C.J. Wilcox is averaging 21.9 points per game, which ranks third in the Pac-12. The Huskies face Idaho State Saturday at Alaska Airlines Arena. / Drew Sellers, Sports Press Northwest

GAME: Idaho State (3-3 overall, 0-0 Big Sky) at Washington (4-4 overall, 0-0 Pac-12). WHEN: Sunday, 1 p.m., Alaska Airlines Arena. TYPE: Non-conference. MEETING: 5th (UW leads 4-0). RANKINGS: Neither school ranked. COACHES: Bill Evans, Idaho State; Lorenzo Romar, Washington. TV: Pac-12 Networks. RADIO: KJR 950 AM

Lorenzo Romar’s Washington Huskies have five non-conference games remaining before the Pac-12 schedule commences Jan. 2, including Idaho State Saturday. Unless they can play substantially better defense over the stretch than they did in their first eight, they will set a record for most preseason losses under Romar. The Huskies have four and the dubious mark is five with a road game at Tulane (Dec. 17) and a home date with No. 9 Connecticut (Dec. 22) looming.

After losing eight nonconference games in the three seasons spanning 2008-11, Washington dropped five in 2010-11 and five more in 2011-12, including jarring home setbacks to South Dakota State (Dec. 18, 2011), Albany (Nov. 13, 2012), Nevada (Dec. 8, 2012) and UC Irvine (Nov. 14).

Washington isn’t 4-4 this season for a lack of scoring points. The Huskies average 81.5 points, sixth in the conference. Oddly, UW is first in free throw percentage (77.0), but 11th in field goal percentage (42.6). UW allows 84.1, ranked 12th, and permits foes to shoot 50.8 percent, also 12th.

Washington has not allowed opponents to shoot better than 50 percent since 1999 when the Huskies allowed a school-record 51.1.

The Bengals are coming off a 74-66 loss at Utah Tuesday after leading by as many as 15 points is the first half. Thomas Sanchez led ISU with 19 points and five assists, Andre Hatchett had 15 points and eight rebounds and Chris Hansen 14 points. The Bengals shot 42.9 percent from the field, including 51.9 percent in the first half.

Sanchez leads Idaho State at 16.2 points and 4.7 assists per game. Sanchez is one of four Bengals who average in double figures, and Idaho State also has two players, Hatchett and Jeffrey Solarin, who average 7.0 or more rebounds.

Idaho State is unranked, but sports a 117 RPI to Washington’s 198, not a good differential for the struggling Huskies.

SERIES: Dates to Dec. 8, 1990, when Washington recorded a 98-77 victory in Seattle. The Huskies and Bengals last met Dec. 31, 2007, Washington winning 82-50 at Alaska Airlines Arena as Jon Brockman scored 21 points and collected 11 rebounds.

UW STATS / NOTES

• REGULAR-SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 4-4. Home: 4-1. Road: 0-1. Neutral: 0-2. Vs. Pac-12: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 North: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 South: 0-0. Vs. Non-Conference: 4-4. Points: 652 (81.5). Field Goal Pct.: 42.6 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 37.2. Free Throw Pct.: 77.0. Rebounds: 300 (37.5). Assists: 107 (13.4). Turnovers: 79 (9.9). Steals: 42 (5.3). Blocks: 31 (3.9). Points Against: 673 (84.1). Opp. FG Pct.: 50.8. Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 37.9. Opp FT Pct.: 62.6. Opp. Rebounds: 287 (35.9). Opp. Assists: 118 (14.8). Opp. Turnovers: 88 (11.0). Opp. Steals: 34 (4.3). Opp. Blocks: 45 (5.6).
  
• PAC-12 RANKINGS: Scoring Offense — 6th (81.5). Scoring Defense — 12th (84.1). Scoring Margin — 12th (-2.6). FG Pct. — 11th (42.6). FT Pct. — 1st (77.0). 3-Pt FG Pct. — 6th (37.2). Rebound Margin — 9th (+1.6). Blocked Shots — 8th (3.8). Assists — 11th (13.3). Steals — 10th (5.2). Turnover Margin — 4th (+1.35).
• RATINGS PERCENTAGE INDEX: Nov. 11 — 99; Nov. 18 — 96; Nov. 25 — 150; Dec. 2 — 218; Dec. 9 — 198.
• Over his last five games, junior transfer Mike Anderson is shooting 56.7 percent from the field (17-for-30), 50.0 percent from 3-point range (3-for-6) and 80.0 percent from the FT line (16-for-20).
• Washington is shooting 77.0 percent from the line, the best under Lorenzo Romar through the first eight games.
• The Huskies have had five players reach double figures in four of eight games (Seattle U., Eastern Washington, Indiana, Long Beach State).
• Freshman Nigel Williams-Goss, averaging 5.0 assists through eight outings, is on pace to break the UW freshman school assists record of 130 (Tony Wroten, 2012).
• Senior Perris Blackwell is nearly averaging a double-double with 12.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per outing. He’s posted two double-doubles in seven games.

UW HEAD COACH: Lorenzo Romar (334-221 overall, 241-133 UW) is coming off a year in which the Huskies finished 18-16  and ended with a loss to Brigham Young in the National Invitation Tournament. Romar has taken the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament six times and won three Pac-10 Tournament titles (2005, 2010, 2011).

2012-13 Washington Regular-Season Statistics

University of Washington 2013-14 Schedule

@=Exhibition; *=2K Sports Classic; ^=Pac-12 Tournament