The nonconference basketball schedule that Washington State will play in 2019 won’t be particularly challenging on paper and should present first-year coach Kyle Smith with numerous chances to notch victories before the Cougars dive into Pac-12 Conference play next January.
WSU’s nonconference schedule, which was released Thursday afternoon, features just one team that earned a bid to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, one other team from a Power Five conference and just one team that fell inside the top 100 of ESPN’s BPI index rating system.
The nonconference schedule should have lots of familiarity for the returning Cougars, though, as the team plays four repeat opponents from last season: New Mexico State, Santa Clara, Idaho and Seattle U.