Washington State is set to face the Southern Utah Thunderbirds coming off an 81-69 Apple Cup loss against the Washington Huskies.
Eemeli Yalaho had a career-high with 15 points and a trio of 3-pointers made. The Cougars went on a 25-12 run in the second half after falling behind by double-digits to trim down the Huskies’ lead to nine with 1:30 left in the game, but were unable to secure the victory.
The Cougs have struggled to start the season with a loss to the Idaho Vandals in the season opener and Davidson the following week. Head coach David Riley talked about the team’s improvement after the losses in the past weeks in a postgame interview.
WSU Forward ND Okafor makes a layup, blocked by St. Thomas Guard Ryan Lafferty, Nov. 10
“I think they’re learning through those losses,” Riley said. “They’re learning through the reality of those silly turnovers or the silly shots and seeing what they look like when it’s magnified in a big game.”
Boise State transfer Emmanuel Ugbo has led the team, averaging 14 points per game, followed by Tomas Thrastarson, averaging 12 points. Thrastarson led the team in its only win of the season against the St. Thomas-Minnesota Tommies, when he scored 19 points and 7 rebounds. Ugbo talked about resetting after the loss to Washington and preparing for the rest of the season.
“We come watch film, reflect, flush it and then move on to the next game,” Ugbo said. “At the end of the day, it’s a long season. It’s 30-plus games. We’ve only had four.”
Southern Utah has started the season slowly at 1-4 with losses to No. 13. Gonzaga, Omaha, UTRGV and Arizona State. They are coming off a 72-point loss to Gonzaga on Nov. 17. Southern Utah has struggled in the past few years, finishing 12-19 in 2025 and 10-21 in 2024 under head coach Rob Jeter, but will try to catch the Cougs at a point of struggle.
WSU Guard Jerone Morton dribbles past St. Thomas Guard Nolan Minessale, Nov. 10
SUU’s second top scorer, freshman point guard Elijah Duval, is averaging 13.5 points per game and could be an unpredictable challenge for the Cougs. Duval also leads his team in points with 54 in just five games. He has a 50% field goal percentage on the season and the whole team is shooting at 43%. Duval is behind SSU forward Jaiden Feroah, who leads the team with 14 points per game and 56 points on the season. The two players could be a serious issue for the Wazzu defense.
This will be the first meeting between the teams since 2003 and their fourth meeting all time. The Cougs lead the series against SUU 2-1. The game will be the last home game for the Cougs until Dec. 7 against Nevada.
The Cougs head to Lahaina, Hawaii, for the Maui Invitational after SUU. The momentum for Wazzu against the Thunderbirds could carry over to the Maui Invitational, making this an important reset game for the Cougs. The Cougs take on the Thunderbirds at 8 p.m. on Wednesday in Pullman. ESPN gives Washington State an 85.6% chance to win.
