SAN FRANCISCO DONS (13-3, 3-0) at WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (12-3, 2-0)
Saturday, January 4, 2025 at 4:02 p.m. PT (7:02 p.m. ET)
Pullman, Wash. at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum (11,671)

Cougar Radio Network
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Play-by-Play: Chris King | Analyst: Craig Ehlo

Television & Streaming | ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Ann Schatz | Analyst: Mary Murphy
Producer: David Feldman

OPENING TIPS
1. The Cougars welcome the Dons of San Francisco to ring in the New Year. USF has never traveled to Pullman, previously hosting Washington State on two occasions. Wazzu traveled to San Francisco in March 2012, defeating the Dons in the CBI at War Memorial Gym for the only tilt in the last 73 years and move to 2-0 all-time against USF.
2. Coach David Riley has led the Cougs to a 12-3 start, the best start by a first-year WSU coach since Ken Bone started 12-3 in 2009-10. Tony Bennett boasted the best start in the 2006-07 Coug season at 13-2. Riley is the third Wazzu coach in school history to start his first season with 12 wins in 15 games.
3. WSU ranks top-40 in the country in five team categories: 18th in blocks per game (5.5), 23rd in 2-point FG% (.594), 27th in FG% (.495), 27th in effective FG% (.573), and 34th in assists per game (17.4).
4. Nate Calmese leads WSU's active roster with 16.4 points, 4.5 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. The junior transfer sits sixth in the WCC in scoring, sixth in assists, and fourth in steals per game.
5. LeJuan Watts delivered eight points, 11 rebounds, and career-high eight assists in the win vs LMU. Watts has scored in double figures 13 times and ranks fourth in the WCC with 8.1 rpg and five double-doubles.

LAST TIME OUT
The Cougars defeated LMU, 73-59, Monday evening at Spokane Arena in the inaugural WCC home game, improving to 12-3 and 2-0 in WCC play. True freshman Tomas Thrastarson had his best game of the year with a career-high 17 points and career-high six rebounds.  Nate Calmese led the team in scoring with 20 points, four assists and three rebounds. Calmese has scored 20+ points four times. LeJuan Watts scored eight points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out a career-high eight assists as he flirted with a triple-double.

PICK YOUR POISON
The Cougars have distributed scoring across the majority of the playing rotation with four active players averaging 10+ points through 15 games. At least four Cougs have scored in double figures nine times, while six different individuals have tallied 20-point performances. Nate Calmese sits sixth in the conference in scoring and LeJuan Watts ranks fourth in the WCC in rebounding.

SHARING THE ROCK
The Cougs dished out 24 assists in the win over Portland, Dec. 28, matching the season-high with the most single-game assists in six seasons. WSU is undefeated at 12-0 when tallying 15+ assists, most recently defeating LMU after dishing out 17 assists. In contrast, the Cougs are 0-3 when delivering fewer than 15 assists.

UP NEXT
Washington State concludes a three-game homestand with a Thursday evening contest against the Pacific Tigers, Jan. 9. The Tigers, who finished as one of the worst teams by NET value in 2023-24, are under first-year head coach Dave Smart. The upcoming tilt marks the inaugural game between the schools, which have never met, nor has Head Coach David Riley ever previously coached against Pacific in his three seasons at the helm of Eastern Washington.

RIM PROTECTORS
The Cougar team leads the WCC and ranks 18th in the country with 5.5 blocked shots per game. WSU boasts two of the top five shot blockers in the conference with Okafor at second (1.6) and Erikstrup at fifth (1.3).

INJURY BUG BITES EARLY
Coach David Riley confirmed in December the successful shoulder surgeries of senior Cedric Coward and freshman Marcus Wilson, both of whom will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season on a 4-6 month recovery timeline. Sophomore Rihards Vavers is out indefinitely, likely for the season, with broken bones in both hands. Isaiah Watts suffered a hand injury against Washington, Dec. 18, and will miss several weeks.

AT HOME IN SPOKANE
The Cougars hold an all-time record of 22-19 at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena dating back to 1995. The last time WSU played a conference game at Spokane Arena was a 75-62 win over Oregon State, Jan. 4, 2017 when the Cougs were led by the 2024 game's TV analyst Ernie Kent. In 2011-12, Wazzu hosted both Oregon schools at Spokane Arena, and hold an all-time conference record of 3-1 in the Lilac City venue.

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, nearly 60%, and a larger portion of points coming from beyond the arc. The Cougars rank 23rd nationally in 2-point FG percentage.

FLOOR GENERAL CALMESE
Nate Calmese, who began his college career as the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year at Lamar, has seen all his ballhandling statistics improve over three seasons, including increases in assists (+125%), steals (+58%), and rebounds (+40%).

THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Ethan Price, a senior transfer from Eastern Washington, has started all 115 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 most recently surpassed 500 career rebounds to become the first Cougar player since Kyle Weaver (2004-08) to record at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 200 career assists. In the first WCC game at Portland, Price delivered his first 20-piece of the season with team-high 22 points, adding seven rebounds, and five assists.

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 eight points, 11 rebounds, and career-high eight assists in the Dec. 30 win over LMU. It was the most complete performance since Kyle Weaver delivered the only triple-double in WSU history, Jan. 13, 2007 with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. LeJuan Watts notched his fifth double-double, Dec. 21, and has led the Cougs in rebounding 11 times.

NONCONFERENCE SUCCESS
The Cougars concluded the nonconference schedule at 10-3, earning 10 nonconference wins for the first time since 2010-11, a group that ultimately reached the NIT semifinals with Klay Thompson. Coach David Riley became the first WSU first-year head coach since Ken Bone in 2009-10 to win 12 of his first 15 games. Riley became the third coach in Coug history to start 12-3 or better in his first season on the Palouse.

EFFICIENT IN THE ARC
In the Nov. 18 win over Northern Colorado, the Cougars shot 76.7% from 2-point range, the highest single-game 2-point percentage by a Wazzu team since December 9, 2007, when the Cougs shot 76.7% from inside the arc against Portland State (26-40). WSU boasts the top effective FG team in the WCC with a .573 eFG%, 27th in Division-I as of Jan. 3.

TINKERING WITH TEMPO
The Cougs are averaging 80.9 points per game and are 11-1 when scoring over 70 points. WSU got its only win when being held under 70 points in a 68-57 mudfight at Nevada, Dec. 2, in Reno.

TOMAS TEASES TALENT
With a short bench, true freshman Tomas Thrastarson made his first career start against Northern Iowa, Dec. 21, and has held the starting spot ever since. The Icelandic native played a season-high 30 minutes in the WCC home opener against LMU, Dec. 30, delivering a season-high 17 points and six rebounds. In his conference debut at Portland, Dec. 28, Thrastarson dished out a season-high five assists.

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, and has started every game as a Cougar. Erikstrup made a homecoming in the Cougars' inaugural WCC game, playing his 80th career Division-I game at Portland, Dec. 28, and is one of four active Cougars averaging double figures.

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. Okafor matched his season-high in the WCC opener at Portland, scoring 12 points.

'ZAY SETTLES AS A STARTER
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. Three times 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 remained in the starting lineup until an injury in his non-shooting hand against UW that will sideline him for several weeks.

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.

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 Eastern Washington. However, Coward has not seen the floor since winning the award, out for the season following left shoulder surgery.

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 Riley team was selected fifth in the preseason 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.