Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Washington State
Wildcats take perfect record on the road at Washington State Wednesday
12/7/2021 2:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Weber State is one of 12 undefeated teams and will take on the Cougars Wednesday night in Pullman.
• The 8-0 Weber State men's basketball team returns to the road to take on Washington State Wednesday night. The Wildcats and Cougars will tipoff Wednesday at 7 p.m. Pacific time (8 p.m. MT) from Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Washington.
• The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Washington Network in Washington with Greg Heister and Dan Dickau on the call. Weber State radio coverage with Steve Klauke will be on 103.1 FM "The Wave". Live stats at WeberStateSports.com.
• Weber State improved to 8-0 on the season and 2-0 in Big Sky Conference play with an 80-69 win over Portland State Saturday night. The Wildcats shot 41 percent from the field, knocked down nine 3-pointers and outrebounded the Vikings 41-37.
• The Wildcats started the season with a home win over Western Colorado, then hit the road for five straight games away from home. Weber State won at Duquesne, then won three games at the Jersey Mike's Classic in Florida, defeating UMass, Ball State and Green Bay. The Wildcats then won at Dixie State before home Big Sky wins over Northern Arizona and Portland State last weekend.
• Weber State is 8-0 to start a season for just the second time ever and it's WSU's best start since starting 10-0 during the 1985-86 season. As of Tuesday, Dec. 7, Weber State is one of just 12 teams in the nation that are still undefeated.
• Wildcat freshman Dillon Jones continued his strong play to start the season as he had double-doubles in both wins last week. Jones averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds per game while shooting 52 percent from the field in the two games. He had 18 points and 12 rebounds in Thursday's win over Northern Arizona. He also tied his career-high with five steals and was 7 of 13 from the field. He followed that up on Saturday with 12 points and 14 rebounds with four assists in Saturday's 80-69 win over Portland State. For his performance, Jones was honored as the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week, his second weekly honor of the last three weeks.
• Jones has six double-doubles in eight games this season, which is tied for the third most by any player in the nation this season. He leads the Big Sky and ranks sixth in the nation in rebounding at 11.2 per game. He is also second in the conference in field goal percentage at 60.6 percent.
• Sophomore Seikou Sisoho Jawara, a Big Sky preseason all-conference player, led the Wildcats with 17 points in Saturday's win. He tied his career-high with five 3-pointers in Saturday's win. Sisoho Jawara is second on the Wildcat team and ranks 14th in the conference in scoring at 13.4 points per game. He is averaging 16.5 points per game over the last four games. On the season Sisoho Jawara is shooting 47.2 percent from the field. He earned second team All-Big Sky honors last year and was named to the preseason all-conference team this year.
• Senior transfer Koby McEwen added 12 points with six rebounds in Saturday's win. He has scored in double figures in seven of eight games this season and currently ranks fifth in the Big Sky in scoring at 16.8 points per game. He had a season-high 30 points in the November 19 win over Ball State.
• Weber State ranks 18th in the country in field goal percentage at 49.7 percent. The Wildcats have shot 50 percent or better in four games this season.
• The Wildcats are currently 17th in the nation in turnover margin at +5.5. The 'Cats have had fewer turnovers that their opponent in seven of the eight games this season.
• Weber State reached 80 or more points for the fifth time this season. The Wildcats improved to 144-9 under coach Rahe when scoring 80 or more points in a game.
• Washington State comes into Wednesday's game at 6-2 overall. The Cougars started the season 5-0 before losing to Big Sky member Eastern Washington. The Cougars also opened conference play with two games last weekend. They beat Arizona State before losing by two points at No. 18 USC.
• WSU was 14-13 overall last season and finished 10th in the Pac-12 at 7-12. The Cougars have four starters and nine letterwinners returning off last year's team and were picked to finish eighth in the Pac-12 preseason media poll. The Cougars are coached by Kyle Smith who is in his third season at WSU.
• Weber State will be the third Big Sky team for Washington State this season. The Cougars won 109-61 at Idaho on Nov. 18, then lost 76-71 at home to Eastern Washington on November 27.
• This is just the second meeting ever between Weber State and Washington State. The only other meeting was during the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 1983. The Cougars beat the Wildcats 62-52 in the game in Boise, Idaho.
• Washington State will be the ninth Pac-12 team Weber State has played under head coach Randy Rahe. In 16 years under coach Rahe, Weber State is 1-9 against Pac-12 teams. The Wildcats have played Arizona and Utah twice and have also faced Arizona State, Cal, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA and Washington. The only win against a Pac-12 team came in 2011, an 80-51 win over Utah, in the first year in the conference for the Utes. Damian Lillard scored 22 points with five assists to lead the Wildcats in that win.
• Weber State has never beaten a Pac-12 team on the road.
• Wildcat senior Michal Kozak played in his 123rd career game on Saturday. He is now tied with Darin Mahoney for the eighth most games in WSU history. Kozak is 10 games away from setting the new Weber State record for career games played.
• Weber State is ranked sixth in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll.
• The Wildcats have had the same starting lineup in all eight games this season.
• Weber State was picked to finish second in the Big Sky preseason polls. The Wildcats were 17-6 last season and tied for second in the conference at 12-3. WSU returns four starters and 10 players off last year's team. WSU also welcomed four new players, including three Division I transfers.
• Head coach Randy Rahe made history in the November 21 win over Green Bay, as he won his 300th career game as head coach of the Wildcats. Rahe is in his 16th season at Weber State and is WSU's and the Big Sky Conference's all-time leader in wins and games coached. He has a career record of 303-179 at Weber State and has led the Wildcats to five Big Sky titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. He has coached six Big Sky MVP's, including NBA superstar Damian Lillard.
• After Wednesday's road game, Weber State will play its next four games at home. The Wildcats will host Maine-Fort Kent on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 2:30 p.m. The 'Cats will also take on Utah State on Dec. 15, BYU on Dec. 18 and Fresno State on Dec. 23.
• Weber State has won 14 straight home games, tied for the ninth longest active streak in the country.
