The Washington State Cougars began the Kyle Smith era in style, thrashing the Seattle Redhawks 85-54 behind 27 points from CJ Elleby.
In what most observers figured would be a close game — kenpom.com projected a one-point win, while the Cougs were a roughly 3-point favorite in Vegas — WSU raced out to a 24-5 lead in the first 6:30 behind an early 15-1 run and never looked back, stretching the lead to 24 points just before halftime. The lead never dipped below 20 points in the second half and reached as high as 34 with a few minutes left in the game.