Story Links
WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (3-7, 0-0 WCC) at SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TROJANS (9-1, 1-1 B1G)
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2025
4:35 p.m. PT
Los Angeles, California
Galen Center
Capacity: 10,258
COUGAR SPORTS NETWORK
Seattle 770AM & 94.5FM
Spokane 920AM & 100.7FM
Pullman 104.3FM | Tri-Cities 610AM
Chris King & Craig Ehlo
TV & STREAMING
FS1 & FOX Sports App
Play-by-Play: Dan Hellie
Analyst: Miles Simon
Producer: Max Leinwand
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: 51-82
Record at USC: 17-49
First Meeting: Dec. 30, 1948 (55-52)
Last Meeting: Feb. 29, 2024 (75-72)
OPENING TIPS
1. Washington State men’s basketball travels to Los Angeles to take on a familiar foe in Southern California. The Cougars and Trojans are scheduled to tip off at 4:30 p.m. PT on FS1 at the Galen Center in the first nonconference meeting between the programs in the 133rd all-time game.
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 16.6 ppg, 10th-best in the country by a freshman, and shoots at a 49.5% clip.
3. ND Okafor is leading the team in efficiency, shooting the ball at 61.5% from the floor. Okafor scored a career-high 27 points, Nov. 19. The Irishman leads the Cougs at 5.8 rebounds per game and delivered a career-high eight rebounds and five blocks last week vs Nevada.
4. The Cougars are shooting 77.0 percent at the free throw line, top 40 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 17-of-19 and-1 opportunities.
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 at 10.4 ppg and shoots the ball over 40% from all spots on the floor.
LAST TIME OUT
Washington State lost to Nevada, 64-78, last Sunday at Beasley Coliseum. Tomas Thrastarson scored a career-high 20 points, but a hot-shooting second half from Nevada propelled the visitors to victory. Eemeli Yalaho added 11 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Ace Glass finished with 10 points, extending his double-digit scoring streak to seven games. Junior ND Okafor matched his career-high, grabbing a team-high eight rebounds, and swatted away a career-high five blocks. Nevada scored 20 second-chance points, the most by a Cougar opponent this season. The Wolf Pack grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and forced 14 WSU turnovers. The Cougs forced just six turnovers, the fewest by an opponent through 10 games.
UP NEXT
The Cougars will return to the Evergreen State for a pair of pre-Christmas contests beginning Wednesday, December 17 against Eastern Washington in the 509 Classic, a neutral site contest at Numerica Veterans Arena in Spokane. WSU wraps its nonconference slate with a home contest, Saturday, December 20 against Mercer at 2 p.m. and live on ESPN+.
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 61.5% from the field and swatted away a career-high five blocks against Nevada, Dec. 7. Last year, Okafor finished his sophomore season with a 62.3 field goal percentage, the fifth-best single-season percentage in program history.
MORTON MOJO
Junior Morehead State transfer Jerone Morton has found a starting role in the Cougar lineup, sharing ballhandling responsibilities through 10 starts, and leading the team in assists five times. Morton is averaging 5.9 points per game, 2.5 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.
GO YALAHO GO
Junior Texas Tech transfer Eemeli Yalaho has quietly become a double-double threat, delivering two in the last six games. The Finn is averaging 9.8 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game. Twice this season Yalaho has pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds and scored 10+ points on six occasions.
FREE THROW PURITY
As a team, the Cougars are shooting 77.0 percent at the free throw line, top-40 in the country. WSU has gotten to the line 204 times in 10 games, sinking 157 charity shots, for an average 15.7 free throws per game on 20.4 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
The WSU bench scored a season high 67 points in the Maui opening win over Chaminade, the third time this season with more than 40 Cougar bench points. The Cougs average 33.3 ppg from the rotation, outscoring opponent benches by an average of eight 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, now averaging 7.7 ppg and 3.6 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 54% from the floor.
LINE IN THE SAND
Washington State opponents are averaging 79.6 points per game this season. When the Cougs hold their opponent under 80 points, they are 2-3. 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 0-6 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 10 games. The Catalonia kid is averaging 3.0 assists per game, including some eye-popping between-the-legs passes through heavy traffic. Adria has also led the team in steals five times.
MAKE ‘EM PAY WITH THE 3-POINT PLAY
The Cougars are an impressive 17-of-19 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.
