Stanford @ Washington St. preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 11, 2020 ) Washington St. 62, Stanford 88

Washington State hopes to have starting point guard Isaac Bonton back in the lineup Sunday when the Cougars host Stanford, which has won the last seven meetings between the teams. The Cougars have averaged just 54 points in two games without Bonton, who is battling a hip injury but could return to face the Cardinal.

Bonton is averaging 16.6 points and five assists in Pac-12 play for Washington State, which has fallen into 11th place in the conference standings after losing three in a row and six of its last eight games. The Cougars never led in Wednesday’s 66-57 loss to California and have shot 9-of-51 from 3-point range in their last two games without Bonton. “We are feeling down a little bit to be honest,” coach Kyle Smith told reporters. “I thought we would come home and have a little spark but our roles have changed without Isaac and sometimes you are just uneasy with each other in different roles. I try to do what I can to make it a little easier on them but it is a challenge.” The Cougars face another tough matchup against Stanford, which snapped a four-game losing streak with Thursday’s 72-64 victory over Washington.

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT STANFORD (17-9, 6-7 Pac-12): Oscar da Silva recorded 16 points and had nine rebounds in the win over Washington while point guard Tyrell Terry added 14 points to help the Cardinal move into seventh place in the Pac-12, 3 1/2 games behind conference leader Colorado with five games remaining. The 6-9, 225-pound da Silva, who leads the team in scoring (15.9) and rebounds (6.4), has averaged 15.5 points and seven boards in two games since missing one contest due to a head injury. Sophomore forward Jaiden Delaire has continues to impress off the bench and could see a larger role after averaging 11.2 points in his last four games.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE (14-13, 5-9): Sophomore forward CJ Elleby entered Wednesday’s game against Cal ranked third in the Pac-12 at 18.7 points per game but was held to 13 points on 4-of-18 shooting in the loss. One bright spot was the play of junior forward Tony Miller, who scored a career-high 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting and recorded two steals in 21 minutes off the bench. The Cougars have been dominated in the paint in the last two games and need more production from 6-9 forward Jeff Pollard, who recorded a combined six points and four rebounds.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Stanford shot 61 percent from the field and cruised to an 88-62 win over Washington State at Maples Pavilion on Jan. 11.

2. Elleby is 29 points away from reaching the 1,000-point mark for his career.

3. Terry made four 3-pointers and finished with 22 points, six rebounds and three assists in last month’s win over the Cougars.

PREDICTION: Stanford 73, Washington State 67