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WSU Men's Basketball

WSU men’s hoops announces nonconference schedule for upcoming season

Washington State head coach David Riley gives instructions to his team in the first half of a game against San Diego on Thursday, Feb. 27. 2025, at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Wash. (Geoff Crimmins/For The Spokesman-Review)
By Greg Woods gregw@spokesman.com(509) 459-5587

PULLMAN – Washington State’s nonconference schedule for the upcoming season is complete.

The Cougars’ season, the second at WSU for head coach David Riley, starts Nov. 3 with a home matchup against nearby Idaho, which will be schools’ 280th meeting all-time. That makes it one of the most contested series in NCAA history, with WSU winning seven of the past eight matchups.

For WSU, the slate also features a home contest against Washington (Nov. 14) and a road test against USC (Dec. 14), both former Pac-12 foes. The Cougars are also renewing their series against Eastern Washington in the newly minted 509 Classic, which is set for Dec. 17, and visiting Bradley on Dec. 2.

In addition to hosting Nevada on Dec. 7, part of a home-and-home agreement that started last winter, WSU is taking part in the Maui Invitational for the first time in program history. On Nov. 24, the Cougars will be taking on host school Chaminade, a Division II operation, with the winner moving on to face Arizona or Texas the following day.

WSU takes its first road trip of the season on Nov. 7 to face Davidson in North Carolina. This will be the first meeting between the programs, which produced WSU alum Klay Thompson and Davidson alum Steph Curry, who formed the “Splash Bros” during their time with the Golden State Warriors.

After that, WSU returns to Beasley Coliseum for a three-game home stand, beginning Nov. 10 against Saint Thomas (Minnesota) in the first matchup between the schools. On Nov. 14, the Cougars will host rival Washington, which is coming to Pullman for the second leg of a home-and-home series, which began last season. That game will be the 301st all-time meeting between WSU and UW, formerly Pac-12 rivals.

Riley and WSU will wrap up the home stand against Southern Utah on Nov. 19.

Over the Thanksgiving break, the Cougars will travel to Maui, Hawaii, to participate in the Maui Invitational. WSU drew host Chaminade in the opening round, with the second round set for Nov. 25. The final matchup, on Nov. 26, will come from the other half of the bracket, featuring Boise State, NC State, Seton Hall, and USC. The entire Maui Invitational will be carried on ESPN networks.

WSU’s December schedule begins at Bradley in Peoria, Illinois. The Cougs travel to face the Braves on Dec. 2 in the return of a home-and-home. Last season, the Cougars took down the Braves, 91-74, in the programs’ first meeting since 1949.

On Dec. 7, the Cougars return to Beasley Coliseum to host Nevada. Last season in Reno, WSU beat Nevada in a 68-57 slugfest.

The Cougars hit the road on Dec. 14 to square off with former conference opponent Southern California in Los Angeles. WSU and USC faced each other regularly as former Pac-12 members, most recently when the No. 19 Cougs beat the Trojans in Pullman on Feb. 29, 2024. USC holds the all-time historic advantage, while WSU has won three of the last four meetings.

On Dec. 17, the Cougs then travel north to Spokane, where they will take on Eastern Washington in the 509 Classic. Last season, WSU defeated the Eagles, improving to 59-13 in a series that dates back to 1907.

The Cougs’ nonconference schedule wraps up at home on Dec. 20 against Mercer in the first all-time meeting between the schools. WSU’s slate for play in the West Coast Conference, the Cougars’ final year as affiliate members before the rebuilt Pac-12 launches in 2026, will begin just before the new year.