Washington State Game Preview & How to Watch

SB Nation

How to Watch (and bet)

Date: Friday, 11/14/25

Tip-Off Time: 8:o0 pm PT

Streaming: ESPN+

Radio: Huskies Gameday App, Sports Radio KJR

Location: Pullman, WA

Betting Line: Washington Huskies -10.5

Washington State Cougars 2025-26 Statistics:

Record: 1-0

Points For per Game: 77.0

(151st)

Points Against per Game: 79.7 (228th)

Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 107.3 (136th)

Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 108.7 (219th)

Strength of Schedule:

223rd

Washington State Cougars Key Players:

G- Jerone Morton, Jr. 6’4, 180: 7.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, 42.9% FG, 20.0% 3pt, 75.0% FT

Morton transferred in from Morehead State where he averaged 10.4 points and 3.4 assists per game last season on 37.7% 3-pt shooting. Almost exactly two-thirds of his shots have come from inside the arc throughout his career so while he shot a good percentage from deep last year, he prefers to drive the ball. He’s not a true point guard although he played that role last year and is 2nd on the Cougars in assists so far this year.

G- Ace Glass, Fr. 6’3, 185: 9.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.3 apg, 50.0% FG, 33.3% 3pt, 100.0% FT

Glass has been coming off the bench so far as a true freshman but has still played a good amount and is third on the team in scoring. Coming out of high school Glass was the #222 rated recruit in the country and ended up picking the Cougars over official visits to Stanford and Texas A&M. He has attempted exactly four 3-point shots in each of their games so far this season so he likes to shoot the ball.

G- Tomas Thrastarson, So. 6’7, 215: 15.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.7 apg, 50.0% FG, 36.4% 3pt, 86.4% FT

The Icelandic native had a really efficient freshman year coming off the bench for the Cougars last year and has stepped into more of a starring role without losing that efficiency. He has been a fantastic defensive rebounder this season while drawing a ton of fouls and making shots outside the arc as well. With Washington dealing with injuries to their wings, there’s a good chance Wazzu gives the ball to Tomas a lot and finds success.

F- Emmanuel Ugbo, Sr. 6’8, 245: 15.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.0 blk, 63.6% FG, 44.4% 3pt, 81.3% FT

Ugbo transferred in from Boise State where he was a backup PF/C for the Broncos last season averaging 3.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He’s found tremendous success so far this season both as a rebounder (24th nationally in defensive rebounding rate) and a scorer (77% 2s, 44% 3s) while getting to the free throw line a good amount. Ugbo is the Cougars’ best shot interior presence even if he’s a little bit undersized and it will be a tough battle between him and Hannes Steinbach.

C- ND Okafor, Sr. 6’10, 250: 7.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.3 blk, 50.0% FG, 75.0% FT

Okafor transferring in from Cal a few years ago but spent last season as the Cougars’ #4 PF/C and averaged career highs of 5.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game. So far this year he hasn’t been much of a shot blocker but has been an elite rebounder on a per minute basis while still committing a lot of fouls. It would behoove Washington to attack him early and get him in foul trouble to open up the paint for Hannes Steinbach.

The Outlook

Things have not exactly gotten out to a dream start for Washington this season. Quimari Peterson and Zoom Diallo were able to barely return from injuries in time for the season opener but they have been missing potential contributors Mady Traore, Jacob Ognacevic, Christian Nitu, and Desmond Claude for all 3 games so far (Claude just returned to practice but is still questionable for tonight). Then Bryson Tucker who had been perhaps the biggest pleasant surprise of the first week suffered an ankle injury against Baylor and will be out 2+ weeks.

Don’t expect Washington State to have much sympathy. Things haven’t been going well for them either after losing 83-81 to Idaho and 85-69 at Davidson before finally getting into the win column on Monday night versus St. Thomas. And of course the Cougars ended up only getting a few games from Cedric Coward last year who immediately became a lottery pick and is already looking like an above average starter in the NBA as a rookie.

The culprit behind Wazzu’s slow start has been a defense that has failed to stop anyone. The Cougars rank 311th or worse in opponent shooting percentage on 2-pointers, 3-pointers, and free throws. Opponents have 61/41/79% shooting splits against them so far which is basically like saying every opponent is having a peak Karl-Anthony Towns season.

Some of that is just bad luck and is going to regress towards the mean at some point. But it seems clear that Washington State has been content to give opponents looks from the 3-point line and dared them to make those shots. The Cougars have given up one of the highest rates of attempts from behind the arc so far this season but are 2nd in defensive rebounding rate. That suggests a defense that packs the paint and will risk giving up open shots if it means they can limit things to one shot by corralling the rebound.

That defensive strategy creates a fascinating matchup against a Husky offense that will try to keep 2 bigs on the floor at all times and has one of the elite offensive rebounders in the country with Hannes Steinbach. But it also seems like a pretty good strategy against a Husky team that just show 3/20 on 3-pointers at Baylor including 2/14 from the two players that were supposedly proven shooters coming into the season.

Washington is without Bryson Tucker and I expect them to also be without Desmond Claude for one more game given he just returned to practice but hasn’t been through contact yet. It seems unlikely they throw him out there in a road game against a team capable of springing an upset and even if they do he’ll likely be on a minutes restriction.

That leaves the Huskies with basically no players between 6’5 and 6’8 available unless true freshman Jasir Rencher is pressed into duty. The Dawgs will almost certainly be going with a rotation of their three bigs to keep two on the floor at a time surrounded by a trio of their guards between Mandaquit, Peterson, Diallo, and Yates. That gaping hole on the wing likely means a huge game for 6’7 forward Tomas Thrastarson but at least means Washington can match Wazzu’s dual bigs on the inside.

Otherwise when the Cougars are on offense they have struggled to shoot the ball from outside making just 29.3% of 3-point attempts. That is likely in part due to a lack of ball movement creating open shots as they rank 337th in assist rate so far this season compared to Washington’s 199th.

If Washington were fully healthy then I don’t think I’d be worried about this game. But given that the Dawgs are shorthanded in an 8p road tip they need to play a polished game to both secure the win and cover the spread. I’ll have them doing one but not the other.