Idaho Travels to Face Washington State for 279th Meeting Monday – University of Idaho Athletics

MOSCOW, Idaho – The Battle of the Palouse series continues as the Idaho men’s basketball team travels to face Washington State on Monday, November 11, at 6:30 p.m. inside Beasley Coliseum.

How to Follow

Idaho vs. Washington State // Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m.

Watch: ESPN+

Live Stats: StatBroadcast 

Listen: The Varsity Network or GoVandals.com/Listen

Tickets: wsucougars.com

Last Time Out

The Vandals faced a tough challenge on Thursday night, losing to UC Davis, the 2024 Big West runner-up, with a final score of 79-75. Idaho held the lead for more than 29 minutes, but their offense struggled in the final eight minutes. UI managed to score only one field goal, which allowed the Aggies to come back and overcome a nine-point deficit.

Four Vandals led the charge offensively, including a team-high 17 points from Tyler Mrus. The second-year Vandal put together a notable performance in his third career Division 1 game, achieving a 5 for 10 clip from three, six rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Backcourt mate Kristian Gonzalez combined to score 33 points with Mrus pitching in a personal best 16 points and eight rebounds. 

The Vandal front court was led by Kyson Rose and Julius Mims, who recorded 12 and 11 points, respectively. 

The Series 

The Vandals meet with regional rival Washington State for the 279th time. The programs were previously a part of college basketball’s longest-standing rivalry series with two teams meeting in 116 straight years before it ended in 2022-23. WSU owns a 168-110 lead over Idaho. 

UI looks to snap a five-game losing streak to the Cougs’ and earn its first win over WSU at Beasley since the 2014-15 season. The two programs faced off in 2023-24, where Washington State earned an 84-59 win.

Scouting Washington State

This is an entirely new Cougar roster and staff from a season ago. Former head coach Kyle Smith finished with a 25-10 record and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2023-24 before taking the job to be the next head coach at Stanford. Washington State only returns one letter winner from last season and welcomes former Eastern Washington head coach David Riley to take over the program. Riley brought five student-athletes down from EWU, including First Team All-Conference performer Cedric Coward. 

Washington State begins the season 2-0 with wins over Portland State (100-92) and Bradley (91-74). Coward has been the go-to contributor offensively, averaging a team-best 20.5 points per game while Washington transfer Nate Calmese follows with a 17.5. 

WSU was picked fifth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll with 62 points, while Coward was selected to the WCC Preseason Team. 

The Cougars’ lone returner is Isaiah Watts, who played in 31 games and averaged 3.7 points on 43.5 percent shooting. Along with Coward and Calmese, WSU welcomes key transfer additions in Dane Erikstrup (Eastern Washington), Ethan Price (Eastern Washington),  and LeJuan Watts (Eastern Washington). 

All-Around Effort 

Through two games, eight different Vandals have scored in double digits.

In the Vandals’ season-opening 96-60 win over Northwest, Isaiah Brickner (20), Jack Payne (14), Kolton Mitchell (12), Kristian Gonzales (10) and Titus Yearout (10) all contributed with at least 10 points.

Last time out against UC Davis, Tyler Mrus (17), Kyson Rose (12) and Julius Mims (11) added double-figure performances. 

Up Next 

The Vandals continue through their toughest portion of the non-conference schedule when they travel to face BYU on Saturday, Nov. 16. Tip-off is scheduled for noon PST in Provo, Utah. 

Tickets

Single-game and season tickets for the 2024-25 Idaho men’s basketball season are available now. For more information, call the Vandal ticket office at (208) 885-6466 or visit GoVandals.com/tickets. 

Follow

Fans can follow the Vandals all season long on Facebook, Instagram, and X at @VandalHoops, and with the Voice of the Vandals, Dennis Patchin, at GoVandals.com/Listen. All home and conference contests will be streamed live through ESPN+.

—