Ricky Council IV scored a career-high 31 points on 16-of-20 free throw shooting in Wednesday's 84-79 victory over UCF.
The defending champs were 0-4 in league play prior to the win, which was their first in 35 days.
COVID-19 has made it tough for the Shockers to find much of a rhythm. The Dec. 29 opener at ECU was called off after a pause within the ECU program. WSU was without key players in close home losses to Tulane (67-68) and Cincinnati (57-61) and postponed subsequent road games at Temple (Jan. 19) and SMU (Jan. 23). The latter was rescheduled for next Thursday.
Makeup games will make for a brutal February. WSU plays three times in five days next week, beginning Tuesday against Tulsa. They'll face SMU back-to-back, Thursday in Dallas and Saturday in Wichita.
WSU won the first six series meetings against Tulane before losing Jan. 12 in Wichita, 68-67. Council finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds, but his buzzer-beating layup was negated by a charging call.