MERCER BEARS (7-4) at WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (4-8)

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2025
2:02 p.m. PT
Pullman, Washington
Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum
Capacity: 11,671

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

TV & STREAMING
ESPN+ & ESPN App (remote)
Play-by-Play: Barry Tompkins
Analyst: Dan Belluomini
Producer: Zohra Ziani

SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: 0-0
Record at Pullman: 0-0
First Meeting: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A

OPENING TIPS
1. The Washington State men's basketball team concludes the 2025-26 nonconference schedule with a home game, Saturday, December 20, at 2 p.m. versus Mercer from Beasley Coliseum. The meeting, streamed live on ESPN+, marks the first game between the programs.
2. True freshman Ace Glass broke the WSU freshman scoring record with 40 points in the Nov. 25 Maui semifinal vs Arizona State, earning All-Tournament honors and being named the WCC Freshman of the Week. Glass became the first underclassman in the country to score 40 points in a single game, The Rialto native leads WSU averaging 15.3 ppg and shoots at a 48% clip.
3. ND Okafor is leading the team in efficiency, shooting the ball at 60.3% from the floor. Okafor scored a career-high 27 points, Nov. 19. The Irishman averages 5.3 rebounds per game and delivered a career-high eight rebounds and five blocks versus Nevada. Okafor is second in WCC in blocks (20), averaging 1.67 bpg.
4. Emmanuel Ugbo delivered a career-high 20 points in Wednesday's win over Eastern Washington, finishing 8-of-12 from the floor, both career highs. The Dutchman is averaging 8.6 points per game and has led WSU in scoring three times since transferring from Boise State.
5. Sophomore Tomas Thrastarson had the best offensive game of his career vs Nevada, scoring a career-high 20-points to lead the Cougs in scoring for a fifth time. He is second on the team in scoring at 10.0 points per game and shoots the ball over 46% from the floor. 

LAST TIME OUT
Washington State defeated the Eastern Washington Eagles, 78-63, in a neutral-site game at Numerica Veterans Arena in Spokane, Wednesday night. WSU's Emmanuel Ugbo delivered a career-high 20 points to lead three Cougars in double figures in the 509 Classic, snapping a five-game losing streak. The Cougars came out hot, beginning the game on an 11-2 run and never relinquished the lead. Ugbo scored 14 first-half points, alongside 12 points from ND Okafor, and 10 points in the opening half from Ace Glass. WSU dished out a season-high 18 assists and matched its season-high with 10 steals.

UP NEXT
The Cougars will have a week's respite for the Christmas holiday before returning to Pullman to prep for West Coast Conference play. WSU starts the conference season on the road at Portland, Sunday, December 28 in the Rose City.

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 60.3% from the field and swatted away a career-high five blocks against Nevada, Dec. 7. On the defensive end, ND Okafor has led the Cougs nine times in single-game blocks, totalling 20 on the season, second in WCC and top-60 nationally.

ROAD WARRIORS
Cougs have played the 39th toughest schedule in the country according to NCAA NET rankings. WSU has traveled over 15,500 miles and played games in four time zones. 

BATTLE OF BAD LUCK
According to KenPom's Luck metric, the Cougars rank 359th out of 365 teams as one of the unluckiest teams in the country. Mercer enters as the 26th luckiest team in the country. KenPom's Luck metric is calculated using the deviation in winning percentage between a team's actual record and their expected record using the correlated gaussian method. 

SPOKANE ARENA HISTORY
The Cougars hold an all-time record of 23-19 at Spokane Arena dating back to 1995. Last season, WSU played LMU in its first conference game in Spokane since 2016-17, defeating the Lions to improve to 3-1 all-time in conference games at Numerica Veterans Arena.

DEFENSIVE GLASS
WSU ranks sixth in the country in defending against offensive rebounding, according to KenPom - that is, they prevent opponents from getting second-chances from offensive boards - holding opponents to a 23.5% defended offensive rebounding percentage.

AARON ACES NONCONFERENCE
True freshman Ace Glass has stepped into a leading roll for the Cougars, averaging a team-high 15.3 points per game, breaking the WSU freshman single-game scoring record with 40 points versus Arizona State. The Rialto, California kid is eighth in the West Coast Conference in scoring. From the charity stripe, Glass is shooting 92.5% (37-of-40) ranking 15th in the country and best by any freshman in Division-I.

MORTON MOJO
Junior Morehead State transfer Jerone Morton has found a starting role in the Cougar lineup, sharing ballhandling responsibilities through 12 starts, and leading the team in assists six times. Morton is averaging 6.3 points per game, 2.7 assists per game, and just over one steal per game. At Bradley, the Lexington, Kentucky native finished a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line, a career high from the charity stripe. 

UNFORCED ERRORS
In non-steal turnovers, the Cougars rank 332nd, while they rank 87th in steal turnover percentage. In other terms, the majority of the Cougars turnovers are unforced and not caused by the opponent defense.

GO YALAHO GO
Junior Texas Tech transfer Eemeli Yalaho has quietly become a double-double threat, delivering two this season. The Finn is averaging 9.7 points per game and a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game. Twice this season Yalaho has pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds and scored 10+ points on eight occasions.

FREE THROW PURITY
As a team, the Cougars are shooting 75.8 percent at the free throw line, top-60 in the country. WSU has gotten to the line 227 times in 12 games, sinking 172 charity shots, for an average 14.3 free throws per game on 18.9 attempts per game. In November's Maui Invitational semifinal vs 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
Four times this season the WSU bench has scored 40+ points in a single game, most recently dropping 45 rotation points on Eastern Washington. The WSU bench scored a season high 67 points in  the Maui opening win over Chaminade and average 31.8 ppg from the rotation, outscoring opponent benches by an average of seven points per game.

EMMANUEL ENCHANTS
Transfer Emmanuel Ugbo (Boise State) led the Cougars in scoring twice and rebounding in three of the first four games, before delivering a career-high 20 points against Eastern Washington this week. Ugbo is averaging 8.6 ppg and 3.8 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 is averaging 75.5 points per game this season. When the Cougs score more than 70 points, Wazzu is 4-2, however when they are held under 70 points, WSU is 0-6. The Cougars are also 4-1 when shooting over 50% from the floor, and 0-7 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. Since the season opener against Idaho, Thrastarson has matched or bested his career-high three times, including a 20-point game versus Nevada. In the opener against Idaho, Thrastarson finished 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. 

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 12 games. The Catalonia kid is averaging 2.8 assists per game, including some eye-popping between-the-legs passes through heavy traffic. Adria has also led the team in steals six times.

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
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.