The WSU men’s basketball team will travel to the Bay Area to compete against Stanford University tonight at the Maple Pavilion.

The Cougs are currently (2-1) in Pac-12 play, doubling their conference win total from the 2015 season. In the past five games, the Cougs have had a four-game winning streak, which ended after a loss to the University of Oregon on Saturday.

“When we had our energy, we matched them and even at times outplayed them for the first 30 minutes,” said Head Coach Ernie Kent in an interview with WSU Athletic Communications. “The last 10 minutes of the game, when we lost our energy, we lost rotation and they made us pay.”

Even though the Cougs took the loss in their last game against Oregon, Kent is still happy with the way the team has been performing recently. He believes that winning four out of five of the most recent games built confidence and momentum for the team.

“I’m really happy with not only winning the games, but how we’ve won the games,” Kent said. “For us to do the job defensively for 30 minutes against a team the caliber of Oregon, before they start to get away from us and shoot the ball extremely well, it’s impressive.”

Kent expects freshman guard Malachi Flynn to be a major key to success for the Cougs basketball squad. Kent described Flynn as someone who understands the point guard position well and has a good sense of how to finish games.

During Flynn’s transition from high school ball to college ball, his only instructions from Kent were to become stronger and learn the defensive principles of Cougar basketball. As a result, Flynn’s transition has been “very easy,” Kent said.

“Flynn has handled himself extremely well for a freshman,” Kent said via WSU Athletic Communication. “He’s such a worker; we literally have to sit on him to make him take some time off.”

In the upcoming match against Stanford, Kent will be cautious of the team’s lineup despite its losing streak. The Cardinals are caught in a four-game losing streak, with three of the losses against ranked teams: No. 4 UCLA, No.18 Arizona and No.25 USC.

“Stanford needs a victory so bad, we’re going to get a different Stanford team than some of the other teams that have had a chance to beat them,” Kent said. “There are things we’re going to have to pay attention to. They play hard and they’re going to present some problems for us.”

Kent said he plans to give the team some well-deserved rest. Kent said it’s not a matter of condition it’s just that the team is a bit worn out. Energy is a big factor for the team, and that’s how they’ll get it.

Since the Cougs will be travelling to the Bay Area, there will be some special support from the region.

“A lot of these guys have family members that are coming to the game, that’s going to be huge for us,” Kent said via WSU Athletic Communication. “We’re also going to reach out to Klay Thompson today. We don’t know his schedule, but if he’s around, I’m sure he will come to the game. He’s been real good in being supportive of us.”

WSU will take on Stanford at 8 p.m. tonight. The game can be viewed on the Pac-12 Network.