11/7/2022 basketball Edit

Cougars tip off basketball season vs. Texas State

Kuria Pounds

Staff writer

To tip off the 2022-23 basketball season, Washington State welcomes in the defending regular season champions from the Sun Belt Conference, the Texas State Bobcats on Monday afternoon.

Washington State had a breakthrough in coach Kyle Smith's third season, finishing 22-15 overall, with an 11-9 conference record and collecting their first 20-win season since 2010-11, when the Cougars had former forward Klay Thompson on the roster in his final collegiate season. They also made their first postseason appearance since then, reaching the semifinals of the NIT.

Texas State went 21-8 last season, dominating its conference with a 12-3 mark before losing in the Sun Belt tournament to the No. 8 seed Louisiana in the quarterfinals.

The Bobcats were NIT bound as well after clinching the regular-season crown, which automatically earned them an NIT invitation.

What to look for offensively

This season, the Cougars targeted finding offensive scorers in the freshman class, along with the portal, and they feel they succeeded.

Both transfers, Jabe Mullins (St. Mary's) and Justin Powell (Tennessee), bring shooting and play-making ability to this defensive-minded Washington State corps, alongside true freshman Dylan Darling, who was the 4A Player of the Year for the state of Washington, averaging 33.2 points a game in high school on 55 percent shooting from the field.

The Cougars will also be led by their captains, sophomore forward Mouhamed Gueye and junior guard TJ Bamba to carry the momentum from last season into this season, despite losing a lot of members from last year’s roster due to the transfer portal, graduation and injuries.

WSU will have size inside on defense with 6-foot-11 Gueye and 7-foot true freshman center Adrame Diongue, who will look to have a huge impact. Diongue is a four-star recruit and a big get for Smith and the Cougars.

First game jitters

With the substantial roster turnover comes the question of how this Cougars team will gel early on.

With this being the first game in the non-conference part of the schedule, it will be a different level of competition being brought on Monday at Beasley Coliseum.

Smith now enters his fourth season on the Palouse and looks to get this young WSU team back into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. PT and will air on Pac-12 Network.