Huskies Fall to Utah but Hope Springs Eternal
By Ben Renner
Time is running out for the Huskies to make an impression on the Selection Committee after a loss to Utah Wednesday night, but after Oregon’s loss to Cal, there’s still hope.
The Huskies dropped their latest contest 90-82 to Utah in Salt Lake City Wednesday night due to a disappointing defensive effort. They blocked six shots and forced 16 turnovers, but they allowed too many easy transition baskets. They also allowed the Utes to dominate the paint with their seven-foot Viennese center Jakob Poeltl, who scored 23 points, nine in the final four minutes. He shot 11 of 12 (!) for the game. Overall, the Utes shot an astounding 67.3% from the field, the highest field goal percentage allowed by the Huskies since Arizona shot 65.3% against them in a game in 2007.
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Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar said after the game “defensively, we just weren’t very good at all. It was inexcusable, not acceptable.” Indeed, the Dawgs put forth a historically bad defensive effort, handing the Utes their fourth straight win at home and allowing them to push their record to 12-1 at home on the season. The Huskies wasted 24 points from Marquese Chriss and 22 from Andrew Andrews. They simply had no answer for Poeltl down the stretch.
We know about the Huskies and their up-tempo offense and the wretched defense that relies too much on trying to block shots and steal the basketball. We know they don’t shoot particularly well and start four freshmen and one senior. There are many reasons the Selection Committee could leave the Huskies out of their annual beauty contest for a seat at the March Madness table. However, with the Oregon Ducks losing badly to California last night, there’s reason for hope.
Next: Seven Games to Climb the Mountain
The Cal Bears stomped the Ducks in Berkeley last night 83-63 to remain unbeaten at home this season. The previously 11th-ranked Ducks dropped only their third Pac-12 game on the season. Despite their loss to Utah, the Huskies still trail the Ducks by only two games in the standings with one more meeting with Oregon in Eugene still on the schedule. UW still has a chance to beat a few more tough Pac-12 opponents, including home games against Cal and Stanford after concluding their current road trip in Colorado Saturday, before their showdown with Oregon on February 28th. This home stretch is when we’ll find out if the Huskies have what it takes to compete in March.