Pac-12 announces men’s basketball weekly matchups

Washington State men’s basketball team will open the 2016-17 Pac-12 season at Washington, the Pac-12 Conference announced Tuesday, along with the weekly conference matchups and site designations.

The Cougars’ nonconference schedule is set and was released in May, while all of the weeks and locations for their conference opponents are set as well. The Pac-12 will announce the completed conference schedule in conjunction with the Pac-12 Networks following television selections by the networks. The completed schedule with dates, opponents and times is expected to be released in late August or early September.

The Cougars open up the Pac-12 season on the road for the third time in the last four years, taking on Washington at Seattle the week of Dec. 28 through Jan. 1. WSU’s 2016-17 Pac-12 home opener will take place the week of Jan. 4-8 as it hosts Oregon and Oregon State. That marks the only meeting of the season for WSU against the Oregon schools. The following week the Cougars take to the road once again for their lone meetings with California and Stanford in the Bay Area.

Washington State welcomes Colorado and Utah to town the week of Jan. 18-22, followed by a trip to Arizona to take on Arizona and Arizona State, Jan. 25-29. The Cougars will see the Los Angeles schools for the first time the week of Feb. 1-5 as they host UCLA and USC at Beasley Coliseum. The following week (Feb. 8-12), WSU takes on Colorado at Boulder and Utah at Salt Lake City.

WSU hosts three straight games beginning with Arizona and Arizona State the week of Feb. 15-19, before its regular season home finale against the Huskies the week of Feb. 22-26. The Cougars conclude the Pac-12 season at UCLA and USC the week of March 1-4, before the Pac-12 Tournament, March 8-11 at T-Mobile Arena at Las Vegas.

The Cougars open the season with a nonconference game at home against Montana State on Friday, Nov. 11.

Information: wsucougars.com

WSU men’s basketball team to embark on Italian tour

PULLMAN — The Washington State men’s basketball team will team up with Basketball Travelers, Inc. for a 10-day international tour of Italy, Aug. 4-14, coach Ernie Kent announced.

The Cougars will depart Pullman the morning of Thursday, Aug. 4 and arrive in Rome the morning of Friday, Aug. 5. The tour will take Washington State to several different cities, including Florence, Vatican City, Pisa, Tuscany, Venice, Vicenza and Como. The Cougars will fly back out of Milan, arriving in Pullman the night of Sunday, Aug. 14.

Washington State will play five games in Italy. The first game will take place against Dream Team Italy Select, Saturday, Aug. 6 at Rome. In the second game, the Cougars will face Tuscany Select, Aug. 9 at Tuscany. The third game is against Vicenza Select, Aug. 11 at Vicenza. That game is the first of three straight days with a game, as the Cougars face Italian Select, Aug. 12 at Como and BC Silute of Lithuania, Aug. 13 also at Como.

Along with the five games, Washington State is tentatively scheduled for activities such as a trip to Vatican City, a sightseeing tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum, a tour of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a trip to the U.S. Military Base at Vicenza and a sightseeing tour of Lake Como, which includes a stop at Bellagio.

The game scheduling and tour coordination is being handled by Basketball Travelers, Inc., a company established in 1985 by rising-senior Josh Hawkinson’s parents, Nels and Nancy Hawkinson. The organization arranges domestic and international basketball competition.

The NCAA allows teams to travel overseas for a summer tour once every four years. Washington State most recently toured Australia in August of 2012 and before that Australia and New Zealand in the June of 2007.