UW Loses to Colorado 81-80: Are the Huskies Finished?
By Ben Renner
After dropping a heartbreaker to Colorado in Boulder 81-80 this weekend, are the Huskies out of postseason contention?
No disrespect to the NIT, but a berth there would be a disappointment for this Huskies team. Despite starting four freshmen, the Huskies, led by their senior guard and scorer extraordinaire Andrew Andrews, were expected to at least contend for a March Madness run this year after starting conference play at the top of the standings. Alas, after an 81-80 loss to Colorado on Saturday, those hopes are fading fast.
The Huskies’ latest loss drops them to 7-6 in Pac-12 play and into a pack (pun intended) of teams fighting for scraps as the conference tournament and the last chance to prove themselves worthy of competing for a National Championship approaches. Heading into the game against Colorado on Saturday, the Huskies had a golden opportunity to make some headway in the standings. The previous leaders of the Pac-12, the Oregon Ducks, inexplicably dropped a game to Stanford (currently in 10th place with the win) giving the Huskies a chance to pull within one game of them and Arizona at the top of the standings.
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The Buffaloes even did their best to give the Huskies the win. Up 81-78 with less than a minute to play, Colorado freshman guard Thomas Akyazili intentionally bumped Marquese Chriss when they were both out of bounds after a dead ball. Akyazili was called for a technical foul, allowing Andrews to sink both free throws and pull the Huskies to within one. On the ensuing possession, which UW retained because of Akyazili’s idiotic technical, Dejounte Murray missed a runner in the lane. The Huskies got a stop and one more chance, but Andrews’ step-back jumper rattled the back iron and fell out.
After the game, Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar said of his team’s chances to play in the National Tournament: “We’re not out of it by any stretch of the imagination, but we’re up against it now.” It’s true that the Dawgs aren’t out of it. There’s still a month to go before Selection Sunday and many things can happen, but they can’t keep giving up 20 offensive boards to teams, like the Buffaloes collected on Saturday, and expect to climb over their Pac-12 rivals before the end of the season. They may have cost themselves a shot already.
The Huskies return home to play California on Thursday.