The Washington men’s basketball team could not have thought at the beginning of the season that 16 games in, it would be looking up at cross-state rival No. 23 Washington State.

However, the Huskies (11-6 overall, 1-5 Pac-10) find themselves in that very predicament going into Saturday’s game against WSU (15-3 overall, 4-2 Pac-10).

When they do travel to Pullman this weekend, the Huskies will be trying to end a season-long winless streak on the road. To do so, they will have to beat one of the most vastly improved teams in the nation.

“They’re very disciplined defensively,” said coach Lorenzo Romar. “They keep their opponent in front of them and they help each other. They rarely turn the ball over and they usually get a shot at the basket.”

That, in a nutshell, is Cougar basketball under the Bennett Regime. For two years head coach Dick Bennett has instilled the slow-moving offensive scheme and a ferociously tight defense.

Last year, it resulted in two wins over an eventual Sweet 16 Husky team.

Now under Tony Bennett — the son of Dick — WSU has gotten off to one of its best starts in team history, and if anything has changed, it is that the new coach has loosened the reins on his offense.

“They’re looking great,” said sophomore Jon Brockman. “Every game they’re impressing more and more people. With two losses last year, [the returning players] and even the freshmen realize that this is a big game for us.”

A year ago, Washington was the victim of the meticulous Cougar offense and failed to get into an offensive flow with the defensive length of their guards.

To avoid the same fate this year, the Huskies will have to take advantage of their inside presence to keep Washington State from stifling the outside games of Ryan Appleby and Phil Nelson.

The Cougars used sophomore Aron Baynes a year ago to clog the middle. However, this year he has seen his minutes diminish rapidly, to the point where the team rarely uses a true post player in their rotation.

The Huskies realize that they will have to finish a game well in order to get wins on the road. According to guard Justin Dentmon, they have to “play to win,” rather than “play not to lose.”

Washington’s road woes have not been a matter of being overmatched. Instead, Romar has been pleased with the resiliency his team has shown in its numerous close losses. But to help the Huskies’ chances of making the NCAA tournament, they will have to start winning on the road.

“You have to learn how to win on the road,” he said. “That’s the bottom line. You have to go through it. It’s the little things you have to learn to get it done.”

Starting against a ranked WSU team could help the Huskies’ cause. With just five road games remaining after Saturday, must-win is a term that Romar and some of his players were willing to use.

“We definitely need a jump start,” said center Spencer Hawes. “We had five of our first seven games on the road, and you need to get wins on the road.”

Reach reporter Justin Chartrey at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.