In spite of the poor start in Pac-12 play (0-3) by the Washington State men’s basketball team, WSU athletic director Pat Chun remains optimistic coach Ernie Kent and his players can change the narrative of the 2018-19 season.

The Cougars carry a six-game losing streak into Thursday night’s must-win home game against struggling California (7 p.m., Pac-12 Network). The two teams are a combined 0-7 in the Pac-12 and the loser is guaranteed the label of being the lone winless team in the conference.

WSU, 7-0 at Beasley Coliseum this season against mid-tier nonconference competition, dropped its first three Pac-12 games – all on the road – by a combined 68 points, with the closest loss being 18 points (UW and Utah).

Nonetheless, mainly citing the calendar (15 regular season games remaining + Pac-12 Tournament) and absence of leading scorer and rebounder Robert Franks (22.1 ppg + 7.9 rpg) from the last four games with a painful hip injury, Chun maintained Tuesday plenty of time is left for a turnaround.

“It’s January 15th”, Chun told host Derek Deis on the weekly ‘Cougs in 60’ program. “There is a lot of Pac-12 basketball left to play. We haven’t been healthy. I know every team battles injuries, but there is a lot of season left. I have a lot of belief in that locker room. It’s a quality group of young men Ernie has put together, and a quality coaching staff.

“We have to make our own breaks. When you lose one of the best players in the Pac-12 (Franks), it’s going to have an impact. We have to get healthy and we have to go on a stretch where all our guys are available. First, we have to make sure all our guys are available, then we’ll see how good we’re supposed to be this year.”

Kent is 11-46 against Pac-12 opponents over the last four seasons, 4-17 in the last two. Four of WSU’s next six games are at home, where the Cougars are averaging 1,987 fans per contest, including the game in Spokane against Santa Clara.

“The meat of our season is coming up, and the Pac-12 season is here, but there are a lot of games left on that calendar to figure out who we’re supposed to be and be as good as we’re supposed to be,” Chun said. “We have two tests in Pullman this week. We have to be up for both those games. We have played well at home. Cal on Thursday night is our next best chance to show who we really are.”

Besides Franks, Isiah Wade missed three games in late November and early December with an injury but now appears to be rounding back into his early season form. Wade scored 12 points (second straight game scoring in double figures) and grabbed seven rebounds in last Saturday’s 88-70 loss at Utah.

“Isaiah has a different persona when he’s on the court,” Chun said. “He gives us a presence in the post. I don’t know if its maturity or confidence, but whatever it is he rolls up his sleeves and gets to work. He’s a tone-setter on the court. Getting him to full strength and getting Viont’e Daniels (missed 4 games) back and Robo (Franks) back, those are three huge cogs in our basketball program.”

Will Thursday night see WSU pick up a much-needed – and potentially confidence boosting - conference win and mark the beginning of an upward trajectory over the final 15 regular season games? Chun is hopeful.

“I’ve always been really optimistic about this year,” Chun said. “Unlike a lot of people, I get to see what’s going on behind the scenes. This a very talented team, but we have to play up to our talent and we have to get healthy.

"Hopefully, things start going in our direction on Thursday.”