SEATTLE – Ernie Kent did something that Mike Hopkins and the Washington Huskies men’s basketball team couldn’t do this season.

Beat both Arizona and Arizona State on the road. Washington State ended its five-game losing streak with a convincing 91-70 win in Tempe over the Sun Devils last Thursday. The Cougars followed up the result with a 69-55 victory over the Wildcats on Saturday for just the third Pac-12 Conference victory on the 2018-19 season.

Kent, now in his fifth season as head coach of the WSU men’s basketball program, has the team 10-14 overall and 3-8 in conference with all but two victories coming at Beasley Coliseum.

The last home win for the Cougars came on Jan. 17, an 82-59 result against California, the only other Pac-12 victory this season outside of last weekends sweep in the desert. WSU lost by nearly the same final score to UW back on Jan. 5 at Alaska Airlines Arena, an 85-67 win for the Huskies.

No matter how you look at the men’s hoops outlook overall, this Saturday’s meeting between the two Evergreen State schools could make or break how the 18-19 season concludes for the Cougs.

WSU athletic director Pat Chun watched Kent and the Cougars fork the Sun Devils last Thursday on his phone while attending the 84th MTRWestern Seattle Sport Star of the Year award ceremony in Seattle.

Two players represented the university; junior women’s soccer forward Morgan Weaver and WSU quarterback Gardner Minshew II, who was named the Male Sport Start of the Year over UW linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett and several other candidates.

Weaver was nominated for female sports star of the year, which was given to Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird.

Chun, hired last January to replace former AD Bill Moos after his abrupt departure to become the AD at Nebraska in October 2017, voiced his confidence for Kent while noting the importance for a strong finish this season.

“The talks with coach Kent have been nothing but positive. He wants to win,” Chun said. “He knows what his responsibilities are. He has done a wonderful job, in terms of building a culture in that program. Trying to get the right student-athletes to be a part of that program. He knows we have to perform better on the court.

“We just have to get some momentum going in our favor. The good thing for us it’s still early February. The most important part of the season is coming up. We got to play our best basketball in March and we’ll see what happens.”

Leading ASU 69-46 in the second half, Chun enjoyed watching winning WSU men’s basketball. But as the game concluded, the WSU AD added that the most important thing for Kent and the program is to make sure the back-to-back victories against the Arizona schools weren’t a fluke.

“We have to… my focus is on Arizona State and Arizona,” Chun said, when asked directly if Ernie Kent will return as the head coach for the 2019-20 season.

“The good thing is coach Kent and I we’ve had great communication. He’s been very, very easy to work with. He’s got a plan. He’s committed to that plan. The hope is we continue to make progress and, like I said, my focus is on Arizona State. At least with 6:49 and you can update this at the end, hopefully this is a positive sign.”

With Weaver and Minshew representing two of the schools’ athletic programs, both ranked in the top 25 for their respective sports this past season, there is evidence that WSU can produce a winner.

Much like the investments made to renovate Lower Soccer Field, where the Cougars play their home soccer matches, and the bevy of changes to Martin Stadium since Leach arrived before the 2012 season, Chun noted that men’s basketball also can’t be ignored.

However, with the university on the hook for $5.6 million to Kent for the next four years before the 2018-19 season began, the results have to come first. That said, Chun acknowledged that the athletic department is considering “holistic” changes with regards to the atmosphere inside Beasley.

“Our students do make a difference. I know in basketball is what you’re talking about, we have to give them a reason to come,” Chun said. “We’re taking a holistic look at everything we’re doing at basketball anyways from a game atmosphere.

“But we have to get students to come out. We should have a home court advantage at Beasley because of the type of students we have. So we’re working towards trying to figure out better ways to incentivize them to come out.”

On Sunday, WSU president Kirk Schulz voiced his support on social media for students to come out and support the upcoming men’s and women’s hoops games at Beasley.