PULLMAN — Washington State slogged through a long stretch of poor offense against San Diego on Thursday night, trying to find any way to snap a dry spell. The Cougars couldn’t stop turning it over, and even as their defense stepped up, they needed baskets to avoid a costly loss.

Riley was referencing the second half of his WSU club’s 65-61 road win over San Diego on Thursday night, which helped the Cougars end a two-game skid. That sets the stage for the Cougs’ next game, a home matchup with struggling Portland at 3 p.m. Saturday, and the improvements Riley and WSU will look to make.

Washington State Cougars (14-5, 4-2 WCC ) vs. Portland Pilots (6-13, 1-5 WCC) Date: Saturday, January 18 Time: 3 PM PT // 6 PM ET Location: Beasley Coliseum - P

Trouet 7-17 1-3 17, Jamerson 2-5 1-2 5, Webb 2-3 0-2 4, Clouet 0-1 0-0 0, Duckett 6-12 2-3 14, Chammaa 3-14 4-4 13, Bradley 2-7 3-4 8, Dahlke 0-0 0-0 0, Pierre 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-61 11-18 61.

A GRIP ON SPORTS • What the heck is wrong with the Zag men? They failed again Tuesday night. Hey, before you start typing your aggrieved email, remember these two salient points: They didn’t score 100 points and they failed in the most important mission of all,

The 2025 season is still several months away, but UW and WSU announced dates for the 2026 and 2027 Apple Cup games.

WSU also announced two future Apple Cup dates: Sept. 5, 2026 at Husky Stadium in Seattle and Sept. 18, 2027 in Pullman. In the wake of the traditional Pac-12’s collapse, the schools agreed to five-year series extension, which has one more game, set for 2028 in Seattle. The exact date has not been announced.

Washington State guard Nate Calmese signals a teammate in the second half of a game against Portland on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Wash. (Geoff Crimmins/For The Spokesman-Review)

Oregon retains the top spot in our latest Power Rankings at midseason despite losing two of its last three. Arizona, UCLA, and Gonzaga have also had setbacks but continue to make noise in the Big 12,

WSU hired defensive line coach Jalon Bibbs, the program announced Thursday, bringing into the fold head coach Jimmy Rogers’ 10th and final position coach.

Paulius Murauskas had 25 points and 12 rebounds as Saint Mary's rallied to beat Washington State 80-75 on Saturday night. Augustas Marciulionis finished with 17 points and seven assists for the Gaels (18-3,

Damarius Russell, a senior student-athlete at Waseca High School, wasn’t certain what was happening when his social media chat room blew up. It was a chat filled with other football