WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS at DAVIDSON WILDCATS

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2025
4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. ET)
Davidson, North Carolina
McKillop Court at Belk Arena
Capacity: 5,295

COUGAR RADIO NETWORK
Seattle 770AM & 94.5FM 
Spokane 920AM & 100.7FM
Pullman 104.3FM | Tri-Cities 610AM
Matt Present

TELEVISION or STREAMING
ESPN+ & ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Nick Klos
Sideline: Katelyn McCarthy
Producer: Riley Callahan

OPENING TIPS
1. The Washington State men's basketball team makes its first road trip of the season, visiting Davidson College for a Friday evening clash at Belk Arena. The Cougars and Wildcats are meeting for the first time in program history with tip off scheduled for 7 p.m. local (4 p.m. PT) and streaming live on ESPN+.
2. The Cougars dropped their season opener, Monday night, to Idaho in the 280th meeting between the schools. The loss snapped a 29-game season-opening win streak and marked an opening loss at Beasley Coliseum for the first time in 35 seasons. The Cougars committed just five turnovers, and tallied just eight assists, both were Cougar lows under Head Coach Riley.
3. David Riley finished 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.
4. WSU set school records last year with 968 field goals made and 574 assists, more than any previous team in school history. The Cougs finished  ninth in the country in FG percentage, 19th in assists, and 20th in blocks.
5. The Cougars returned Parker Gerrits, ND Okafor, Tomas Thrastarson, Rihards Vavers, and Kase Wynott after their first season of playing time at WSU in 2024-25.

SPLASH BROS BATTLE
The Cougar and Wildcat basketball programs are best known for their sharp shooting guards that combined in the NBA to form 'The Splash Bros.' WSU's Klay Thompson was drafted No. 11 in 2011 and joined Davidson's Stephen Curry, the ninth pick in the 2009 draft at Golden State, where the duo combined for four NBA Finals between 2015 and 2022. 

UP NEXT
The Cougars return home to host St. Thomas out of Minnesota, Monday, Nov. 10 at Beasley Coliseum. WSU welcomes the Tommies for a 6:30 p.m. tip off with coverage on ESPN+.

IDAHO SPOILS SEASON OPENER
The Cougars dropped their season opener to Idaho, Monday, November 3, 81-83, snapping a 7-game winning streak against the Vandals. WSU is 102-23 all-time in season openers. Wazzu is 63-9 when opening the season at home and lost a season opener at Beasley Coliseum for the first time in program history. Prior to the Idaho loss, the Cougars had won 29 consecutive season openers at home and had won 35-consecutive Beasley Coliseum openers (not necessarily the first game of the season).

Cougs 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.

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 after 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.

OKAFOR EFFICIENCY
Returning redshirt-junior ND Okafor finished his sophomore season in Pullman 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, fourth in the WCC, on a team that finished 20th in the country in blocks per game.

CONTRACT EXTENSION
WSU Director of Athletics Anne McCoy announced a one-year extension to David Riley's existing contract, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Riley's contract now runs through the 2030-31 season.

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 IN THE LEAGUE
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.