Washington hasn’t had much recent success against No. 7 Gonzaga.
The Huskies lead the all-time series between the schools 30-19. They have lost seven in a row and 14 of their past 15 games, however, since Mark Few took over as the Bulldogs’ coach in 1999.
But there’s some optimism in Washington’s camp heading into Saturday night’s showdown of cross-state rivals in Seattle.
The Huskies (5-3) have lost to teams who entered this weekend 23-2 in unbeaten Nevada (83-76 on Nov. 12), No. 25 San Diego State (100-97 in OT on Nov. 19) and No. 13 Colorado State (86-81 last Saturday).
Washington missed a late free throw that would’ve beaten San Diego State in regulation. The Huskies had a seven-point lead against Colorado State midway through the second half last Saturday in the Legends of Basketball Las Vegas Invitational.
“We were able to go back and forth like a heavyweight fight,” Washington coach Mike Hopkins said after Saturday’s loss. “We’ve been in a few of these late in the game. We’re close, but close only counts in hand grenades and horseshoes. At the end of the day, we have to rebound better and defend better at the end.”
The Huskies are led by a pair of transfers from Kentucky in forward Keion Brooks Jr. and guard Sahvir Wheeler. Brooks, in his second season at Washington, is averaging a team-high 20.3 points and 7.9 rebounds and newcomer Wheeler adds 16.1 points and 6.9 assists per game.
“We’re a little disappointed in ourselves,” said Wheeler, who had 13 points, 12 assists and zero turnovers against the Rams. “We had a lead, we’re playing well and if you look at it across the board statistically — 21 assists, only 10 turnovers, six blocks, six steals, lost the rebounding by two — that’s the kind of stuff you think you’re going to win the game.
“We know we’re so close. We just have to learn how to get some key stops in key moments, continue to execute on offense. We’re getting the shots we want, the guys we want shooting are shooting. We just have to close the game and hopefully at some point we’ll get over that hump and win a couple games in a row.”
As evidenced by the point totals they’ve allowed in their losses, the Huskies are still transitioning from the 2-3 zone Hopkins brought with him after years as an assistant at Syracuse to a man-to-man defense.
“We’ve got the pieces,” Hopkins said. “We’re still learning each other. It’s a couple plays here, a couple plays there, that’s how fine that line is. We’ve played a really good schedule against really good teams.
“I told these guys, ‘We’re this close.’ We’re a really good team and it’s going to click because these guys work, they’re high-character kids, they’re together and they want to win. I’m just proud to coach them, and I know what we’re going to do.”
The Bulldogs (7-1) have won five in a row since a 73-63 defeat to then-No. 4 Purdue at the Maui Invitational on Nov. 20.
They defeated visiting Arkansas-Pine Bluff 111-71 Tuesday in Spokane, Wash., as Wyoming transfer Graham Ike had 17 points and nine rebounds in just 17 minutes of action.
The result was unsurprising considering the Golden Lions entered the game ranked No. 361 of 362 NCAA Division I teams in scoring defense.
The Bulldogs raced to a 32-4 lead, forcing APB to miss its first 18 shots from the field.
“Obviously, every coach wants to get out to a good start, but I thought they did a good job of just playing the game the right way and being focused and not looking ahead to the UW game,” Few said. “That was just a really, really mature approach by the whole team. Just real businesslike.”
–Field Level Media