Beasley Coliseum
Wazzu keeps Beasley Coliseum in one place: 3 stories so far. The section currently leads with “Cougs Tip Off Season at Beasley With Arizona on Deck”, “David Riley's roster vanished again. He rebuilt anyway. That's Pullman”, and “Palouse Hoops Is Back: Cougs, Vandals Set Two-Year Series”. The first ball drops at Beasley Coliseum this week, and Arizona is the team standing on the other side of the court. David Riley's roster vanished again. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every Beasley Coliseum story on Wazzu, newest first.
Cougs Tip Off Season at Beasley With Arizona on Deck
The first ball drops at Beasley Coliseum this week, and Arizona is the team standing on the other side of the court. That's a real opener for a season that has felt like it was crawling toward tip-off. David Riley's roster vanished again last spring. He rebuilt anyway. That story, which we published earlier this fall, explains what it took to get here. This is the part where we finally get to see what that work looks like under the lights. Arizona is not the same program that rolled through the Palouse a few years ago. New conference, new roster, new everything. That does not make them an easy opener. It makes them a measuring stick. For a WSU team that has spent the offseason answering questions about who is still here, the first game is the only answer that matters. There is no way to know what this team is yet. That is the point. You show up, you watch, you figure it out together. That is what November at Beasley has always been. If you are in Pullman, get to your seat. If you are not, find a stream and pour one out for the old days. The season is here. That is enough. Go Cougs.
David Riley's roster vanished again. He rebuilt anyway. That's Pullman
David Riley's roster vanished again. He rebuilt anyway. That's Pullman. For the second straight year, his entire starting five walked out the door. And for the second straight year, he pieced together a new team from the transfer portal. This time, at least, he had a little more warning. Players told him early they were leaving, so he had time to hunt. The result? Fourteen newcomers, nine from the portal, plus a guy who last played for Riley at Eastern Washington before a two-year church mission. That's a lot of new names. But Riley seems to like the mix. He's got a Texas A&M wing, a Northwestern forward, a Providence wing, and a couple of guys who can really score. Lazerek Houston averaged 20.8 points in Division II. Ronnie Harrison shot 53% inside the arc. Riley says Harrison is bigger than he looks on film, which is the kind of thing you want to hear about a new guy. The exhibition loss to New Mexico was ugly. But Riley's brother has been telling him his teams are soft, and Riley says he's trying to fix that with chippy practices. We'll see if it works. Season opens Monday at Beasley against Davidson. If you want to read about another Coug trying to turn things around, check out "Kinnard runs wild as Cougs try to snap the skid in San Diego." Go Cougs.
Palouse Hoops Is Back: Cougs, Vandals Set Two-Year Series
The Battle of the Palouse is back on the hardwood, and this time it's got a two-year guarantee. Washington State and Idaho have agreed to a home-and-home series, with the Cougs hosting at Beasley on Nov. 27 and the Vandals returning the favor early in the 2027-28 season in Moscow. That last part matters. The game hasn't been played in Moscow since 2021, when WSU won by a series-record 109-61. Idaho fans probably remember that one. They also remember last year, when the Vandals walked into Pullman and won 83-81. This rivalry is the oldest continuous college basketball rivalry in the country, running every year from 1906 to 2021. Then a Pac-12 rule killed the streak. The league wouldn't let its teams play opponents ranked too low in the NET over a five-year period. Idaho wasn't ranked high enough. So the series sat for a year. It came back in 2023, and now it's locked in for two more. WSU leads the all-time series 168-115. The Cougs are coming off a 12-20 season in their first year of the new Pac-12, with an overhauled roster. Idaho just won the Big Sky Tournament and made its first NCAA Tournament in 36 years, then lost most of its roster too. Both teams are rebuilding. That makes this year's game harder to call, which is exactly why you want to be there. If you're already thinking about hoops, check out the news that the Cougs get Duke in Palm Springs this November.