Cougars Ready for Christmas Clash with Utah State

vs Utah State (10-2) | Sunday, Dec. 25 | 1:30 pm HT | 3:30 pm PT | SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center (Honolulu)
  Live Stats | StatBroadcast
  Watch | ESPN2 (Roxy Bernstein & Tim Welsh)
  Listen | WSU Learfield Radio Network (Matt Chazanow & Craig Ehlo)

OPENING FIVE

1. Washington State faces Utah State in the 3rd-place game at the 2022 Diamond Head Classic at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, Sunday, Dec. 25. The Cougars meet the Aggies for the first time since 1959, and are scheduled to tip off at 1:30 p.m. HT (3:30 p.m. PT) with coverage on ESPN2.

2. Last time out, WSU fell to host-school Hawai’i in the semifinal, 51-62. TJ Bamba led the Cougars with 19 points and Adrame Diongue pulled in a career-high eight rebounds for WSU. The Cougars shot a season-low 30.5% (18-of-59) and finished the game with just two assists, fewest since at least 1996.

3. TJ Bamba has emerged as Washington State’s leading scorer at 16.7 points per game (sixth in the Pac-12), while shooting an efficient 46.3% from the floor. Bamba has scored in double figures for 11-straight games, including a career-high 24 points against Boise State, Nov. 12 – the first 20-point game of his career – and back-to-back 20-point games for the first time in his career with 22 points against Northern Kentucky and 20 points vs UNLV.

4. As a team, WSU averages 8.7 made 3-point field goals per game, more than any team in the Pac-12 (11th in Power 6 conferences). The Cougs have two players in the Pac-12’s top-10 of 3-point shooters. Individually, Jabe Mullins is third in the Pac-12 with a 50.0% (23-of-46) clip from beyond the arc, followed by TJ Bamba at seventh in the Conference with a .436 clip (24-of-55). Against Detroit Mercy (Nov. 25), the Cougars set a school record with 19 made 3s.

5. Junior transfer Justin Powell has become WSU’s lethal point guard threat with the third-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the Pac-12 (2.7, 44th in Division I), and the 13th-best 3-point percentage in the Conference at 40.3% (29-of-72). Four times this season Powell has committed zero turnovers, and averages 2.7 assist per game (ninth in the Pac-12 Conference).

COUGARS VS AGGIES

Washington State renews its series with Utah State, facing the Aggies in the 3rd-place game of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Cougars meet the Aggies…