WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (19-14, 8-10) vs GEORGETOWN HOYAS (17-15, 8-12)

MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2025
8 p.m. PT (11 p.m. ET)
Las Vegas, Nevada
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Capacity: 16,800

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

TELEVISED ON FS1
Play-by-Play: Kevin Kugler
Analyst: Robbie Hummel
Reporter: Kim Adams
Producer: Aaron Stojkov

OPENING TIPS
1. The Cougars earned a fourth-consecutive postseason appearance with a berth into the inaugural College Basketball Crown, March 31-April 6 in Las Vegas. WSU will face Georgetown in the first round, of the 16-team field, Monday, March 31 at 8 p.m. at MGM's Grand Garden Arena and live on FS1. The Cougs and Hoyas have never met in Wazzu's 123-year history.
2. First-year head coach David Riley has guided the Cougs to the most wins by a first-year coach since Tony Bennett won 26 games in 2006-07. Riley led WSU to its second-most wins by a first-year coach in program history and ensured a .500+ record for the sixth-consecutive season.
3. WSU ranks top-20 in the country in five team categories: 9th in overall FG% (.491), 12th in effective FG% (.567), 12th in 2-point FG% (.580),  19th in blocks per game (4.9), and 19th in assists per game (16.9).
4. LeJuan Watts became the second Coug in program history to record a triple-double, Jan. 23, at Santa Clara. Watts' triple-double was the first of his career, the second all-time at WSU after Kyle Weaver at Stanford, Jan. 13, 2007. Watts is the team's leading rebounder and his tallied nine double-doubles.
5. The Cougars are the top shot-blocking team in the WCC, leading the League with 163 blocks, 23 more than the next-closest WCC team. ND Okafor leads WSU with 39 total blocks (third in WCC).

UP NEXT
Washington State would advance to face the winner of Monday's game between Nebraska and Arizona State. The quarterfinal clash is scheduled for Wednesday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. at MGM Grand Garden Arena and live on FS1. Advancing teams will meet in Saturday's semifinals at T-Mobile Arena before the championship game Sunday at 2:30 p.m. on FOX.

THREE COUGS EARN ALL-WCC HONORS
The West Coast Conference announced all-conference teams Tuesday, March 4 with three Washington State student-athletes earning recognition. True freshman Tomas Thrastarson was named to the WCC All-Freshman Team after playing in 28 games with 10 starts, averaging 4.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, and 18 blocks. WSU junior Nate Calmese and redshirt-sophomore LeJuan Watts both earned All-WCC Honorable Mention. Calmese led WSU in scoring at 15.0 ppg, with 4.1 apg, and 1.5 spg. Watts earned his second all-conference career honor with 13.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, and 4.4 apg, while delivering eight double-doubles and a triple-double.

THREE ENTER TRANSFER PORTAL
The 2024-25 Cougar postseason roster will look different with starters Nate Calmese and Isaiah Watts announcing their entry into the transfer portal, along with freshman Marcus Wilson. Coach Riley otherwise retained the majority of the roster with WCC All-Freshman selection Tomas Thrastarson and WCC Honorable Mention LeJuan Watts returning for the College Basketball Crown.

LAST TIME OUT
Washington State lost to San Francisco, 75-86, in the quarterfinals of the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship, March 9. Ethan Price led the team in scoring with 26 points, two shy of his career high, and six rebounds. LeJuan Watts added 20 points and three assists. San Francisco found an advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Cougars 49-25 and secured a 21-5 scoring advantage on second-chance points.

WSU RECORD IN POSTSEASON
WSU is 21-16 all-time in postseason tournaments with four consecutive postseason appearances dating to the 2022 NIT. The Cougars were national runner-up in the inaugural NCAA Tournament in 1941 and have made seven appearances in the Big Dance in school history. Coach Riley is the eighth all-time Cougar coach to lead Wazzu into a postseason tournament.

PICK YOUR POISON
The Cougars have distributed scoring across the majority of the playing rotation with three postseason starters averaging 10+ points. At least four Cougs have scored in double figures 17 times, while six different individuals have tallied 20-point performances.

DEAD EYE GETS THE DUB
The Cougars post an 18-2 record when shooting a higher percentage than their opponent, in contrast WSU is 1-12 when shooting worse from the floor than its opponent. The Cougs' only two losses when shooting better than their opponent came at Pacific, Jan, 30, and vs San Francisco in the WCC Tournament, March 9. WSU's only win when shooting worse than its opponent came Nov. 8 against Bradley, shooting 44.3% compared to the Braves' 44.4% in a home win.

SHARING THE ROCK
The Cougs matched a season-high 26 assists in the win over LMU, March 8, marking the most single-game assists in six seasons. WSU boasts a 16-6 record when tallying 15+ assists. In contrast, the Cougs are 3-8 when delivering fewer than 15 assists.

TURNOVER TROUBLE
The Cougars average 14.6 turnovers per game, 12th worst in the country or 344th overall. When Wazzu commits 14 or fewer turnovers, it boasts a 10-5 record. By contrast, when WSU commits at least 15 turnovers, it holds a 8-9 record. The Cougs committed a season-high 23 turnovers vs San Diego, Feb. 27, their fourth game with at least 20 turnovers this season. Surprisingly, WSU's record with 20+ turnovers is 3-1 while the record with fewer than 10 turnovers is 1-2.

REBOUNDING ROLLERCOASTER
Washington State has delivered a roller coaster performance on the glass this season, outrebounding its opponent 16 times with 13 wins, while being boxed out 14 times with just four wins. The Cougs win 81% of games when they win the glass battle and just 29% when their lose the glass battle.

TALE OF TWO HALVES
The Cougs average 38.9 points per first half, 2.7 points more than their opponent, but average 39.6 points per second half, 2.3 points fewer than their opponent. When the Cougs enter halftime with the lead, they hold a 16-4 record, while being just 3-10 when trailing at intermission. Wazzu is 12-3 when outscoring its opponent in the second half, and just 5-11 when the opponent scores more in the second stanza.

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

LAST TIME IN SIN CITY
WSU defeated LMU in the third round of the WCC Championships, Saturday, March 8 at Orleans Arena before falling to San Francisco, Sunday, March 9 in the tournament quarterfinals. The Cougars' trip to Vegas for the Crown marks their third event in Las Vegas in the 2024-25 season after concluding nonconference with a win over Northern Iowa, Dec. 21 at Orleans Arena. WSU is 2-1 in Las Vegas this season.

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 most nights. The change has results in higher field goal percentages everywhere on the court, including a larger portion of points coming from beyond the arc and more efficiency around the rim. The Cougars rank 12th nationally in 2-point field goal percentage.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Ethan Price, a senior transfer from Eastern Washington, has started all 133 games of his career for Coach Riley. The Englishman delivered a career-high 28 points, Jan. 9, against Pacific, with a career-high six 3-pointers. Price 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.

EFFICIENT IN THE ARC
WSU boasts the top 2-point percentage and effective FG percentage in the WCC. The Cougs' 2-point percentage of 58.0% ranks 12th nationally, while their overall FG% of 49.1% is ninth in the country and their effective FG% of .567 ranks 12th in Division-I as of March 28. 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.

RIM PROTECTORS
The Cougar team leads the WCC and ranks 19th in the country with 4.9 blocked shots per game. WSU boasts three of the top 15 shot blockers in the conference with Okafor at third, Erikstrup at 11th, and Price at 12th. As a team, WSU has swatted away a league-best 163 shot attempts, 23 more than the next-closest WCC team.

'JUAN, TWO, THREE
Coach Riley prophesied LeJuan Watts as a triple-double threat, which rang true with the sophomore's first-career triple-double and just the second triple-double in program history, Jan. 23, at Santa Clara. Watts delivered his third 20-point game, to go with 11 rebounds, and a career-high 10 assists. Kyle Weaver tallied the first triple-double in WSU history, Jan. 13, 2007 with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. Watts has registered nine double-doubles this year. He ranks seventh in the WCC in assists (4.4), 11th in rebounding (6.7), and 14th in the League in scoring (13.5).

TINKERING WITH TEMPO
The Cougs are averaging 78.8 points per game, third in the WCC behind Gonzaga and 56th nationally. WSU is 5-13 when being held under 80 points. By contrast, the Cougs are 14-1 when scoring at least 80 points.

NONCONFERENCE SUCCESS
The Cougars concluded the nonconference schedule at 10-3, earning 10 nonconference wins for the first time since 2010-11, a squad that ultimately reached the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden with then-junior Klay Thompson.

TOMAS TEASES TALENT
With a short bench and Isaiah Watts injured, true freshman Tomas Thrastarson made his first career start against Northern Iowa, Dec. 21, and held the starting spot until Watts' return Jan. 30. The Icelandic native delivered a season-high 17 points and six rebounds in the WCC home opener against LMU, Dec. 30. The freshman has gone on to score in double figures four times and is likely to reprise his starting role with Isaiah announcing himself in the transfer portal.

ERIKSTRUP EXCELLENCE
Dane Erikstrup has started every game as a Coug and scored a WSU career-high 24 points in WSU's win over his former team Eastern Washington, Nov. 21. Erikstrup made a homecoming in the Cougars' inaugural WCC game, playing his 80th career Division-I game at Portland, Dec. 28 and will appear in his 100th career D-I game in the opening round of the College Basketball Crown. Since WCC play began, Erikstrup has delivered career-highs in rebounding four times, including his second Cougar double-double with 15 points and career-high 12 rebounds in the win at Pepperdine to conclude the regular season.

OKAFOR BACK ON THE FLOOR
Redshirt-sophomore 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. Okafor ranks third in the WCC with 1.2 blocks per game, recording at least one block in 24 of 31 games played. In the Nov. 15 game against Iowa, Okafor pulled in five boards to eclipse 100 career rebounds. Okafor twice matched his season-high in WCC play, scoring 12 points in both meetings with Portland before delivering a career high 13 points in the win at Pepperdine, March 1.