The Cougars are hoping edge above .500 for the first time this season against border rival Idaho.

In a game with bragging rights on the line, WSU and Idaho clash Wednesday night for control of the Palouse. It will be the 109th consecutive meeting between the two teams, the oldest continuous rivalry west of the Mississippi River. Senior guard DaVonté Lacy said the game brings out the fire within the players.

“It’s like any rivalry, you have to throw the records out the book no matter who is on the team,” Lacy said. “I’m pretty sure their coaching staff takes it more serious than a regular game and our coaches take it really serious, so just like any other rivalry you don’t want to lose this game so you give it everything you got.”

Despite the differences in their two respective conferences, the two teams play each other very closely. In the last three seasons, WSU has beat Idaho by a combined 12 points, signaling how competitive the match-up is. Last season, WSU won 67-66 in Moscow.

Head Coach Ernie Kent said the rivalry game is important for the Cougars.

“We’re going to have to work our tails off, home or on the road,” Kent said. “That’s a good thing for us because we those are the type of games that force you to grow and right now we need to be forced to grow, we need to get better at a lot of different things so I’d rather have a game where you’d have to go tooth and nail and fight like crazy because that’s what this game is going to be like.”

Here are a few keys to the game for WSU.

Take Advantage of Momentum

After failing to shoot better than 40 percent through their first four games of the season, the Cougars responded by shooting nearly 50 percent in their previous two games, which both resulted wins.

The team’s struggles may be attributed to the learning curve of Kent’s system. In a system where running is the key to success, it can be difficult to quickly transition as the style of play is contrast to former Head Coach Ken Bone’s system.

However, the Cougars appear to be figuring it out after shooting 47.1 percent in a 76-74 win over win over Rice. They followed that performance with a 50.9 percent shooting performance in a 89-84 win over Missouri State to secure fourth place in The Great Alaska Shootout.

“We were really clicking in that last game; we really pulled together and made big shots,” sophomore guard Ike Iroegbu said. “Que (Johnson) had the biggest shot of the game and sent the game to overtime and Brett (Boese) came, he was a big time player in that game too so I feel like everyone is clicking right now and we should be good for Idaho.”

The stretch in December will be pivotal for the Cougars’ postseason chances as non-conference wins are key to their resume.

Play Within Themselves

The biggest thing the Cougars seem to have struggled with early in the season is there confidence. WSU has seen open looks from the field, but failed to capitalize on them at the beginning of the year. However, Kent believes his team is building on that confidence.

“We opened up five out of six games on the road and coming back 3-3 out of that, coming back to a two-game home stand, that’s really good for us right now,” Kent said. “We can now pay attention to detail and take care of the things we can take care of here and even get better because each little victory becomes a big victory for you in terms of success and confidence.”

A key part of the Cougars’ success is their ability to pass the basketball.

In their three wins on the year, WSU has averaged 18.3 assists per game. But it’s a different story when they lose, as the Cougars average 10.3 assists per game. Kent’s offense is reliant on players hitting open shots and moving the ball around.

The Vandals are more of an up-tempo team and have relied on the three point shot so far this season. Idaho is shooting 40.9 percent from behind the arch, leading to their 75 points per game average.

The rivalry game will more than likely feature a high scoring game, but WSU will have to force turnovers and defend the three in order to get transition baskets. The only way the Cougars will be able to do that is if they stick to their game and play within themselves.

The Cougars will host the Vandals at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Beasley Coliseum. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.