OPENING TIPS
1. The Cougars finish their road trip, traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to take on the Duquesne Dukes, Tuesday, November 10. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. PT with coverage on ESPN+. It will be the first ever meeting between the two programs. The Dukes host their third straight game after starting 2-0 to begin the season.
2. The Cougs fell to 0-2 on the season in Saturday’s road opener 71-83 against High Point. Sophomore Lazerek Houston started quick and hot for the Cougs with 18 points in the first half and finished with 31 points, his eighth career 30+ point game. Redshirt-freshman Jaylen Harrell recorded his second-consecutive game with doubles figures, adding 18 points and going 8-of-12 from the field.
3. WSU is looking for their first win of the season and avoid a 0-3 start for the first time since the 1964-65 season. In their first two games, opposing teams are averaging 79.5 PPG and shooting .566% from the field.
4. The Cougars are led by third-year head coach David Riley, with two returners, 14 newcomers (one freshmen, three academy/club) and 10 transfers. Four transfers are from power four conferences. Riley is seven wins away from 100 career wins as a head coach.
UP NEXT
The Cougars will be back in Beasley for an early tip on Saturday, November 14 at 10 a.m. PT against Northwest (Wash.). Coverage will be on Pac-12 YouTube.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST GAME?
In the 71-83 loss to High Point, the Cougs would start fast, jumping out to a 7-0 lead, their first lead of the season. A five-minute scoring lull by WSU would let High Point settle in and tie the game seven a piece. With nine minutes to go, a block by freshman Dominik Robinson and a three on the opposite end by RJ Jones would give WSU the 16-12 lead. Lazerek Houston led the way for WSU in the first half, making four threes and recording 18 points as the Panthers would take a 32-31 lead at half. Houston’s 18 points in the first half were the most by a Coug since Tómas Thrastarson (also: 18 points on Nov. 10, 2025 vs. St. Thomas). The Cougs made six threes in the first half, surpassing their five total in their season opener against Davidson. To start the second half, a couple of triples from Ladji Dembele and Jaylen Harrell would continue their hot streak from three. The Panthers would continue to respond, getting to rim as the back-and-forth affair would continue. Despite the Cougars 12 threes in the game, High Point continued their consistency on offense, going 9-for-11 from the field and taking a seven-point lead with 10 minutes left, their largest lead of the game. A 12-0 run by the Panthers and a four-minute scoring lull by the Cougs would extend High Point’s 16-point lead late in the ball game and secure the Panthers win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
Lazerek Houston would record his eighth career game with 30+ points and his 31 points scored were the most by a Coug since Ace Glass recorded 40 points against Arizona State on Nov. 25, 2025. Houston’s 31 points are the most scored by a Pac-12 player this season and he ranks tied-sixth in points per game among conference leaders (17.0 ppg). Jaylen Harrell made his first career start with a career-high 18 points. Freshman Mohamed Sanke recorded a team-high seven rebounds (five offensive) off the bench in 13 minutes played. WSU went 11-14 from the free throw line, with High Point going 21-29 and 17-21 in the second half. The game was tied eight times with 19 lead changes and the Cougs were outscored by High Point 38 to 16 points off the bench.
JAYLEN HARRELL NAMED PAC-12 FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Washington State guard Jaylen Harrell was named the Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Week, the conference office announced Monday. Harrell, a redshirt-freshman transfer from Providence, shined in his first two games as Coug and averaged 15.5 points per game. In the first start of his career on Nov. 7 at High Point, Harrell recorded 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field with two threes. Harrell is second on the team in scoring, leading the team in field goal percentage (65%) and minutes per game (27.9). He is also tied for the team lead with three steals. Among Pac-12 players, Harrell ranks fourth in field goal percentage (.650) and tied-12th with 15.5 points per game.
ROAD WOES
WSU have lost their last nine games on the road, with their last road win on Dec. 28, 2025 at Portland (67-62). Washington State went 1-11 on the road last season, one of 27 schools in the country with one or fewer road wins during the 2025-26 season. In road openers under head coach David Riley, the Cougs are 1-1 overall. Since 2020-21, Wazzu is 3-4 in road openers, going 1-4 in their last four.
HOME OPENERS
The Cougars are 102-24 all-time in season openers and 63-10 when opening the season at home. In their home opener at Beasley, the Cougs lost 61-76 to Davidson. WSU has now dropped back-to-back home openers, losing to the University of Idaho 81-83 in 2025, snapping their 29-game winning streak in home season openers. It also snapped a 35-season winning streak in the first game of the season at Beasley.
FRIEL THE HEAT
In Coach Riley’s three seasons with WSU, he is 19-11 (.633) overall at home and 11-7 overall (.611) in conference play at home. Went 9-6 overall at home last season, and 6-3 at Beasley against conference foes. In his five seasons as head coach, has a 50-17 (.746) overall record at home (31-6 at Eastern Washington). In home openers under Riley, the Cougars are now 1-2 overall. Since the start of the 2020-21 season, WSU is 68-27 at home (.716).
GET AHEAD EARLY, SUSTAIN THE LEAD, SCORE MORE POINTS
Since last season, the Cougs are 1-15 when trailing at halftime and 2-14 when outscored by their opponent in the second half. When scoring less than 70 points, WSU is 1-14 overall. Recorded an 11-7 record when recording 70+ points in 2025-26. The Cougs failed to record a win when trailing in the final five minutes of the game, going 0-16 in those contests. When having a lower field goal percentage than their opponent, WSU went 1-15 overall.
HARRISON AND DEMBELE NAMED TO PAC-12 IMPACT LIST, COUGS PICKED EIGHTH IN MEDIA POLL
Entering the 2026-27 season as a member of the Pac-12 conference, Washington State forwards Ronnie Harrison and Ladji Dembele were named to the Pac-12 Impact List, the conference office announced. The Cougs were also picked to finish eighth in the Pac-12 Conference Preseason Media poll ahead of the 2026-27 season.
COUGS IN EXHIBITION
Washington State played two exhibition games, both on the road. The Cougars lost 64-92 to preseason Mountain West favorites New Mexico on Oct. 18 at The Pit. 12 Cougs appeared in the game with 10 players playing 10 or more minutes. WSU then faced off against former Pac-12 foe and rival University of Washington on Sunday, Oct. 25. WSU came away from Seattle with the 84-80 win, mounting a 10-point deficit in the first half. Senior, Ronnie Harrison led the team with 23 points and 11 rebounds, recording an individual 10-0 run in the second half to secure the lead. It was the first time since 2015 the Cougs have played two exhibitions before their home opener.
NEW LOOK COUGS
WSU returns just two players from the 2025-26 roster, sophomore Dio Blakely and freshman Dominik Robinson. The Cougars have 14 new players wearing the Crimson and Gray this season, 10 transfers, three Academy/Club players and one high school. Four of those transfers come from the Power Four level (Northwestern, Oregon, TCU and Wake Forest). Sophomore Dio Blakely played only six minutes of the 6,400 total minutes played by Cougs last season. None of the current players on the WSU roster made a field goal from beyond the arc for the Cougars prior to the start of the season.
CONTRACT EXTENSION
WSU 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 launched 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.
NBA COUGS
Five former Cougs are on NBA rosters: Isaac Jones (Detroit Pistons), Klay Thompson (Miami Heat), Cedric Coward (Memphis Grizzlies), Jaylen Wells (Memphis Grizzlies) and Mouhamed Gueye (Atlanta Hawks). Cedric Coward was named to the All-Rookie First team for the 2025-26 NBA season. Coward averaged 13.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, finishing fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting. Coward was the second straight former Coug to be named to the All-Rookie First team (also: Jaylen Wells, 2024-25). Wells finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2024-25.