WATCH: Washington State's David Riley Previews Upcoming Tilts With Pacific & Gonzaga

Joe Londergan | 14 Hours Ago

Jan 4, 2025; Pullman, Washington, USA; Washington State Cougars guard Nate Calmese (8) and head coach David Riley look on during a game against the San Francisco Dons in the first half at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images / James Snook-Imagn Images

This week marks an incredibly busy week for the Washington State Cougars' men's basketball program, who host a struggling Pacific Tigers team on Thursday. Then, Saturday will bring a short road trip to Spokane for a showdown with the #18 Gonzaga Bulldogs. Cougs' head coach David Riley is doing his best to not let his 12-3 squad get ahead of themselves with that matchup looming.

Riley spoke to the media about both opponents and the state of his team this week. Watch the full presser below.

NOTES

-On the Cougs' need for defensive improvement: "I think we had some really good stretches in particular versus LMU. We had some really good stretches defensively that second half for San Francisco. We did some good things, we've had too many inconsistencies that we just got to shore up."

-On Isaiah Watts' potential return from injury: "We're waiting on a couple more results and hopefully next few weeks."

-On being a second-half team coming up against a Gonzaga team that is more of a first-half team: "With this team that we've got, it's just different every week. We had a couple week stretches where we could not play at all in the second half and we were really good in the first half. You look at that San Francisco game, we finally woke up those last 10 minutes offensively and started playing - I mean obviously defensively too. So we just got to, again, it sounds cliche but just one possession at a time, be where our feet are. And I think that's where our guys have kind of allowed those second halves to come more naturally because we were getting too frustrated, I think at different times in the second half and it's just more about staying present."

-On scouting Pacific: "They play really hard. They have a very unique scheme, or a pretty unique scheme defensively that's really interesting to me where they try to force force things that we can't. Their coach [Dave Smart] had a ton of success in Canada, and [I] always respected how they play and I actually watched a clinic on him like seven, eight years ago and he does some good stuff and
I'm excited for the challenge."

---

More Reading Material From Washington State Cougars On SI

Washington State MBB Look For Fifth Consecutive Win in First Bout With Pacific

Washington State Receiver Kyle Williams Accepts Invite To East-West Shrine Bowl

WATCH: Washington State Head Coach David Riley Reviews Cougs Win Over San Francisco