Washington St. @ Idaho preview

Washington St. at Idaho

Last Meeting ( Dec 7, 2016 ) Idaho 48, Washington St. 61

Washington State was undefeated and riding high after winning the Wooden Legacy Tournament on Nov. 26, but stumbled last Saturday versus visiting UC Davis to suffer its first loss. Now the Cougars will attempt to bounce back on the road, traveling across the border Wednesday to play at Idaho.

A slow start hampered the Cougars against UC Davis as they scored only 25 first-half points en route to a season-low 67 in the 14-point loss. Washington State, which averaged 84 points in their three Wooden Legacy wins, also had 17 turnovers and was outrebounded 37-29. “We (weren’t) going to go undefeated the whole year so we just have to kind of bounce back and get going again,” Cougars coach Ernie Kent said in his post-game news conference. Idaho, meanwhile, has won five of six since a season-opening loss at Nevada and has won its last eight home games dating back to last season.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, None

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE (6-1): Forward Robert Franks scored a career-high 32 points and pulled down a team-best eight rebounds against UC Davis and is leading the Cougars with averages of 20.4 and 6.9, respectively, on the season. With 143 points so far, Franks is only 52 shy of his 31-game total of 195 a year ago and he’s shooting a team-best 53.9 percent from the floor, including 21-of-42 on 3-pointers. Guard Malachi Flynn, chosen as the Wooden Legacy’s Most Outstanding Player, is the only other Washington State player averaging double figures at 17.9 points, and he has a 33:9 assist-to-turnover margin even after a season-high five giveaways in Saturday’s loss.

ABOUT IDAHO (5-2): The Vandals entered the season as the preseason favorite in the Big Sky Conference with five senior starters back from last season’s 19-14 squad which advanced to the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Four of those five starters are averaging double figures and are paced by guards Victor Sanders (20.9 points), Nate Sherwood (13.7) and Perrion Callandret (11.7) with forward Brayon Blake averaging 11.6 and a Big Sky-leading 9.9 rebounds. Idaho is pacing the Big Sky in a number of statistical categories, including rebound margin (plus-5.3), free-throw percentage (76.3) and field-goal percentage defense (39.2).

TIP-INS

1. The schools are meeting for the 112th consecutive season in the Battle of the Palouse, marking the sixth-longest continuous rivalry nationally and the longest outside of the Ivy League.

2. The Cougars hold a 163-109 series lead, including a 61-48 home win last season, and have victories in five of the last six in Moscow.

3. Washington State G Carter Skaggs is shooting 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from 3-point range, which would rank eighth nationally if not for just falling under the minimum-attempt standard.

PREDICTION: Idaho 77, Washington State 74