Tonight at 8:00 p.m. PT, Washington Huskies men's basketball continues its promising 2025-26 campaign by reigniting the the 9th-most-played rivalry in Division I college basketball. UW will travel east to Pullman to take on the Washington State Cougars in each team's fourth game of the season.
You can watch the game if you have an ESPN+ subscription. Otherwise, unfortunately the only other option to experience the game would be to make the grueling pilgrimage to Pullman to watch in person, or listen to the game via GoHuskies.com or the Husky Gameday mobile app.
The Huskies are 2-1 and coming off a hard-fought loss to a formidable Baylor squad on the road. The Cougars are 1-2, losing their first two games of the season to Idaho and Davidson before beating St. Thomas MN.
Washington coach Danny Sprinkle, in his second season with the Huskies, beat Wazzu last season 89-73 in his first battle of the rivalry. That improves Washington's overall record in the series to a dominant 188-111.
However, the Cougars have gotten the best of the Huskies for the most part in recent history, winning seven of the last 10 matchups preceding last season's game. Washington State has also had more success developing NBA talent in the past years, producing the likes of Jaylen Wells, Cedric Coward, Isaac Jones, and Mouhamed Gueye since 2023.
Sprinkle is looking to change that, however, as the Huskies have the most-talented and deep roster they've had in years. They're led by freshman sensation Heinnes Steinbach, a consensus first-round draft prospect, who paces the team in points (14.7) and rebounds (12.7) per game.
Fellow freshman JJ Mandaquit is a magician on the court, leading the Huskies with 5.7 assists per game, and looking like a point guard who can be a program staple for years to come. Meanwhile, former top recruits Zoom Diallo and Wesley Yates III have supplemented Steinbach in scoring from the wings, averaging 13.7 and 11.7 points respectively.
On the Cougars' side, forward Emmanuel Egbo and guard Tomas Thrastarson lead the charge -- each averaging 15 points per game. Coach David Riley is also in his second season, leading Washington State to a 19-15 record and a trip to the inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament as a member of the West Coast Conference last season.
The Cougars will return to the Pac-12 next season when basketball starts back up in the expanded conference, headlined by Gonzaga, but with the Huskies solidified in the Big Ten -- the rival programs will only play each other once a season from now on. So, tonight's battle will be ultimate showdown to gain bragging rights for a full year. It should be a good one.