# 2022–23 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represented Washington State University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by fourth-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. They finished the season 16–15, 11–9 in Pac-12 play, to finish in a tie for fifth place. They defeated California in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament before losing to Oregon in the second round. They received an invitation to participate in the NIT, where they were defeated by Eastern Washington in the first round.

## Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2021–22 season 22–15, 11–9 in Pac-12 play, to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place. They defeated California in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament before losing to UCLA in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NIT as a 4th seed in the SMU bracket where they defeated Santa Clara, SMU and BYU to advanced to the semifinals where they lost to Texas A&M.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Efe Abogidi | 0 | C | 6'10" | 225 | Sophomore | Delta State, Nigeria | Declared for 2022 NBA draft |
| Tyrell Roberts | 2 | G | 5'11" | 175 | RS Junior | Sacramento, CA | Transferred to San Francisco |
| Jefferson Koulibaly | 3 | G | 6'3" | 185 | RS Freshman | Montreal, QC | Transferred to SMU |
| Michael Flowers | 12 | G | 6'1" | 190 | GS Senior | Southfield, MI | Graduated |
| Matt DeWolf | 14 | F | 6'9" | 235 | GS Senior | Barrington, RI | Graduated |
| Ryan Rapp | 22 | G | 6'5" | 189 | Junior | Melbourne, Australia | Transferred to Hawaii |
| Noah Williams | 24 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Junior | Seattle, WA | Transferred to Washington |
| Tony Miller | 32 | F | 6'6" | 215 | GS Senior | Woodinville, WA | Graduate transferred |
| Will Burghardt | 33 | G | 5'11" | 185 | GS Senior | Longview, WA | Walk-on; graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Jabe Mullins | 3 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Junior | Snoqualmie, WA | Saint Mary's |
| Justin Powell | 24 | G | 6'6" | 197 | Junior | Prospect, KY | Tennessee |

### 2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Adrame Diongue C | Chandler, AZ | AZ Compass Prep | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | May 2, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Dylan Darling PG | Spokane, WA | Central Valley High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Mar 24, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Mael Crespin C | Paris, France | N/A | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Jun 3, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Solomon Ominu C | Bridgton, ME | Bridgton Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Sep 8, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A 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: "2022 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. "2022 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 7, 2022* 4:30 p.m., P12N | | Texas State | W 83–61 | 1–0 | 18 – Gueye | 13 – Gueye | 12 – Powell | Beasley Coliseum (2,443) Pullman, WA |
| November 12, 2022* 4:00 p.m., Stadium | | vs. Boise State ICCU Capital City Classic | L 61–71 | 1–1 | 24 – Bamba | 14 – Rodman | 1 – tied | Idaho Central Arena (4,157) Boise, ID |
| November 15, 2022* 4:00 p.m., P12N | | at Prairie View A&M Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series | L 59–70 | 1–2 | 16 – Bamba | 5 – tied | 2 – Mullins | William J. Nicks Building (863) Prairie View, TX |
| November 21, 2022* 6:00 p.m., P12N | | vs. Eastern Washington | W 82–56 | 2–2 | 24 – Mullins | 8 – Gueye | 7 – Powell | Spokane Arena (5,224) Spokane, WA |
| November 25, 2022* 1:00 p.m., P12N | | Detroit Mercy | W 96–54 | 3–2 | 22 – Mullins | 8 – Gueye | 7 – Powell | Beasley Coliseum (3,275) Pullman, WA |
| December 1, 2022 7:30 p.m., P12N | | at Oregon | L 60–74 | 3–3 (0–1) | 19 – Gueye | 5 – Gueye | 4 – Powell | Matthew Knight Arena (5,379) Eugene, OR |
| December 4, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Utah | L 65–67 | 3–4 (0–2) | 20 – Gueye | 11 – Gueye | 2 – tied | Beasley Coliseum (2,009) Pullman, WA |
| December 7, 2022* 6:00 p.m., P12N | | Northern Kentucky | W 68–47 | 4–4 | 20 – Bamba | 10 – Gueye | 4 – tied | Beasley Coliseum (2,268) Pullman, WA |
| December 10, 2022* 1:30 p.m., FS1 | | vs. UNLV Las Vegas Clash | L 70–74 | 4–5 | 20 – Bamba | 8 – Gueye | 4 – Gueye | MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV |
| December 18, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. No. 11 Baylor Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge | L 59–65 | 4–6 | 16 – Mullins | 9 – Gueye | 4 – Houinsou | American Airlines Center (4,200) Dallas, TX |
| December 22, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. George Washington Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals | W 66–64 | 5–6 | 21 – Gueye | 10 – Gueye | 4 – Rodman | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI |
| December 23, 2022* 8:59 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Hawai'i Diamond Head Classic semifinal | L 51–62 | 5–7 | 19 – Bamba | 8 – Diongue | 1 – tied | Stan Sheriff Center (4,683) Honolulu, HI |
| December 25, 2022* 3:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Utah State Diamond Head Classic 3rd-place game | L 73–82 | 5–8 | 22 – Gueye | 12 – Gueye | 4 – Bamba | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI |
| December 30, 2022 8:00 p.m., P12N | | No. 11 UCLA | L 66–67 | 5–9 (0–3) | 19 – Rodman | 18 – Gueye | 3 – Mullins | Beasley Coliseum (3,238) Pullman, WA |
| January 1, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | | USC | W 81–71 | 6–9 (1–3) | 16 – tied | 6 – tied | 7 – Powell | Beasley Coliseum (2,650) Pullman, WA |
| January 5, 2023 5:00 p.m., P12N | | at Arizona State | L 71–77 | 6–10 (1–4) | 19 – Mullins | 12 – Rodman | 5 – Gueye | Desert Financial Arena (5,860) Tempe, AZ |
| January 7, 2023 2:00 pm., P12N | | at No. 5 Arizona | W 74–61 | 7–10 (2–4) | 24 – Gueye | 14 – Gueye | 3 – tied | McKale Center (14,176) Tucson, AZ |
| January 11, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | California | W 66–51 | 8–10 (3–4) | 14 – tied | 6 – Rodman | 3 – tied | Beasley Coliseum (3,208) Pullman, WA |
| January 14, 2023 5:00 p.m., P12N | | Stanford | W 60–59 | 9–10 (4–4) | 17 – Jakimovski | 5 – Diongue | 4 – Houinsou | Beasley Coliseum (3,590) Pullman, WA |
| January 19, 2023 6:00 p.m., P12N | | at Utah | L 63–77 | 9–11 (4–5) | 20 – Gueye | 8 – Rodman | 4 – Powell | Jon M. Huntsman Center (6,599) Salt Lake City, UT |
| January 22, 2023 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Colorado | L 55–58 | 9–12 (4–6) | 18 – Bamba | 7 – Jakimovski | 2 – tied | CU Events Center Boulder, CO |
| January 26, 2023 8:00 p.m., P12N | | No. 6 Arizona | L 58–63 | 9–13 (4–7) | 15 – tied | 10 – Gueye | 3 – Powell | Beasley Coliseum (5,225) Pullman, WA |
| January 28, 2023 5:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Arizona State | W 75–58 | 10–13 (5–7) | 22 – Jakimovski | 15 – Gueye | 3 – tied | Beasley Coliseum (4,120) Pullman, WA |
| February 2, 2023 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | at USC | L 70–80 | 10–14 (5–8) | 31 – Gueye | 12 – Gueye | 5 – tied | Galen Center (3,751) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 4, 2023 4:00 p.m., P12N | | at No. 9 UCLA | L 52–76 | 10–15 (5–9) | 19 – Bamba | 6 – tied | 4 – Houinsou | Pauley Pavilion (10,117) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 11, 2023 7:30 p.m., P12N | | Washington Rivalry | W 56–51 | 11–15 (6–9) | 20 – Bamba | 15 – Gueye | 4 – Powell | Beasley Coliseum (5,647) Pullman, WA |
| February 16, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Oregon State | W 80–62 | 12–15 (7–9) | 21 – Gueye | 8 – Jakimovski | 4 – tied | Beasley Coliseum (2,961) Pullman, WA |
| February 19, 2023 4:00 p.m., FS1 | | Oregon | W 68–65 | 13–15 (8–9) | 18 – Gueye | 12 – Gueye | 4 – Mullins | Beasley Coliseum (4,467) Pullman, WA |
| February 23, 2023 8:00 p.m., P12N | | at Stanford | W 67–63 | 14–15 (9–9) | 22 – Bamba | 15 – Gueye | 5 – Powell | Maples Pavilion (2,530) Stanford, CA |
| February 25, 2023 2:00 p.m., P12N | | at California | W 63–57 | 15–15 (10–9) | 20 – Gueye | 10 – Gueye & Rodman | 3 – Gueye | Haas Pavilion (1,725) Berkeley, CA |
| March 2, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Washington Rivalry | W 93–84 | 16–15 (11–9) | 36 – Bamba | 17 – Jakimovski | 5 – Rodman | Alaska Airlines Arena (9,268) Seattle, WA |
| Pac-12 tournament |||||||||
| March 8, 2023 2:30 p.m., P12N | (5) | vs. (12) California First round | W 69–52 | 17–15 | 17 – Bamba | 11 – Rodman | 4 – Gueye | T-Mobile Arena (10,406) Paradise, NV |
| March 9, 2023 2:30 p.m., P12N | (5) | vs. (4) Oregon Quarterfinals | L 70–75 | 17–16 | 19 – Bamba | 7 – Powell | 5 – Bamba | T-Mobile Arena (10,406) Paradise, NV |
| NIT |||||||||
| March 14, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | (4) | Eastern Washington First round – Oklahoma State bracket | L 74–81 | 17–17 | 23 – Rodman | 8 – Rodman | 3 – tied | Beasley Coliseum (1,671) Pullman, WA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||||||
Source: