The Cougars kick off their third week of basketball with a home game against Northern Colorado Monday in Beasley Coliseum.
The two programs have only met once before, in an 82-56 WSU win in 2021. However, head coach David Riley is very familiar with the UNC Bears. Riley is 5-2 in his career against Northern Colorado and swept them in each of the past two seasons when he was with Eastern Washington.
The Cougs are now 3-1 after losing last Friday in Iowa 76-66. That game exposed some offensive inconsistencies, but WSU also showed defensive promise.
“It’s November,” said Riley after the game. “This is a time that we can grow.”
The Cougars are being led by five transfers, including four from Eastern Washington, but the most impressive so far has been Washington transfer Nate Calmese, who leads the Cougs in scoring with 80 points. The offense runs through Calmese, and he will likely continue to put up big numbers going forward.
Meanwhile, the Cougars will hope to improve upon their season-low 17% mark from behind the three-point arc against Iowa. Of course, Wazzu does not want to become a team that lives and dies by the three, but shooting more three’s always helps.
The UNC Bears have the same record as the Cougs, sitting at 3-1 with wins over Colorado College, Colorado Christian and South Dakota State. Their lone loss was a two-point road loss at undefeated Colorado, where they lost 90-88.
“Northern Colorado is playing great basketball,” said Riley. “They went into South Dakota state…they beat em’ handily.”
The Bears will not be as easy an opponent as Portland State and Idaho. They are currently ranked 151st on the KenPom rankings compared to the Cougs, who are ranked 93rd. The Cougs have the edge in offensive efficiency (108 to 105) while the Bears have the edge in defensive efficiency (105 to 101).
