# 2020–21 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represented Washington State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team is led by second-year head coach Kyle Smith. The Cougars played their home games at the Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Washington as members in the Pac-12 Conference.

## Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2019–20 season 16–16, 6–12 in Pa-12 play to finish in 11th place. They defeated Colorado in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament and were set to face Arizona State in the quarterfinals before the remainder of the Pac-12 Tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 12, all other conference tournaments and postseason tournaments were cancelled, making the Cougars win over Colorado on March 11 the final game to be completed in the 2019–20 basketball season.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Carter Sonneborn | 0 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Freshman | Spokane, WA | Walk-on; transferred to Whitworth |
| Jervae Robinson | 1 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Senior | Aurora, CO | Graduated |
| C. J. Elleby | 2 | F | 6'6" | 200 | Sophomore | Seattle, WA | Declare for 2020 NBA draft |
| Daron Henson | 3 | F | 6'7" | 210 | Junior | Pasadena, CA | Graduate transferred to Seattle |
| Marvin Cannon | 5 | G | 6'5" | 170 | Junior | Richmond, VA | Transferred to Charlotte |
| Jeff Pollard | 13 | F | 6'9" | 240 | Senior | Bountiful, UT | Graduated |
| Deion James | 20 | F | 6'6" | 220 | GS Senior | Tucson, AZ | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Myles Fitzgerald-Warren | 2 | G | 6'3" | | Junior | Portland, OR | Collin College |

### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| T.J. Bamba G | Denver, CO | Abraham Lincoln High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A | Oct 25, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Andrej Jakimovski SF | Macedonia | N/A | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jun 21, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Carlos Rosario SF | Garden Grove, CA | Veritas Prep | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jun 17, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Dishon Jackson C | Vallejo, CA | St. Patrick-St. Vincent | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Apr 4, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Efe Abogidi C | Australia | NBA Global Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Oct 22, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Jefferson Koulibaly G | Montreal, QC | Lincoln Prep | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Feb 21, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Washington State Commits". Rivals.com. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. "ESPN- Washington State Cougars Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 8:00 pm, P12N | | Texas Southern | W 56–52 | 1–0 | 28 – Bonton | 8 – Abogidi | 3 – Bonton | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| November 28, 2020* 8:00 pm, P12N | | Eastern Washington | W 71–68 | 2–0 | 19 – Williams | 8 – Williams | 3 – Williams | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| December 3, 2020 7:00 pm, P12N | | Oregon State | W 59–55 | 3–0 (1–0) | 15 – Bonton | 7 – Abogidi | 7 – Bonton | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| December 9, 2020* 6:00 pm, P12N | | Idaho Battle of the Palouse | W 61–58 | 4–0 | 19 – Williams | 8 – Bonton | 4 – Williams | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| December 13, 2020* 2:00 pm, P12N | | Portland State | W 69–60 | 5–0 | 18 – Williams | 6 – Jakimovski | 5 – Rapp | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| December 18, 2020* 6:00 pm, P12N | | Montana State | W 82–54 | 6–0 | 21 – Williams | 14 – Abogidi | 3 – Williams | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| December 21, 2020* 4:00 pm, P12N | | Prairie View A&M | W 90–62 | 7–0 | 16 – Abogidi | 14 – Abogidi | 7 – Bonton | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| December 23, 2020* 4:00 pm, P12N | | Northwestern State | W 62–52 | 8–0 | 15 – Abogidi | 12 – Abogidi | 2 – Bonton | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| January 2, 2021 7:30 pm, P12N | | Arizona | L 82–86 $^{2OT}$ | 8–1 (1–1) | 25 – Bonton | 8 – Jakimovski | 3 – Bonton | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| January 7, 2021 7:00 pm, P12N | | at California | W 71–60 | 9–1 (2–1) | 21 – Bonton | 9 – Abogidi | 6 – Bonton | Haas Pavilion (0) Berkeley, CA |
| January 9, 2021 6:30 pm, P12N | | at Stanford | L 60–75 | 9–2 (2–2) | 19 – Jakimovski | 8 – Miller | 7 – Bonton | Kaiser Permanente Arena (1) Santa Cruz, CA |
| January 14, 2021 2:00 pm, FS1 | | at UCLA | L 61–91 | 9–3 (2–3) | 23 – Bonton | 5 – Bamba | 4 – Miller | Pauley Pavilion (0) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 16, 2021 6:30 pm, P12N | | at USC | L 77–85 | 9–4 (2–4) | 27 – Bonton | 12 – Abogidi | 4 – Bonton | Galen Center (0) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 21, 2021 7:00 pm, P12N | | Utah | L 56–71 | 9–5 (2–5) | 17 – Williams | 6 – Jakimovski | 5 – Williams | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| January 23, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Colorado | L 59–70 | 9–6 (2–6) | 21 – Bonton | 7 – Jakimovski | 3 – Bonton | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| January 27, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Colorado | L 58–70 | 9–7 (2–7) | 15 – Williams | 8 – Jackson | 2 – Tied | CU Events Center (0) Boulder, CO |
| January 31, 2021 5:00 pm, P12N | | at Washington Rivalry | W 77–62 | 10–7 (3–7) | 25 – Bonton | 13 – Abogidi | 4 – Bonton | Alaska Airlines Arena (0) Seattle, WA |
| February 4, 2021 8:00 pm, FS1 | | at Oregon | W 74–71 | 11–7 (4–7) | 23 – Bonton | 5 – Tied | 4 – Bonton | Matthew Knight Arena (0) Eugene, OR |
| February 6, 2021 3:00 pm, P12N | | at Oregon State | L 66–68 | 11–8 (4–8) | 14 – Rodman | 7 – Tied | 8 – Bonton | Gill Coliseum (0) Corvallis, OR |
| February 11, 2021 8:00 pm, FS1 | | UCLA | W 81–73 | 12–8 (5–8) | 26 – Bonton | 8 – Tied | 8 – Rapp | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| February 13, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | No. 20 USC | L 65–76 | 12–9 (5–9) | 18 – Jackson | 7 – Abogidi | 5 – Bonton | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| February 15, 2021 5:00 pm, P12N | | Washington Rivalry | L 63–65 | 12–10 (4–10) | 14 – Kunc | 8 – Abogidi | 7 – Williams | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| February 18, 2021 7:30 pm, P12N | | California | W 81–52 | 13–10 (6–10) | 32 – Williams | 9 – Williams | 9 – Jakimovski | Beasley Coliseum (200) Pullman, WA |
| February 20, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Stanford | W 85–76 $^{3OT}$ | 14–10 (7–10) | 40 – Williams | 10 – Jackson | 9 – Jakimovski | Beasley Coliseum (200) Pullman, WA |
| February 25, 2021 8:00 pm, FS1 | | at Arizona | L 53–69 | 14–11 (7–11) | 12 – Bamba | 13 – Kunc | 2 – Tied | McKale Center (0) Tucson, AZ |
| February 27, 2021 6:00 pm, P12N | | at Arizona State | L 74–77 $^{OT}$ | 14–12 (7–12) | 15 – Tied | 9 – Jackson | 6 – Williams | Desert Financial Arena (0) Tempe, AZ |
| March 1, 2021 12:00 pm, P12N | | at Arizona State | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Desert Financial Arena Tempe, AZ |
| Pac-12 Tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2021 1:00 pm, P12N | (9) | vs. (8) Arizona State First round | L 59–64 | 14–13 | 19 – Bonton | 9 – Kunc | 4 – Tied | T-Mobile Arena (0) Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||||||
Source: