The 1982–83 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represented

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

for the

1982–83 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 1982–83 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1982 and ended with the 1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Final Four in Albuquerque, New Mexico on April 4, 1983. The 1982–83 NC State Wolfpack men's baske ...

. Led by eleventh-year head coach

George Raveling George Henry Raveling (born June 27, 1937) is an American former college basketball player and coach. He played at Villanova University, and was the head coach at Washington State University the University of Iowa and the University of Southe ...

, the Cougars were members of the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

and played their home games on campus at

Beasley Coliseum Beasley Coliseum is a general-purpose indoor arena in the northwest United States, located on the campus of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. The home venue for the Cougars men's and women's basketball teams of the Pac-12 Confe ...

Pullman, Washington Pullman is the most populous city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 32,901 at the 2020 census, and estimated to be 32,508 in 2022. Originally founded as ...

. The Cougars were overall in the regular season and in conference play; runner-up to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, who they split with in the season series. There was no conference tournament this season; it debuted four years later. They had a chance to tie the Bruins for the title, but lost by a point to rival

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

to end the regular season. After missing it the previous two seasons, WSU was invited to the 52-team NCAA tournament and were seeded eighth in the West region; they met ninth-seed Weber State, the Big Sky champion, in the first round in

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

. WSU's only two non-conference losses were to Big Sky teams, neighbor

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

and

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, on the road in December. The Cougars defeated Weber by ten points. The next opponent was the top seed in the West, #4

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

with center

Ralph Sampson Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A phenom, three-time college national player of the year, and first overall selec ...

, who had a first-round bye. stayed with the Cavaliers, but lost by five points. Washington State's 23–7 record was their best in 42 years, since the national runner-up team of 1941 went Raveling was the Pac-10 coach of the year and the national runner-up for AP coach of the year. In early April, he left Pullman to succeed Lute Olsen at

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

; assistant Len Stevens was quickly promoted to A third-round selection the

1983 NBA draft The 1983 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1983, in New York City. A total of 226 players were selected over 10 rounds by the league's 23 teams. The first overall pick of this draft was 7’4” center Ralph Sampson, predicted as an NBA supersta ...

, senior guard/forward

Craig Ehlo Joel Craig Ehlo (; born August 11, 1961) is an American former basketball player. He played fifteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with four teams, amassing career totals of 7,492 points, 2,456 assist (basketball), assists a ...

had a fourteen-year career in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. WSU's next NCAA appearance was eleven years away in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, under head coach

Kelvin Sampson Kelvin Dale Sampson (born October 5, 1955) is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach for the University of Houston of the Big 12 Conference. Early life Sampson was born in Laurinburg, North Carolina, to parents who were m ...

. The court surface at Beasley Coliseum was

tartan Tartan or plaid ( ) is a patterned cloth consisting of crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming repeating symmetrical patterns known as ''setts''. Originating in woven wool, tartan is most strongly associated wi ...

(

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) is a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethane term ...

) for its first decade and this was its final season; a traditional hardwood floor debuted at the start of the next season.

Postseason results

, - !colspan=6 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=6 style=, NCAA Tournament

References

External links

Sports Reference
– Washington State Cougars: 1982–83 basketball season {{DEFAULTSORT:1982-83 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team Washington State Cougars men's basketball seasons

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...