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Gonzaga has ‘immense respect’ for Washington State ahead of rivalry game: ‘Our guys will be locked in’

Originally posted on Gonzaga Bulldogs on SI
By Cole Forsman | Last updated Jan 11, 2025 5:15 PM ET

The in-state rivalry between Gonzaga and Washington State for the past decade is similar to that of family members who only see each other around the holidays.

The two schools separated by less than 80 miles from one another have met on the hardwood 150 times since their first matchup in 1907. The Cougars dominated the series early on before the tides started to turn in favor of the Bulldogs heading into the 21st century, as Mark Few and company won 13 of the last 16 head-to-head contests.

Since 2015, however, the two programs have not crossed paths as they went their separate ways. The Zags rose to a national powerhouse under Few, appearing in two Final Four games amid a streak of nine consecutive trips to the Sweet 16 or further. WSU, meanwhile, went through two head coaching changes and finished above .500 three times over the decade.

Even after all these years, though, there’s no respect lost between the Bulldogs (13-4, 4-0 WCC) and Cougars (13-4, 3-1 WCC) as they prepare to meet for the first time as West Coast Conference foes on Saturday.

“I think what our team has seen is the immense respect our staff has for their staff and what they've been able to do with that program and what that program means for the state of Washington,” Gonzaga assistant coach and Tacoma, Washington, native R-Jay Barsh said. “The motivations that play someone that close to you, that’s exciting. You grew up wanting those moments, but focus on how good this team is, keeps you focused, keeps you engaged. There are no sleepers that we can have because of how well they're coached and how individually skilled their players are. So it's one of those matchups where our guys will be locked in.”

The Cougars have the Zags’ full attention heading into the 151st all-time meeting between the two, and for good reason. WSU, picked to finish fifth in the WCC according to the preseason poll, has been a bit of a surprise in David Riley's first year at the helm. Especially after losing their leading scorer, Cedric Coward (17.7 points per game in six contests) for the season back in December.

While also dealing with injuries to Isaiah Watts (hand) and Rihards Vavers (both hands), the Cougs strengthened their NCAA Tournament resume with notable victories over Nevada, Boise State and San Francisco. WSU has five wins in the first two quadrants, though its resume took a slight hit Thursday following a 95-94 loss to Pacific at home.

WSU, consequently, dropped to No. 75 in the NET, but it’ll have opportunities to climb back up the rankings as it progresses through league play — starting with Saturday's matchup in Spokane.

"He's done an amazing, amazing job," Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said of Riley. "They're kind of fearless. They're very, very physical, they're smart, they play like a really old team, and they look like they've played together a long time. So he's done a good job putting them in a system where that kind of accentuates that. It looks like from watching them, they really frustrate some of the teams that they play."

For the Bulldogs, they hope the return of students in the Kennel will frustrate the Cougs a bit on Saturday. While classes have been on break, students haven’t been to a home game since Nov. 20 against Long Beach State.

“The Kennel is special now, so you can't duplicate that,” Barsh said. “That's what makes the camper special, is how important the student body is to that atmosphere. Our guys, we can get them as emotional and pumped up as we want, but when they see someone who's in their math class sitting and jumping up in the stands, that's a different emotional pull in a game. You can't duplicate that, and it's a big advantage for us when we have that.”