WSU men’s basketball will battle No. 7 University of Arizona in Tucson tonight at the McKale Memorial Center.

The Cougars travel to the Arizona desert after beating the University of Colorado 91-89 in overtime. Senior guard Charles Callison’s 30-point game gave the Cougars the extra boost to win the close matchup.

When senior guard Ike Iroegbu was asked about Callison’s performance, he said he wanted to support him by passing Callison the ball whenever he was open.

“When I see Callison get hot like that, I want him to shoot more shots like that,” Iroegbu said via WSU Athletics Communication. “I’m glad he took advantage of those moments.”

Head Coach Ernie Kent was also impressed by Callison’s 30-point game, and his ability to knock down shots when the team needed him.

“That is hard to do,” Kent said in an interview with WSU Athletics Communication. “He hit some incredible buckets under some incredible pressure.”

Kent said he believes the whole team has the potential to perform as well as Callison in the upcoming game against the Wildcats. The squad just needs to believe in themselves a bit more.

“These guys shoot the ball so well during practice,” Kent said. “We need to carry it over to the games, and that’s about confidence.”

The Cougs will be facing one of the nation’s best three-point shooting teams in Arizona. Kent believes that the defense will need to lock in and pay attention to detail.

Last week, the Wildcats knocked off No. 3 UCLA (now No. 8) in Los Angeles, 96-85.

“We were very excited after winning against UCLA,” said Arizona’s junior center Dusan Ristic via Arizona Athletics Communication. “It’s a big win, but we try not to be overly excited because we still have a good amount and we have to be ready for them.”

Arizona is cruising comfortably on a 12-game winning streak. Overall, the Wildcats have (18-2) record and a (7-0) conference record.

When asked if the Wildcats were playing to their full potential, Ristic said there is still some room for improvement.

“Now with Allonzo Trier back, we can still develop our game and improve,” Ristic said. “Our peak of the season is yet to come because that’s where we expect to do our best in the post-season and the Pac-12 tournament.”

Sophomore guard Allonzo Trier was expected to start for the Wildcats at the beginning of the season after turning down a chance to join the NBA. Trier was then replaced last minute for Pac-12 media day and did not play for 19 games.

Trier was administered a banned performance enhancing drug to treat an injury from an outside source of the university. This resulted in the three-month suspension.

Trier’s suspension has been lifted and he is expected to play against the Cougars. The game will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be aired by Pac-12 Network.