WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (3-5, 0-0 WCC) at BRADLEY BRAVES (4-4, 0-0 MVC)

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2025
5 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. CT
Peoria, Illinois
Carver Arena
Capacity: 11,433

COUGAR SPORTS NETWORK
Seattle 770AM & 94.5FM 
Spokane 920AM & 100.7FM
Pullman 104.3FM | Tri-Cities 610AM
Trevor Williams & Craig Ehlo

TV & STREAMING
ESPN+ & ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Brian Bedo
Analyst: Kristof Kenrick
Producer: Unknown

SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: 3-1
Record at Peoria: 2-1
First Meeting: Dec. 22, 1939 (44-38)
Last Meeting: Nov. 8, 2024 (91-74)

OPENING TIPS
1. Washington State travels to Peoria, Illinois for the first time in 75 seasons to face the Bradley Braves, Tuesday, December 2, at 5 p.m. PT (7 p.m. CT) at Carver Arena and live on ESPN+. The Cougars hold a 3-1 record against the Braves, winners of last year's home matchup, having lost just once to Bradley, at Peoria in 1949.
2. True freshman Ace Glass broke the WSU freshman scoring record with 40 points in the November 25 Maui semifinal against Arizona State, earning All-Tournament honors and being named the WCC Freshman of the Week. Glass became the first underclassman and freshman in the country to score 40 points in a single game, The Rialto, California native leads WSU averaging 17.6 ppg, 10th-best in the country by a freshman, and shoots at 53.6%.
3. ND Okafor is leading the team in efficiency, shooting the ball at a 63.5% clip. Okafor delivered career-highs 27 points and eight rebounds against Southern Utah, Nov. 19. 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.
4. The Cougars are shooting 76.5 percent at the free throw line, top 50 in the country. Ace Glass finished 16-of-18 at the free throw line against ASU, the most free throws by a Coug in a single game in 15 seasons. WSU punishes with the whistle, converting 16-of-17 and-1 opportunities.
5. Seven different Cougars are averaging over nine points per game, including all five starters, Rihards Vavers, and Emmanuel Ugbo. Six different Cougs average 3.0+ rebounds.

LAST TIME OUT
Washington State lost, 61-75, to Seton Hall in the third-place game of the Southwest Maui Invitational, Wednesday afternoon, at Lahaina Civic Center. Rihards Vavers led the team in scoring with 17 points on three 3-pointers made and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Ace Glass added 15 points and three assists, his fifth consecutive game in double figures. ND Okafor had 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Seton Hall found the advantage in the turnover battle forcing 15 turnovers and converting a WSU opponent-high 27 points off of the mistakes.

UP NEXT
The Cougars return to Pullman for their first home game of December and first game at Beasley Coliseum since Wednesday, November 19. Washington State will host Nevada, Sunday, December 7 at 2 p.m. The game is the second-half of a home-and-home series that started in Reno last season with a Wazzu win.

OKAFOR EFFICIENCY
Returning redshirt-junior ND Okafor delivered a career-high 27 points and career-high eight rebounds against Southern Utah, November 19. 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 leading the team at 64.2% 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. 

FREE THROW PURITY
As a team, the Cougars are shooting 76.5 percent at the free throw line, top 50 in the country. WSU has gotten to the line 170 times in eight games, sinking 130 charity shots, for an average 16.3 free throws per game on 21.3 attempts per game. In last Tuesday's contest with Arizona State, Ace Glass finished 16-of-18 at the free throw line, the most free throws by a Coug in a single game since Klay Thompson made 18 free throws back in 2009.

BENCH BUCKLES DOWN
The WSU bench scored a season high 67 points in  last Monday's win over Chaminade, the third time this season with more than 40 Cougar bench points. The Cougs average 37.6 ppg from the rotation, outscoring opponent benches by an average of 10 points per game. In last Tuesday's loss to Arizona State the Cougar bench was limited to a season-low 24 points.

SECOND CHANCE POINTS
Wazzu is getting 150% of second chance points compared to its opponents, scoring an average of 12.6 second-chance points per game on 10.4 offensive rebounds per game. By comparison, the Cougs have limited their opponents to 8.9 second-chance points per game and 51 total offensive rebounds allowed this season. In last Tuesday's loss to Arizona State the Cougars gave up a season-high 13 second-chance points.

EMMANUEL ENCHANTS
Transfer Emmanuel Ugbo (Boise State) led the Cougars in scoring twice and rebounding in three of the first four games, now averaging 9.4 ppg and 4.1 rpg after suffering an ankle injury at the start of the November 19 win over Southern Utah. 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 55% from the floor.

LINE IN THE SAND
Washington State opponents are averaging 81.8 points per game this season. When the Cougs hold their opponent under 80 points, they are 2-1. When the Cougs allow their opponent to score more than 80 points, Wazzu is 1-4. On the offensive end, the Cougars are 3-1 when shooting over 50% from the floor, and 0-4 when held under 45% shooting.

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 seven of the first eight games. The Catalonia kid is averaging 3.6 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 eight games.

MAKE 'EM PAY WITH THE 3-POINT PLAY
The Cougars are an impressive 16-of-17 on three-point plays this season, converting nearly every and-1 attempt at the charity stripe. Eemeli Yalaho leads the team with four 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.