Washington State MBB Hosts Northern Colorado at Beasley Coliseum (7:30 PST, ESPN+)

The Cougars look to get right after falling to Iowa last week.

Mar 23, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Washington State Cougars forward Jaylen Wells (0) gestures after the second half against the Iowa State Cyclones in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at CHI Health Center Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images / Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Tonight, Washington State takes on the Northern Colorado Bears as the Cougars look to extend their home winning streak to four straight to start the 2024 season. The game will tip at 7:30 PST and will air on ESPN+. The Cougs lost their last outing in a hard-fought game against Iowa to the tune of 76-66 in the Quad Cities Hoops Classic, a matchup in which both teams entered undefeated.

Led on offense by Nate Calmese, who poured in 27 points against the Hawkeyes on November 15, the Cougars were, despite this performance, still held under 90 points for the first time this season in the loss. They will look to bounce back offensively after shooting just 39% from the field and 18% on threes on Friday, both of which were lows for the year.

Forward LeJuan Watts, who has been getting NBA scouting attention lately after a stretch of impressive performances, will need to continue his production going forward after scoring 11 points and adding 10 boards and four assists versus the Hawkeyes; Cedric Coward, who came into the season on professional watchlists as well, has struggled a bit on the offensive end, going just 3-for-10 against Iowa and scoring 13 total points over his last two games. They will need Coward to step up if they want to be competitive in the West Coast Conference in the 2024-25 season.

Northern Colorado is 3-1 so far with their only loss coming by two points to the Colorado Buffaloes on the road in Boulder, so they are not a typical mid-major squad that will be a pushover victory. They have four players averaging double figures, including Isaiah Hawthorne (17.8 points), Langston Reynolds (16.3 points), Zach Bloch (12.8 points), and Marcell McCreary (10.8 points). Hawthorne is coming off of a 21-point outing versus South Dakota State, and put up 19 against the aforementioned Buffaloes.

Given they are nearly 12-point favorites, the Cougars should win this game at home and get to 4-1 on the season, but they cannot overlook a team that took Colorado to the brink of an upset on the road. With strong performances from its stars, Washington State should right the ship and stay undefeated in Pullman.

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