In case you had crawled under a rock during the second half of today’s Sun Bowl game and, after watching that second half, I don’t think any self-respecting Bruin fan would blame you, football season is officially and finally done. That means it’s basketball season!
What better way to transition to basketball season than a game in Pullman against the hapless Cougars!
Not so fast, my friends.
The Cougars have not lost to UCLA in Pullman since January 30, 2019. That’s a month short of four years. But this year’s Bruin team is ranked 8th in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 11th in the AP Poll. And, Washington State is, well, Washington State. The Cougars enter tonight’s game 0-2 in Pac-12 play so far and 2-6 in the month of December. Those two wins came against Northern Kentucky and George Washington.
How bad are these Cougs? Well, let’s just say that when I saw their record I thought that maybe Ernie Kent was still their head coach, even though Kyle Smith is now in his fourth season running the program. To be sure, last season under Smith, Wazzu had their first winning season in Pac-12 play since 2007-2008 and he does actually have an overall winning record of 57-52 with the Cougars.
But looking at the list of teams these Cougars have lost to makes me think that Smith will not be above .500 for very long. It’s ok, though. He can join Chip Kelly on the under .500 list. Kelly will be there until at least mid-September next season after this afternoon’s loss in the Sun Bowl.
But I digress.
Let’s look at the Cougar starting five.
Junior guard TJ Bamba leads this year’s Washington State team. Bamba is averaging 16.8 points per game and he has the second-best three-point percentage on the team at 41.7%.
The Cougars’ other guard is junior Justin Powell. In addition to scoring an average of 10.5 points per game, Powell leads the team in assists with 43 and is second on the team in steals with 13.
Smith will start three forwards tonight and the best of the bunch is sophomore Mouhamed Gueye. The native of Senegal is averaging 13.5 ppg and leads the team in rebounds with an average of 8.2 per game. His 51.1% shooting percentage is the best on the team as are his 12 blocks.
The lone starting senior is DJ Rodman, son of notorious bad boy and sometimes US Ambassador to North Korea Dennis Rodman. DJ is only averaging 6.8 ppg but he’s second on the team in rebounds with 5.3 per game. Rodman also leads the team in steals and he has drawn 13 charges already this season.
Smith’s third forward is freshman Kymany Houinsou. Houinsou joins the Cougars from Mulhouse, France, though I can’t imagine any kid growing up in France who might happen to dream of playing for Washington State some day. Houinsou can raise his shooting percentage to 50% if he can hit his first shot tonight. As it stands, he’s just under 50% so far this season.
The best Cougar coming off the bench is junior guard Jabe Mullins. Mullins is one of just three guys on the Washington State squad who actually grew up in Washington. Despite not starting, Mullins is third on the team in scoring with 11.3 ppg. Look out for him in crunch time because he is the Cougars’ best free throw shooter. How good is he? He’s missed just one of his 14 free throw attempts this season.
The other two guys who will see the most time off the bench are Carlos Rosario and Dylan Darling, but neither of them will contribute much besides eating minutes.
Personally, I expect the Bruins to crush the Cougars tonight. Sure, the Cougs only lost to Baylor by six points when the Bears were ranked 11th in the country, but that doesn’t mean that Washington State is that good. Look for the Bruins to win by at least 20 points tonight despite being on the road.
Listen to the Game With TMB
Today’s game will be on Pac-12 Networks with Ted Robinson and national treasure Bill Walton calling the game. Personally, I’m not sure why you would want to turn down the volume and not listen to Big Red, but if you do, you will be listening to Nick Koop, who’s filling in for Josh Lewin who is in El Paso for the Sun Bowl, and Tracy Murray. Just be sure to right-click on it so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below. Listen to today’s game online.
This is your UCLA men’s basketball vs. Washington State Cougars game thread. Here’s how to watch today’s game:
UCLA Basketball (11-2, 2-0)
Opponent: Washington State Cougars (5-8, 0-2)
Series Record: UCLA leads, 112-19
When: 8:00 pm PT, Friday, December 30, 2022
Where: Beasley Coliseum, Pullman, WA
TV: Pac-12 Networks National, Los Angeles and Washington with Ted Robinson and Bill Walton
Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.
How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: #11/8 UCLA Bruins at Washington State Cougars
How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: #11/8 UCLA Bruins at Washington State Cougars
How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: #11/8 UCLA Bruins at Washington State Cougars
In case you had crawled under a rock during the second half of today’s Sun Bowl game and, after watching that second half, I don’t think any self-respecting Bruin fan would blame you, football season is officially and finally done. That means it’s basketball season!
What better way to transition to basketball season than a game in Pullman against the hapless Cougars!
Not so fast, my friends.
The Cougars have not lost to UCLA in Pullman since January 30, 2019. That’s a month short of four years. But this year’s Bruin team is ranked 8th in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 11th in the AP Poll. And, Washington State is, well, Washington State. The Cougars enter tonight’s game 0-2 in Pac-12 play so far and 2-6 in the month of December. Those two wins came against Northern Kentucky and George Washington.
How bad are these Cougs? Well, let’s just say that when I saw their record I thought that maybe Ernie Kent was still their head coach, even though Kyle Smith is now in his fourth season running the program. To be sure, last season under Smith, Wazzu had their first winning season in Pac-12 play since 2007-2008 and he does actually have an overall winning record of 57-52 with the Cougars.
But looking at the list of teams these Cougars have lost to makes me think that Smith will not be above .500 for very long. It’s ok, though. He can join Chip Kelly on the under .500 list. Kelly will be there until at least mid-September next season after this afternoon’s loss in the Sun Bowl.
But I digress.
Let’s look at the Cougar starting five.
Junior guard TJ Bamba leads this year’s Washington State team. Bamba is averaging 16.8 points per game and he has the second-best three-point percentage on the team at 41.7%.
The Cougars’ other guard is junior Justin Powell. In addition to scoring an average of 10.5 points per game, Powell leads the team in assists with 43 and is second on the team in steals with 13.
Smith will start three forwards tonight and the best of the bunch is sophomore Mouhamed Gueye. The native of Senegal is averaging 13.5 ppg and leads the team in rebounds with an average of 8.2 per game. His 51.1% shooting percentage is the best on the team as are his 12 blocks.
The lone starting senior is DJ Rodman, son of notorious bad boy and sometimes US Ambassador to North Korea Dennis Rodman. DJ is only averaging 6.8 ppg but he’s second on the team in rebounds with 5.3 per game. Rodman also leads the team in steals and he has drawn 13 charges already this season.
Smith’s third forward is freshman Kymany Houinsou. Houinsou joins the Cougars from Mulhouse, France, though I can’t imagine any kid growing up in France who might happen to dream of playing for Washington State some day. Houinsou can raise his shooting percentage to 50% if he can hit his first shot tonight. As it stands, he’s just under 50% so far this season.
The best Cougar coming off the bench is junior guard Jabe Mullins. Mullins is one of just three guys on the Washington State squad who actually grew up in Washington. Despite not starting, Mullins is third on the team in scoring with 11.3 ppg. Look out for him in crunch time because he is the Cougars’ best free throw shooter. How good is he? He’s missed just one of his 14 free throw attempts this season.
The other two guys who will see the most time off the bench are Carlos Rosario and Dylan Darling, but neither of them will contribute much besides eating minutes.
Personally, I expect the Bruins to crush the Cougars tonight. Sure, the Cougs only lost to Baylor by six points when the Bears were ranked 11th in the country, but that doesn’t mean that Washington State is that good. Look for the Bruins to win by at least 20 points tonight despite being on the road.
Listen to the Game With TMB
Today’s game will be on Pac-12 Networks with Ted Robinson and national treasure Bill Walton calling the game. Personally, I’m not sure why you would want to turn down the volume and not listen to Big Red, but if you do, you will be listening to Nick Koop, who’s filling in for Josh Lewin who is in El Paso for the Sun Bowl, and Tracy Murray. Just be sure to right-click on it so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below. Listen to today’s game online.
This is your UCLA men’s basketball vs. Washington State Cougars game thread. Here’s how to watch today’s game:
UCLA Basketball (11-2, 2-0)
Opponent: Washington State Cougars (5-8, 0-2)
Series Record: UCLA leads, 112-19
When: 8:00 pm PT, Friday, December 30, 2022
Where: Beasley Coliseum, Pullman, WA
TV: Pac-12 Networks National, Los Angeles and Washington with Ted Robinson and Bill Walton
Live Stream: Pac-12.com and the Pac-12 Now app
Radio/Audio:
Local Radio: AM 570 with Nick Koop and Tracy Murray
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM Ch. 83 (UCLA Call)
Online: uclabruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Washington State
Go Bruins!!!
Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.