The Cougars were retroactively awarded the 1917 National Championship by the Helms Athletic Foundation in 1957 and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll in 1995.

[citation needed] For the better part of seven decades, the Cougars were a consistent contender in the Pac-10 and its predecessor, the Pacific Coast Conference.

[7] After two straight victories in the NCAA Tournament, the Cougars headed to the Sweet Sixteen for the second time in school history.

On March 27, 2019, Smith was named as the 19th head coach of Washington State, agreeing to a six-year contract worth $1.4 million annually.

The Cougars followed up their regular season success with a win in the Pac-12 Tournament before losing to eventual runner-up UCLA.

The following week, Washington State completed a season sweep of the 4th ranked team in the country, Arizona, to move into 1st place in the PAC-12 and all but ensure their first March Madness appearance in 16 years.

On March 17, 2024, Washington State was given an at-large bid by the selection committee, officially ending their 16-year long NCAA Tournament drought.

George Raveling* was the first African American head coach in the Pacific Athletic Conference (known as the PAC 8 at the time).

Ken Bone replaced Bennett as head coach of the WSU Cougars Men's Basketball Team in February 2009.

[19] Visiting Washington State was ranked #6 in the AP Poll and won 51–47 over #19 Gonzaga at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

[20] A non-conference series since 1959, Washington State has played the Idaho Vandals of neighboring Moscow annually since 1906 in a rivalry dubbed the Battle of the Palouse; the U of I is less than eight miles (13 km) east of Pullman.

The continuing rivalry is the oldest in the western United States,[21] four years older than WSU's series with the Washington Huskies.

The two played the first-ever regular season basketball game in the newly-enclosed Kibbie Dome in January 1976, won by the Cougars.

[22] The rivalry was at its peak in December 1982 when 11,000 were in the same venue for a Saturday night overtime thriller, won by the Vandals.