Last Wednesday, Washington State capped off their non-conference schedule with a 62-52 win over Northwestern State. The victory took the Cougs to 8-0 on the season heading back into conference play

On Tuesday, the team learned that their Christmas break is going to last a little longer.

Washington State, Arizona State and the Pac-12 announced Tuesday evening that Thursday’s scheduled game between the schools will be postponed due to “COVID-19 developments” within the Arizona State program.

Both teams are hoping to play the game later in the season. In a short statement, WSU said they will work with ASU and the Pac-12 to “attempt to find a mutually agreeable date to reschedule the contest.”

The game is the second one on WSU’s schedule that has been impacted by COVID-19. The Cougars were forced to postpone a game at Colorado earlier this season after virus concerns within their own program. That game has yet to be officially rescheduled.

The Arizona State game was scheduled to be WSU’s return to Pac-12 play. Thanks to an expanded schedule, the Cougs got an early start to conference play earlier this December when they topped Oregon State in their conference opener.

WSU head coach Kyle Smith spoke with the media on Tuesday. While the press conference came prior to Arizona State’s announcement, Smith did give his thoughts on why it’s important to play this season, despite the challenges present during the pandemic.

“I’m in favor of trying to return to normalcy as much as we can,” Smith told the media over Zoom. “Some coaches are kind of sour on the whole thing... What else are we going to do? Just sit at home? You know, I think we’ve done a good job putting safeguards in place. We’ll adjust as it goes, but I think it’s exciting for our guys. They’ve worked hard. They’re at an age where it’s exciting to be able to do that and compete. And there’s another part of it with leadership. We’re developing character and leadership and how to handle diversity. There’s nothing more adverse than this. There are a lot of things we’re learned over this pandemic.”

WSU’s next game is scheduled to be on Saturday when they host Arizona in Pullman at 7:30 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.

Washington State's game against Arizona State postponed due to Sun Devils' COVID-19 'developments' | The Spokesman-Review
For the second time this month, COVID-19 issues have postponed a Pac-12 Conference game for the Washington State men's basketball team.

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