Washington State Cougars (14-5, 4-2 WCC ) vs. Portland Pilots (6-13, 1-5 WCC) Date: Saturday, January 18 Time: 3 PM PT // 6 PM ET Location: Beasley Coliseum - P

PULLMAN — Washington State slogged through a long stretch of poor offense against San Diego on Thursday night, trying to find any way to snap a dry spell. The Cougars couldn’t stop turning it over, and even as their defense stepped up, they needed baskets to avoid a costly loss.

Examine Washington State's road loss to Gonzaga on Saturday, especially early in the second half, and you'll find a window into some of the Cougars' recent struggles. You'll also find how they're solving them WSU faced a double-digit deficit at that point,

Because of the way four key injuries have shuffled personnel, the Cougar men are trying to make their offense work with a player whose best attributes are on defense.

Washington State takes on the San Diego Toreros after Nate Calmese scored 20 points in the Cougars' 88-75 loss to the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

More than a dozen cars, many of them with North Dakota license plates and some with belongings still packed into the backseats, lined the Gesa Field concourse on Thursday during Jimmy Rogers' hiring ceremony in Pullman.

In his introductory news conference on Thursday, Rogers laid out a vision for a program that recruits the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest, an offense that attacks the width of the field and runs the ball, a defense that rotates its linemen and a team that will build on the spirit of the players already in the building.

WSU is losing several receivers from last season – senior Kyle Williams exhausted his eligibility, Carlos Hernandez transferred to Wake Forest and Kris Hutson transferred to Arizona . Ellison, at 6-2, provides some size on the outside, making him a starting candidate right away.