Wazzu

Pullman

Cougs and Redhawks to clash at Climate Pledge in December doubleheader

David Riley is doing something smart: getting the Cougs back in front of the Seattle crowd.

3 min readSpokesman.com
Cougs and Redhawks to clash at Climate Pledge in December doubleheader

Let's be honest: a mid-December doubleheader at Climate Pledge Arena is not going to decide the Pac-12 race. But for a program that just rebuilt its roster from scratch, every chance to put the Cougs in front of Seattle alumni matters. So yes, we are here for WSU vs. Seattle U on Dec. 19, even if the Huskies and Baylor are sharing the same floor that night.

What makes this worth your calendar alert is not the neutral-site shine. It is the fact that WSU and Seattle U split last season, with the Redhawks taking the first game 69-55 in Seattle before the Cougs answered with a 70-58 win in Pullman. That is a real rivalry, not a made-for-TV appetizer. Coach David Riley and Seattle U's Chris Victor worked together at Eastern Washington from 2015-17, and Riley admitted after their first matchup last year that both coaches ran the exact same first set, a Spain action, to start the game. That is the kind of inside-baseball detail that makes a December game feel personal. It also ties nicely into We Got Picks, You Got Questions, and the Ducks Still Have Problems, because if you are picking games this season, you need to know which coach blinks first when two guys who used to share a whiteboard go head-to-head.

Riley is not wrong to say the Cougs have thousands of alumni in western Washington. That is the whole reason Wazzu exists in that building. But the practical takeaway for Coug fans is this: you are going to see a lot of new names in crimson. The roster features 13 newcomers, including transfers from TCU, Wake Forest, UNLV, Oregon, and a handful of international players. That is a lot of moving parts to gel by mid-December, especially with a trip to LSU waiting on Dec. 28. The Seattle U game is not a warm-up, it is a measuring stick for whether this patchwork roster can hold its own against a team that already beat them last year. And with WSU and Gonzaga close league play with a Wednesday night showdown later this season, the nonconference schedule needs to build momentum, not questions.

One detail to watch: Riley and Victor ran the same first play last season. If that happens again in December, it will tell you both coaches are still reading from the same Eastern Washington playbook. If one of them changes the call, you will know the scouting report got personal. That is the kind of chess match you do not get from a neutral-site showcase, you get it from two guys who used to share a gym in Cheney. Go Cougs.

From Spokesman.com

PULLMAN – Chalk up another game on Washington State’s nonconference hoops schedule.

The Cougars will meet Seattle University on Dec. 19 at the Seattle Holiday Classic, according to a Monday news release, set for Climate Pledge Arena. It’s part of a doubleheader showcase, which will also pit University of Washington against Baylor.

Read the original at Spokesman.com

Briefing

Source
Spokesman.com
Published
October 2, 2026

Related

  • Riley's Third Year Brings 11 Road Games and a Jan. 3 Tip in Fresno

    PULLMAN – Washington State’s first men’s basketball schedule in the rebuilt Pac-12 has arrived. In coach David Riley’s third season, the Cougars have five home nonconference games in Pullman, and their Pac-12 opener is set for Jan. 3 at Fresno State. WSU will also play 11 nonconference games away from Pullman, the program’s most since 1973-74, underscoring the ways coaches have to keep budgets in mind when building schedules in this new athletics ecosystem. WSU has a home game on Nov. 14 against Kirkland, of the NAIA ranks, marking the Cougars’ first time hosting a non-Division-I opponent since 2015. WSU and Gonzaga will meet in Pullman on Jan. 6, which is a Wednesday during the Cougars’ winter break, and in Spokane on Feb. 17. In the new Pac-12, it’s become clear that teams will play primarily on Wednesdays and Saturdays, which is the case for the majority of the Cougars’ games. They have a few games set for Sunday, particularly early in the conference slate, but those will be the most prevalent game days. It’s also now official that for the first time since 1917, WSU and rival Washington will not play a regular-season game against each other. Instead, the clubs will meet for an exhibition matchup Oct. 25 in Seattle. The beginning of the new Pac-12 schedule won’t be easy for WSU, which faces a stretch of three of four road games: at Boise State, at home against San Diego State, then on the road to face Colorado State and Utah State, the last of which figures to be a new conference power. The Cougars also have what figures to be a brutal two-game stretch Feb. 17 and Feb. 20, which include road games against Gonzaga and San Diego State, respectively. The new Pac-12 Tournament is set for March 9–13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.