISTORY WITH UCLA
Washington State and UCLA have met for nearly a century, beginning with the Bruins' inaugural trip to Pullman in 1936. Since then UCLA has dominated the all-time series 113-19. The Bruins had one of the longest unbeaten streaks in college basketball history, going undefeataed against WSU from 1994 to 2003.

LAST TIME VS UCLA
Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 24 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, and No. 9 UCLA defeated Washington State 76-52 last February. WSU was without second-leading scorer DJ Rodman. The senior missed both games in Los Angeles because of illness. The Cougars were led by TJ Bamba with 19 points. Justin Powell added 17, hitting five 3-pointers.

CURRENT COUGS VS UCLA
WSU Head Coach Kyle Smith holds a 2-6 record against UCLA over four seasons, twice taking the Bruins to overtime. Smith and the Cougs have lost four straight after winning two of the first four under Smith. Jabe Mullins scored 11 points in the 1-point home loss last December. UCLA dismissed the Cougs in Vegas in 2022 before the Cougs powered to the NIT semifinals. Andrej sophomore Jakimovski scored a team-high 15 points in the defeat.

COUGARS VS MIGHTY BRUINS
The No. 19 Cougars host UCLA to begin the month of March, welcoming the Bruins, Saturday, March 2, at 4 p.m. in the only regular-season meeting between the programs. UCLA holds the all-time advantage 113-19, with the Bruins having won the last four meetings. Smith and the Cougs won two against UCLA early in his tenure, and have twice taken the Bruins to overtime under Smith's guidance.

LAST TIME OUT // VS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
USC 72 // No. 19 WSU 75 // FEB. 29, 2024 // PULLMAN, WASH.
Isaiah Watts and Andrej Jakimovski scored 18 points each and Myles Rice added 16 to help No. 19 Washington State rally past Southern California 75-72 on Thursday night. The Cougars  trailed by 12 points late in the first half and didn't take their first lead until 2:35 remaining on a 3-pointer from Watts, his fifth of the game. The Cougars, playing in front of their largest crowd of the season, shot 10 of 20 from 3-point range. All but one of their 3s came from Watts and Jakimovski.

COUGS CLIMB TO 13 CONFERENCE WINS
With Thursday's win over USC, the No. 19 Cougars earned their 13th Conference win of the year, their most since finishing 13-5 and second in the 2006-07 Pac-10 standings. This year marks the fifth season in program history with 13+ League wins, also matching the 1940-41 national runner-up Cougs. WSU's all-time single-season Conference wins mark is 14 wins, achieved during the 1979-80 and 1982-83 seasons.

WATTS REPS WEST SEATTLE
True freshman Isaiah Watts popped off for a career-high 18 points in the win over USC, Thursday night. The Washington native finished 5 of 6 from 3-point range for the best performance of his young career. Watts led the Cougs in scoring for the first time in his career, while picking up his second double-digit performance this season. Watts has grabbed a pair of steals in each of the last two games and dished three assists with just one turnover.

COUGS CLOSE CONFERENCE ROAD TRIP
Wazzu completes its regular season at home after finishing the Pac-12 road scheduled 6-4. It's the first time since 2007-08 WSU has finished with a winning record in road conference games, finishing 6-3 in Pac-10 road games that season.

SMITH NAMED TO COACH OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Kyle Smith was named to the 2024 Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List. Smith has guided WSU to its best season in the Pac-12 era and a 20-win regular season for the first time since 2007-08. Coach Smith is the first Cougar men's basketball coach to earn the recognition since Tony Bennett won the 2007 Naismith National Coach of the Year, following a second-place finish in the Pac-10 and an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 1993-94.

COUGS ON HISTORIC CURTAIN CALL THROUGH CONFERENCE
Kyle Smith has become associated with the most successful coaches to come through the Palouse, including George Raveling, Kelvin Sampson, and Tony Bennett. The Cougs are 22-7 for the first time since 2007-08, when Wazzu started 22-7, and went to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Kyle has guided the Cougs to their best 29-game start in the Pac-12 era with a 13-5 Conference record, best since finishing 13-5 during the 2006-07 Pac-10 season. Smith is the only coach in Cougar history to earn 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 strung together two 7-win streaks against Conference opponents in back-to-back seasons for the first time in WSU history. 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.

COUGS GARNER NATIONAL RANKINGS
Wazzu is ranked No. 19 in the latest AP Poll, and No. 21 in the USAToday Coaches Poll, marking the program's highest national ranking since Feb. 18, 2008 (also No. 17). WSU tamed the Arizona Wildcats last Thursday, beating No. 4 Arizona for a 2-0 mark against AP top-25 teams this season. The Cougs swept the home-and-home vs Arizona for the first time since 2009-2010 and won in consecutive seasons at Tucson for the first time since 1982-84. WSU followed by sweeping the USC Trojans for the first time since 2011-12.

FULFILLING FEBRUARY IN PAC-12
For the first time since 1914-15 and the first time in the Pac-era, Washington State won seven League games in the calendar month of February. WSU has won seven games in the second month of the year seven times in program history, and the first time since the 1937-38 season. WSU's seven Pac-12 wins in February matches the seven League wins WSU had in the 1915 Northwest Collegiate Conference. The most February Conference wins came in the 1912-13 season, with Washington State College winning nine NWC games in February.

CHINYELU WINS PAC-12 FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Rueben Chinyelu was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after securing his first-career double-double in the win at No. 4 Arizona. Chinyelu played a career-high 28 minutes, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Chinyelu is on pace to break the freshman rebounding and field goal percentage records.

TASTE OF THE TITLE
After last Thursday night's win in Tucson, WSU briefly held first place in the Pac-12 until falling at ASU, Saturday. The last time the Cougars held first place in the Conference this late in the season was Feb. 14, 2007, after knocking off Washington for their fifth straight League win. The Cougs sat at 11-3 and in a tie with UCLA at 10-2 for top of the Pac-10, which ended abruptly the following day after a Bruins win. WSU has never won a Pac-12, Pac-10, or Pac-8 Conference title, with the last title as the 1949-50 Pacific Coast North champions.

RICE MAKING FRESHMAN HISTORY
Redshirt-freshman Myles Rice has emerged as a national story, as WSU's leading scorer at 15.4 points per game, the 7-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. Rice became the first player in Conference history to win 4-straight weekly awards, and moved into a tie with Evan Mobley for most Pac-12 Freshman of the Week awards in League history. Rice is the Pac-12's second-highest scoring freshman and the seventh-highest scoring freshman in the country. The Columbia, S.C. native has scored in double figures in 14 of the last 15 games, capped by a 25-point game in the win over California. Nine times in Pac-12 play, Rice has distributed at least five assists. Rice is re-writing several WSU freshman records, including his points per game average, which would be second-best all-time by a Coug freshman. Rice is projected to finish in the top-2 in WSU freshman history in steals, steals per game average, assists, assists per game average, field goals made and attempted, free throw percentage, and 3-point percentage.

WELLS IN THE CLUTCH
Jaylen Wells led the Cougs to their win at Arizona, marking the best road win in program history, with a career-high 27 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer and ensuing free throw for the win. Wells became the first Conference player since March 3, 2007 to make all of the team's 3-pointers in a win over an AP Top 5 opponent.

LEAP DAY BASKETBALL
When the Cougs beat the Trojans Thursday night, it marked WSU's first win on a Leap Day since 1936. WSU has played six times on Feb. 29, dating back to a win over Multnomah Air Command in 1924. WSU holds a 3-3 record on Leap Day.

JONES SURPASSES 1,000 CAREER POINTS
With 15 points in the Feb. 17 win over Stanford, Jones eclipsed 1,000 career points. Jones, who is ineligible for WSU's career record marks, which require two seasons on the Cougar team, became the first WSU student-athlete since C.J. Elleby to eclipse 1,000 career points, and the 39th in Cougar men's basketball history. Jones reached the milestone in efficient fashion, playing just 57 career games, averaging 17.7 points per game on 61.2% shooting.

JAKIMOVSKI ECLIPSES 500 CAREER REBOUNDS
Four-year veteran Andrej Jakimovski pulled down five rebounds in the win at No. 4 Arizona, surpassing the 500-career rebounds mark. The North Macedonian became the first Coug since Robert Franks (2015-19) to surpass 500 career rebounds.

ISAAC IS HIM
In his outing in the win vs Stanford, Jones scored a team-high 15 points, surpassing 1,000 career points and earning Pac-12 Player of the Week. Jones shoots the ball at a .582 clip (164 of 282), fourth in the Pac-12 and 29th nationally. Jones has excelled on the glass and at the free throw line. The fifth-year senior is 112 of 153 at the charity stripe, going 60 of 79 over the last 13 games. Jones has also led the Cougars in rebounding 14 times with eight double-doubles.

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 20-7 and defeated all three regional rivals in back-to-back-to-back succession on the road 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 finished a 3-game PNW roadswing unblemished. Coach Smith is 11-2 at Beasley Coliseum against Conference PNW opponents.

DON'T SQUANDER THE LEAD
Wazzu is 18-0 this year when entering the halftime break with a lead. Most recently, the Cougs beat No. 4 Arizona, 77-74, after taking a 1-point lead into intermission. By contrast, WSU is 4-6 this year when trailing or tied at the half, beating USC Thursday, Feb. 29, after trailing by four at the break.

NEXT UP // BOEING APPLE CUP AGAINST WASHINGTON
The Cougars will host the University of Washington, Thursday, March 7 at 6 p.m. in the final regular season game and final conference meeting between the historic rivals, which have played the sixth-longest series in college basketball history.

TOMMY'S 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. Since taking over the Arizona program, Lloyd has lost just three times at McKale Center, twice to Coach Smith and the Washington State Cougars.

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. Most recently, Jakimovski surpassed 500 career rebounds, Feb. 22, to become the first Coug since 2019 to eclipse the mark. Jakimovski exploded for a game-high 21 points in the season opener, one shy of his career high. The North Macedonian made his 110th game appearance and started his 70th game against Cal, Feb. 15, and has scored in double figures 15 times. 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 4.8 ppg since arriving on campus and upped his rebounding average by 1.3 rpg over the same four-year timeframe. Jakimovski has moved into the WSU record books top-10 for career 3-pointers made (175) and 3-pointers attempted (504).

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, matching the career-high in the win over USC. Rice has distributed at least three assists in 15 of his last 17 games, and 5+ assists nine times. The standout freshman leads the Cougs with 111 assists (3.83 apg, 5th in Pac-12) and moved into third all-time by a Cougar freshman in season assists. Rice also averages a team-best 1.55 steals per game (45 total, 6th in Pac-12). Myles is on pace to finish as the first or second-highest scoring freshman in WSU history, averaging 15.4 ppg with 447 total points (currently third).

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 (.416) and second in the League in blocks per game (5.1). Wazzu's defensive field goal prowess ranks 59th in the country (FG defense). The Cougs limit opponents to 67.2 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%). Most recently WSU clamped down Oregon for their lowest scoring total of the year (56) and just 22.2% from 3-point range.

JAYLEN JOINS THE CLUB
Junior transfer Jaylen Wells has found his form in Conference play, starting the last 14 games and averaging 15.5 ppg as a starter. Most recently, Wells set a career-high with 27 points in the win at Arizona, his second 20-point game of D-I, capping the win with the game-winning four-point play with a corner three and free throw. Wells enjoyed double-digit performances in 14-straight games prior to the loss at ASU, averaging 14.2 points per game in Conference play. The former Division-II star and All-American has scored 10+ points 20 times.

NATIONAL RIM PROTECTORS
WSU has owned the height advantage early into conference play, boasting 147 blocks, 5.1 per game, second in the Pac-12 Conference. The Cougars' average is 20th nationally and the Cougs are ranked No. 27 in the country according to KenPom's effective block percentage. True freshman Rueben Chinyelu leads the Coug with 37 rejections, second most in WSU freshman history and three from breaking the WSU freshman block record. Four Cougs have 20+ 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 game.

WEEKLY CONFERENCE AWARDS SWEEP
For the second time this season, Isaac Jones and Myles Rice swept the weekly awards from the Pac-12 Conference, Feb. 19, marking the first time in League history with same duo sweeping the weekly awards twice in a single season. The Cougs picked up the awards after a sweep of Cal and Stanford at home. The Cougars first 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. WSU is the only school with multiple sweeps in the same season.

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. The Cougars finished February with a 7-1 record and tallied their best 12-game Conference stretch since the 1944-45 season, finishing the Pacific Coast Conference schedule 13-1.

MYLES SETS FROSH SCORING MARK
The 7-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.

DIFFERENT KINDA COUGS
WSU is built different this season, regularly with two inside men, a different look from Coach Smith's recent Palouse teams, which played with four or all five men outside. The change has results in a higher percentage of shots in the paint, and a 2-point field goal percentage over 52%.

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 37 blocks, second-most by a Cougar freshman, and is on pace to finish as WSU's all-time freshman block leader at 1.28 blocks per game, currently fourth overall in the Pac-12 Conference. Chinyelu also shoots the ball at an efficient 62.7% from the floor. If Chinyelu continues to average over two field goals per game at a similar clip, he will set the WSU freshman field goal percentage record. Most recently, Chinyelu passed Klay Thompson in single-season freshman rebounding and is seventh in freshman program history.

NOT SO FAST...
Fast break points have been hard to come by for Wazzu's opponents with just 169 transition points allowed all season. Wazzu is quick to get back on defense, outscoring opponents in fast break opportunities 8.2 to 5.8 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 1020-852 in the key. Against Stanford, Jan. 22, 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 under 50% of their scoring from inside the key (35.2 points per game), while holding opponents to an average 29.4 points in the paint per game.

KYLE ECLIPSES 250 VICTORIES
With the Jan. 18 win over Oregon State in Corvallis, WSU Head Coach Kyle Smith earned his 250th Division-I coaching victory, the final 86 coming at Washington State. Smith holds the sixth-most wins in WSU coaching history, and sits eighth in all-time career wins by a WSU coach.

JONES CLAIMS NATIONAL AWARDS
Fifth-year senior transfer Isaac Jones has taken a leading role as the Cougars leading scorer at 15.4 ppg (10th in Pac-12) and top rebounder with 7.6 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 surpassed 1,000 career points and has scored in double figures 14 times in Pac-12 play.

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 10th in the Pac-12, just behind Jones, with a 53.6 field goal percentage.

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 64 assists. At USC, Jan. 10, Houinsou played in his 50th collegiate game. At Washington, Feb. 3, Houinsou sealed the win for Wazzu with clampdown defense on the final overtime possession. In the Cougars win over California, Feb. 15, Houinsou dished five assists, matching a Conference game career-high, while adding four rebounds and two blocks. In the loss at ASU, Houinsou matched a Pac-12 career-high with nine points, despite illness.

WINNING THE GLASS BATTLE
The Cougars have used their height advantage all season, outrebounding opponents in all but five games. On the defensive glass, WSU holds opponents to an average of 8.3 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 +5.3 rebounding margin, which ranks 35th 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.

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 30 NET
In the 2023-24 season's NET rankings released by the NCAA, March 2, Washington State checks in at No. 38. The Cougars are the 3rd-highest Pac-12 team, ranked behind No. 3 Arizona and No. 30 Colorado. 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-8, Pac-10, or Pac-12 Conference era, WSU has posted 14 winning conference records.

A CENTURY'S ACHIEVEMENT
With the Feb. 3 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.

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.

TWO 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.