WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (3-3, 0-0 WCC) vs ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS (5-1, 0-0 BIG 12)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2025
3 p.m. HT / 5 p.m. PT
Lahaina, Maui, Hawai'i
Lahaina Civic Center 
Capacity: 2,400 

OPENING TIPS
1. The Cougars advance in the Southwest Maui Invitational to face Arizona State in the semifinals, Tuesday, November 25 at 3 p.m. HT (5 p.m. PT) live on ESPN. WSU and ASU meet for the first time since the disolution of the old Pac-12 Conference and just the third time in a neutral site meeting with the Sun Devils.
2. WSU escaped the quarterfinals with a 20-point comeback win over hosting Chaminade, 90-85, Monday afternoon at Lahiana Civic Center. The Cougars were carried by Ace Glass with 26 points and Rihards Vavers with 25 points in a 67-point performance from WSU's bench.
3. ND Okafor delivered a career-high 27 points and career-high eight rebounds in last week's win over Southern Utah. The junior power forward finished 12-of-14 from the floor, the best percentage with as many field goal attempts by a Coug since at least 1996. Okafor, the team leader in blocks last season, is averaging 11.2 ppg and 5.7 rpg, while shooting 65% from the floor.
4. True freshman Ace Glass has wowed since dropping a team-high 17 points in his collegiate debut. Since then he has delivered back-to-back 20-point performances, including a career-high 26 points Monday over Chaminade. The California kid is averaging a team-high 14.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, and is shooting the ball at a .500 clip.
5. Sophomore Tomas Thrastarson has made a noticeable leap since his rookie campaign, comfortable attacking the basket. The Icelandic viking has matched or bested his career-high twice in five games, scoring 19 points in the win over St. Thomas. Thrastarson missed last week's game with an ankle injury.

LAST TIME OUT
Washington State defeated hosting Chaminade in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Southwest Maui Invitational, 90-85. WSU's duo of Ace Glass and Rihards Vavers each posted career highs and combined for 51 points. Glass led the Cougs with a career-high 26 points, his second-consecutive 20-point game and second time leading WSU in scoring. Glass' scoring marked the most points by a Coug freshman since Myles Rice scored 35 points at Stanford in January 2024. Rihards Vavers added a career-high 25 points on seven made 3-pointers. Adria Rodriguez dished out a career-high six assists in the win and grabbed a career-high six rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Cougars will face Seton Hall or USC in the final round of the Maui Invitational, Wednesday, November 26, at 11:30 a.m. or 2:30 p.m. PT.

OKAFOR EFFICIENCY
Returning redshirt-junior ND Okafor delivered a career-high 27 points and career-high eight rebounds in his last outing. Okafor shot 12-of-14 from the floor, the best single-game percentage by a Coug with as many attempts since at least 1996. The Irishman is shooting a team-best 63.9% from the field. Last year, Okafor finished his sophomore season with a 62.3 field goal percentage, the fifth-best single-season percentage in program history. Okafor also led the team in blocks with 40 rejections last season, fourth in the WCC, on a team that finished 20th in the country in blocks per game. 

RETURN TO THE ISLANDS
The Cougars have previously competed in the Diamond Head Classic three times, and participated in the Rainbow Classic four times before that. In total, the Cougs hold an 11-11 record across eight multi-team events, dating back to the 1973 Rainbow Classic. The Cougs have reached the championship game three times, most recently in 2010 against Butler, but have never won a Hawaiian MTE.

FREE THROW PURITY
As a team, the Cougars are shooting 76.8 percent at the free throw line, top 50 in the country. WSU has gotten to the line 125 times in six games, sinking 96 charity shots, for an average 16 free throws per game on 20.8 attempts per game. Two Cougs, Ace Glass and Eemeli Yalaho, have yet to miss a free throw this season.

BENCH BUCKLES DOWN
The WSU bench scored a season high 67 points in Monday's win over Chaminade, the third time this season with more than 40 Cougar bench points. The Cougs average 41.8 ppg from the rotation, outscoring opponent benches by an average of 14 points per game.

SECOND CHANCE POINTS
Wazzu is nearly doubling the number of second chance points compared to its opponents, scoring an average of 13.7 second-chance points per game on 10.8 offensive rebounds per game. By comparison, the Cougs have limited their opponents to just 7.7 second-chance points per game and 36 total offensive rebounds allowed this season.

EMMANUEL ENCHANTS
Transfer Emmanuel Ugbo (Boise State) led the Cougars in scoring twice and rebounding in three of the first four games, averaging 11.2 ppg and 5.4 rpg. In his WSU debut in the season opener versus Idaho, Ugbo matched his career high with 17 points and added a career-high eight rebounds. At Davidson, Ugbo earned his first Coug start, delivering 16 points and five rebounds. The Dutchman is shooting over 60% from the floor. Ugbo went down with an ankle injury two minutes into WSU's win over Southern Utah, Wednesday night, and did not return.

LINE IN THE SAND
Washington State opponents are averaging 79.8 points per game this season. When the Cougs hold their opponent under 80 points, they are 2-0. When the Cougs allow their opponent to score more than 80 points, Wazzu is 1-3. On the offensive end, the Cougars are 3-0 when shooting over 50% from the floor, and 0-3 when held under 45% shooting.

FAMILIAR FOES
When the Cougars take the court against the Sun Devils Tuesday afternoon, it will mark the 91st all-time meeting between the former Pac-12 Conference foes. The programs have not faced each other since the dissolution of the old Pac-12 Conference after the 2023-24 season. ASU holds the all-time edge 48-42 and 2-0 in neutral site meetings.

TOMAS TURNS UP
Returning sophomore Tomas Thrastarson has turned heads with his offseason development after being named to the 2024-25 WCC All-Freshman Team, playing in 31 games with 11 starts, averaging 4.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, and 19 blocks. In the season opener against Idaho, Thrastarson matched his career-high with 17 points and delivered a career-high 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. He broke his career high November 10, scoring 19 points, including 18 first-half points to lead WSU to its first win of the year. The Viking matched his career-high again with a team-high seven rebounds in the win over St. Thomas. Tomas did not play against Southern Utah.

ADRIA DISHES SPANISH FLARE
Incoming senior Adria Rodriguez, a member of Spanish second-division club Alicante, has shown is floor general prowess as the Cougs leading assister in all six games. The Catalonia kid is averaging 4.2 assists per game, including some eye-popping between-the-legs passes through heavy traffic. Adria has also led the team in steals in five of six games.

MAKE 'EM PAY WITH THE 3-POINT PLAY
The Cougars are a perfect 12-of-12 on three-point plays this season, converting every and-1 attempt at the charity stripe. Eemeli Yalaho leads the team with three and-one conversions.

RILEY RUNS IT BACK
David Riley began his second season at WSU after finishing his first season on the Palouse 19-15 with a postseason berth to the inaugural College Basketball Crown. The selection marked a third postseason in four seasons for Coach Riley, and fourth-consecutive postseason for the Cougs. 

COUGS BOND IN EUROPEAN TRIP
The Cougars took an international tour this summer, visiting England and Spain. WSU played three exhibition games over 10 days, while sightseeing London, Malaga, and Barcelona. The Cougs say the London Eye, Big Ben, La Sagrada Familia, and excursioned around the Mediterranean Sea in southern Spain. Division-I teams are allowed foreign tours once every four years. The Cougar men last traveled in 2015 to Italy. Freshman Brunel Madzou and senior adrià Rodriguez did not play, as they were not cleared through the NCAA at the time of the tour, and Rodriguez joined the Spanish national team for a pair of exhibition matches.

COUGARS PICKED SIXTH IN WCC
Entering the 2025-26 season as an affiliate member of the West Coast Conference, Wazzu was selected sixth in the preseason coaches poll. The Cougars did not receive an honoree on the conference preseason team.

BRAYDEN KYMAN INKS DEAL
Class of 2026 senior Brayden Kyman, a 6-8 power forward from Rancho Santa Margarita, California, signed a financial aid agreement to play basketball at Washington State beginning next season. The versatile forward can score at all three levels with a deep range and length to work inside. 

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
The Cougars will look to continue a high-powered offense which Coach Riley instilled last season on Friel Court. During Riley's first season the Cougs set school records in shots made (968) and assists (574), more than any previous team in school history. The Cougs finished ninth in the country in field goal percentage, 19th in assists, and 20th in blocks.

NEW PAC-12 ON THE HORIZON
The revitalized Pac-12 Conference is set to launch July 1, 2026 with a strong slate of men's basketball programs including Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas State, and Utah State.

COWARD JOINS THE ASSOCIATION
Cedric Coward, a 2024 WCC All-Preseason selection, and graduate of WSU, was drafted No. 11 in the 2025 NBA Draft, joining the Memphis Grizzlies after a trade. Coward, who played just six games last season prior to suffering a season-ending injury, linked up with 2024 WSU Draftee, Jaylen Wells. There are currently five Cougars playing in the NBA — Cedric Coward, Mouhamed Gueye, Isaac Jones, Klay Thompson, and Jaylen Wells.