The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 122 is Washington State basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Washington State basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 1
- Final Fours: 1
- Elite Eights: 1
- Sweet 16s: 1
- NCAA wins: 7
- Bids: 7
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 13.7
- Bids per season: 0.06
- AP Polls: 43
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 4
- NBA players drafted & played: 16
- Conference Players of the Year: 1
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 2
- Conference tournament titles: 0
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 1
Overall scoop on Washington State basketball
Washington State basketball is a program with a lot more history than you might know of. All the way back to the early 1900s, the Cougars were coached by J. Fred Bohler, who compiled a 226-177 record. That included a 25-1 record in 1916-17, where they were named National Champions (pre-NCAA Tournament). In that time span, Roy Bohler was a Consensus All-American in 1916, and Alfred Sorenson in 1918. Neither got the honor that season, but both contributed to the championship team.
The Cougars would have lots of success again under head coach Jack Friel. He won 495 games, coaching the program from 1928 until 1958, one of the longest tenured coaches of a single DI school of all-time. Friel coached 10 20-win teams and led the 1940-41 team to the National Championship game, in just the third edition of the NCAA Tournament. They would fall to Wisconsin, 39-34, in the finals. Star big man Paul Lindeman was a Consensus AA that year, and a few seasons later, Friel coached another, in Vince Hanson.
Friel’s tenure didn’t end too well, and it started a bit of an up-and-down culture. The next coach, Marv Harshman, would have some decent years, but the program wouldn’t go dancing again until 1980, under George Raveling. He coached them for 11 seasons, resulting in a pair of tourney bids and a round of 32 appearance in 1983, a team that featured future NBA player Craig Ehlo.
The worst era of WSU hoops was arguably the next two decades, as they only made the NCAA Tournament once in that span, in 1994, under Kelvin Sampson.
But the 2000s have been almost underrated. Tony Bennett went 69-33 in three short seasons, taking them to the round of 32 in 2007 and the Sweet 16 in 2008. Those teams featured future NBA players Aron Baynes and Kyle Weaver. The Cougars didn’t make it in ’09 under Bennett, but they did feature star freshman Klay Thompson.
Thompson would emerge as a star under head coach Ken Bone, averaging 21.6 points per game as a junior in 2010-11. Along with Ehlo and James Donaldson, he is arguably the most famous WSU hoops alum.
Washington State would have some more good years under Kyle Smith, who has a reputation for building up programs. Smith inherited a Cougars program that had suffered seven straight losing seasons. In five seasons, he never had a losing record, going 94-71 with a tourney bid in 2024. The Cougars won a game, losing to Iowa State in the round of 32.
David Riley is the coach now, as Washington State played the last two seasons in the WCC, but will return to the Pac-12 this upcoming season. The program was so close to having a National Championship, and has produced some other great teams and solid NBA players. Unfortunately, they have long been overshadowed by in-state rival Washington and Gonzaga. But the Cougars certainly have their own great moments!