Stanford (9-9, 2-4) entered Pullman 1-4 in conference play, and were playing without two of their top three scorers. Do-everything wing KZ Okpala was ruled out with back spasms, and Cormac Ryan was still on the bench in a boot. Luckily, they were playing Washington State.
The Cougars aren’t the worst team in the Pac-12; they beat Cal by 23 the other day. But they also dropped games to Seattle, Montana State, Santa Clara, San Diego, and New Mexico State (x2). Stanford must have also felt at home in front of their empty arena.
Washington State used hot shooting to jump out to an early eight point lead.