WSU men’s hoops releases WCC schedule, which features two games against Gonzaga

PULLMAN – The next chapter of Washington State men’s basketball is here.

The West Coast Conference on Tuesday released the Cougars’ schedule for the 2024-25 season. WSU has joined the WCC as an affiliate member for two seasons in the wake of the Pac-12’s collapse, giving it the opportunity to rekindle a dormant rivalry with nearby Gonzaga.

WSU gets nine home games in WCC play and nine on the road. In the teams’ first meeting since 2015, the Cougars will visit Gonzaga for a matchup in Spokane on Jan. 11, then host the Zags in Pullman on Feb. 19.

WSU’s home games in WCC play include contests against Loyola Marymount (Dec. 30), San Francisco (Jan. 4), Pacific (Jan. 9), Portland (Jan. 18), Saint Mary’s (Jan. 25), Pepperdine (Feb. 8), Gonzaga (Feb. 19), Santa Clara (Feb. 22) and San Diego (Feb. 27).

The Cougars’ road games are at Portland (Dec. 28), Gonzaga (Jan. 11), San Diego (Jan. 16), Santa Clara (Jan. 23), Pacific (Jan. 30), San Francisco (Feb. 1), Oregon State (Feb. 6), Saint Mary’s (Feb. 15) and Pepperdine (March 1).

WSU and Oregon State, the lone Pac-12 holdovers, will be eligible to win WCC conference championships and the conference tournament’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Either Gonzaga or Saint Mary’s has won each of the past 16 WCC conference tournaments, whose top two seeds earn byes into the semifinals. The third and fourth seeds start in the third round, fifth and sixth in the second round, while the 7-10 seeds start in the opening round. The tournament’s format places a high priority on the regular season.

It’s the first season at the helm for first-year WSU coach David Riley, who came from Eastern Washington when former WSU coach Kyle Smith left for the head coaching job at Stanford after last season, which ended with the Cougars’ first NCAA Tournament berth since 2008

Greg Woods can be reached at 509-459-5587 or at gregw@spokesman.com.