Washington State vs Duquesne prediction: Washington State's rebuilt roster opens at Guinyard's Duquesne

A team that starts from zero

Washington State's roster played 0.1% of the program's minutes last season. Almost every number the Cougars posted in 2025-26, good or bad, belongs to players who are now somewhere else. So treat last season's 12-20 record as background, not a forecast.

The losses go deep in the shooting department. Ace Glass, who hit 36.4% from three, is at Vanderbilt. Eemeli Yalaho, a 39.8% shooter, is at NC State. That pair helped last season's team rank 31st in 3-point percentage.

The replacements were built for volume more than touch. Ronnie Harrison, the projected leading scorer, averaged 14.7 points at East Texas A&M on a 27% usage rate, meaning he finished more than a quarter of his team's possessions while on the floor. He made 29.6% of his threes there. Fraser Roxburgh, a 31-game starter at Manhattan, scored 11.0 a night. David Riley reshaped this roster through the portal, and opening night is the first honest test of the result.

Duquesne's one sure thing

The Dukes return 28.8% of last season's minutes, and most of that is Tarence Guinyard. He started all 32 games he played, averaged 16.6 points and 4.7 assists, and posted a 119.3 offensive rating, an estimate of points produced per 100 possessions he used. Nobody on either roster brings a better proven line into this game.

He needs help, because Jimmie Williams, a third-team all-conference pick, left for Ohio State. Dru Joyce III, now in his third year, added ten newcomers, six of them transfers. Josh Smith is the scorer to watch: 16.2 points at West Georgia on a 30.9% usage rate. Yoav Berman adds a second creator after handing out 3.6 assists per game at Queens. The league's coaches were not convinced by the mix, picking Duquesne 10th in the A-10.

Pressure against size

Last season's Duquesne defense lived on takeaways. It forced turnovers on 18.7% of opponent possessions, 91st nationally, and ranked 87th in steal rate. If Joyce keeps that approach, a Washington State group playing its first real game together is the kind of opponent pressure is designed to rattle.

The Cougars answer with length. Their minutes-weighted average height is 78.3 inches against Duquesne's 76.4, and the Dukes lost David Dixon, who blocked 1.6 shots a game. Harrison, Roxburgh and a frontcourt of transfer forwards can punish a smaller lineup on the glass and near the rim if they hold onto the ball long enough to get there.

One more Duquesne habit to watch: last season the Dukes ranked 282nd in opponent free throw rate, so a physical, foul-heavy game would cut into their home edge.

Health and home floor

Washington State's guard depth carries question marks. Pedro Sancho Moraga wore a boot for a foot injury and sat out practice as of Oct. 21, and he was already mentioned as a possible redshirt. Sebastian Akins, a Wake Forest transfer who averaged 5.3 points there last season, was limited in practice with an undisclosed injury on that same date. No newer update on either has surfaced. Jaylen Harrell logged 14 minutes with a knee issue in an exhibition loss to New Mexico.

Duquesne has no reported injuries. The Dukes open with five straight home games, their first such stretch in over 50 years, and this one comes in Pittsburgh.

What to watch - Guinyard's usage alongside Smith, two guards used to carrying an offense - Washington State's turnovers in the first ten minutes against Duquesne's pressure - Whether Akins and Moraga are available to share ball-handling duties - Cougar offensive rebounds with a height edge