The 2023–24 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represented Washington State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team were led by head coach Kyle Smith in his fifth and final season for the Cougars. The Cougars played their home games at the Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Washington, as members of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 25–10, 14–6 in Pac-12 play to finish in second place. They defeated Stanford in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament before losing to Colorado in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 7 seed in the East region. There, they beat Drake in the first round before losing to Iowa State in the second round.
This was the final season before conference realignment took effect in the Pac-12, as the conference nearly dissolved after the majority of Pac-12 schools left the conference to join other conferences. The team would play in the West Coast Conference as an affiliate member for the next two years before returning to a reconstituted Pac-12.
On February 19, 2024, the Cougars returned to the AP Poll for the first time since the 2007–08 season.
Previous season The Cougars finished the 2022–23 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.
Offseason Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure TJ Bamba 5 G 6'5" 215 Junior Bronx, NY Transferred to Villanova Dishon Jackson 10 C 6'10" 250 Junior Oakland, CA Transferred to Charlotte DJ Rodman 11 F 6'6" 215 Senior Newport Beach, CA Graduate transferred to USC Mael Hamon-Crespin 12 F 6'9" 235 Freshman Paris, France Signed to play professionally in France with Paris Basketball Carlos Rosario 13 F 6'7" 180 Junior Santo Domingo, DR Transferred to Drake Adrame Diongue 15 C 7'0" 190 Freshman Dakar, Senegal Transferred to San Jose State Justin Powell 24 G 6'6" 197 Junior Prospect, KY Declared for 2023 NBA draft/undrafted; signed with Miami Heat Mouhamed Gueye 35 F 6'11" 210 Sophomore Dakar, Senegal Declared for 2023 NBA draft; selected 39th overall by Atlanta Hawks
Incoming transfers Name Num Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school Jaylen Wells 0 F 6'7" 200 Junior Sacramento, CA Sonoma State Joseph Yesufu 11 G 6'0" 180 GS senior Bolingbrook, IL Kansas Isaac Jones 13 F/C 6'9" 242 GS senior Spanaway, WA Idaho Oscar Cluff 45 C 6'11" Sophomore Sunshine Coast, Australia Cochise College
2023 recruiting class
2024 recruiting class
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=9 style=| Pac-12 regular season
!colspan=9 style=| Pac-12 Tournament
!colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournament
Source:
Rankings
References