John Bryan Friel was an American college basketball coach, the head coach of the Washington State Cougars for 30 seasons, from 1928 to 1958. He holds the school record for victories by a men's basketball coach with 495, and led Washington State to the NCAA tournament championship game in 1941. He was later the first commissioner of the Big Sky Conference.

The Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represents Washington State University and competes in the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12) of NCAA Division I. The Cougars play their home games on campus in Pullman at Beasley Coliseum, which has a capacity of 12,058. They are currently led by head coach David Riley.