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The Stanford men's basketball team will be battling for survival in the Pac-12 Conference when it opens a three-game homestand starting Wednesday against Washington State.

The Cardinal is coming off losses at USC and UCLA and can't afford any slip ups against the Cougars. Stanford will host Washington on Saturday.

Tipoff for the Cougars will be 7 p.m., on the Pac-12 Networks, with the Huskies' game set for 8 p.m.

The Cardinal protected its home court last year during Pac-12 competition, chalking up a 7-2 record.

Stanford (0-2, 9-6) leads the all-time series with WSU, 69-59, and six of the past 10 meetings overall but the Cougars won the previous meeting, 81-69, last season. The teams began playing each other in 1916.

Washington State (0-1, 9-5) will be playing only its second true road game of the year. The Cougars lost at Pepperdine in overtime back on Nov. 16, but have won seven of their last 10 games overall, with the only losses coming to Washington, Gonzaga and Texas A&M.

The Cougars were picked 10th in the Pac-12 preseason media poll after finishing tied for eighth last year at 7-11. WSU is averaging 63.9 points, 35.8 rebounds and shooting 43.9 percent overall. The Cougars boast the Pac-12's best defense, allowing only 56.1 points per game.

The matchups have been competitive, with 11 of the last 15 games decided by 10 points or less. The Cougars won the most recent matchup at Maples Pavilion, 61-58 in 2011.

In three career games, Dwight Powell has been effective against Washington State, averaging 10.0 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 12-23 (52.1 percent) from the field. Chasson Randle poured in 15 points last year in his debut against Washington State, with all five buckets coming from beyond the arc. Aaron Bright will look to improve upon a 4-24 (16.7 percent) shooting mark in three career games.

Historically, playing at home is a good thing for Stanford, which won a school-record 17 home games last year. Stanford has won its past three conference openers at home, including a 60-59 victory over UCLA last year. The Cardinal has not lost a conference opener at home since the 2009 campaign.

In its last game, Stanford limited UCLA to 12 points under its season average and 41.2 percent shooting. However, the Cardinal scored a season-low 60 points and shot 34.4 percent overall in a 68-60 loss to the Bruins on Saturday.

Powell notched his third double-double of the year, matching a career high with 13 rebounds to go along with 17 points (5-10 FG, 6-9 FT) in a season-best 38 minutes. Randle's 17 points were his most since a 21-point outing against Northern Iowa back on Nov. 23.

Stanford entered the UCLA game shooting 72.8 percent from the foul line, but converted only 9-of-16 from the charity stripe compared to UCLA's 23-for-33 clip.

Stanford, however, has demonstrated the ability to bounce back after a tough defeat over the past two seasons, posting a combined 11-5 record (3-2 this year, 8-3 last year) in games following a loss.

In other hoop news:

Pinewood grad Solomone Wolfgramm, an East Palo Alto resident and freshman at BYU-Hawaii, scored four points and grabbed six rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench in a 107-70 victory over visiting Academy of Art on Monday in Laie, Hawaii. BYU-Hawaii is off to a 4-0 start in the Pacific West Conference and is 7-5 overall.

Wolfgramm, a 6-foot-4, 235-pounder, led Pinewood to a 27-3 record last season by averaging 14 points, nine rebounds and 2.5 assists as the Panthers won the Central Coast Section Division V title and reached the NorCal semifinals.

— Palo Alto Online Sports

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