Huskies on the Brink: Is the OSU Game a Must-Win?
By Ben Renner
The Huskies take on the Oregon State Beavers tonight in Corvallis. Is this game a must-win for the Dawgs to reach the Tournament?
The Huskies are just outside the bubble for a berth in the NCAA National Championship Tournament in March. Lorenzo Romar‘s young Dawgs started fast, but have slumped in recent weeks. They have two more tough road games before the Pac-12 Tournament in early March in Las Vegas against Oregon State and Oregon. Their game tonight against the Beavers could be a must-win for Washington.
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Things still have to fall the Huskies’ way for them to reach the tournament, but a road win against Gary Payton Jr. and the Beavers would go a long way in pulling them back out from the wilderness and give them a chance ahead of the tournament. As a Huskies fan, I never like to wait until the Pac-12 tournament for help when trying to get into the Big Dance. Crazy things can happen during a single elimination tournament involving teams that have been playing each other all season. Instead, the Huskies must sweep the Oregon schools to have a realistic chance heading into the Pac-12 tournament.
That’s a lot to ask, and there’s no telling if the Huskies can still pull off a tournament bid if they drop one of these two games. But they need at least a split to show the Selection Committee something before the end of the regular season. The Huskies have the misfortune of playing the God-awful Cougars for their last game of the season, meaning these two road games against the Oregon schools are their last chance to beat a good opponent before the tournament.
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This isn’t lost on Lorenzo Romar, Andrew Andrews, Dejounte Murray and the rest of the Huskies. Watch them closely tonight and watch a team playing for its postseason life.