GAME: Cal-State Fullerton (3-3 overall, 0-0 Big West) at Washington (3-3 overall, 0-0, Pac-12). WHEN: Sunday, 4 p.m., Alaska Airlines Arena. TYPE: Non-conference. MEETING: 2nd (Cal State leads 1-0). STREAKS: UW W 1; Cal-State L 1. RANKINGS: Neither ranked. COACHES: Andy Newman, Cal-State Fullerton; Lorenzo Romar, Washington. TV: Pac-12 Networks. RADIO: KJR 950 AM
In the absence of Scott Suggs and Shawn Kemp Jr., both injured, Lorenzo Romar’s Washington Huskies have struggled to a 3-3 start (two losses at home) and face the Cal-State Fullerton Titans, who rank No. 2 nationally in scoring offense (91.2 ppg), field-goal percentage (53.8) and 3-point percentage (47.3).
While Washington is 24-3 all-time against Big West Conference teams and has won 10 in a row against the California-based conference, the Huskies enter the game sporting the Pac-12’s lowest-ranked defense and practically no bench (UW reserves outscored 27-0 by Saint Louis in the last outing).
Seniors Kwame Vaughn (18.4) and D.J. Seeley, a transfer from Cal, (18.2) are the Titans’ leading scorers. Sammy Yeager (17.0) is the only other Cal-State player to average double figures. He also leads the Titans in rebounds, despite standing 6-foot-4.
The Titans are coming off a 79-75 loss to the Eastern Washington Eagles at Cheney. Brown had 22 points, but Fullerton shot just 28 percent in the second half. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak.
Washington’s C.J. Wilcox has scored 55 points in the last two games, a career-high 28 against Colorado State and 27 against Saint Louis in a game in which he made 11 of 13 shots.
Washington is in an eight-game stretch that includes seven contests at Alaska Airlines Arena and one at Key Arena (Dec. 13) vs. Seattle University.
SERIES: Dates to Dec. 19, 1986, when the Huskies, coached by Andy Russo, lost 75-55 to the Titans in Fullerton. In that game, the Titans forced the Huskies into 24 turnovers and won the rebound battle 32-26. The Titans are 7-34 against the current Pac-12 Conference alignment, including 0-1 this year after a 81-68 loss to Stanford to open the season Nov. 12. The Titans are 3-7 in their last 10 against current Pac-12 clubs.
UW STATS / NOTES
- SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 3-3. Home: 2-2. Road: 0-0. Neutral: 1-1. Vs. Pac-12: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 North: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 South: 0-0. Vs. Non-Conference: 3-3. Points: 418 (69.7). Field Goal Pct.: 48.3. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 42.4. Free Throw Pct.: 66.2. Rebounds: 195 (32.65). Assists: 61 (10.2). Turnovers: 77 (12.8). Steals: 19 (3.2). Blocks: 23 (3.8). Points Against: 410 (68.3). Opp. FG Pct.: 43.1. Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 38.7. Opp FT Pct.: 62.8. Opp. Rebounds: 196 (32.7) : Opp. Assists: 79 (13.2). Opp. Turnovers: 71 (11.8). Opp. Steals: 35 (5.8). Opp. Blocks: 22 (3.7). Ratings Percentage Index (RPI): Ranked 24th.
- PAC-12 RANKINGS: Scoring Offense — 9th (69.7). Scoring Defense — 12th (68.3). Scoring Margin –11th (+1.3). FG Pct. — 3rd (48.3). FT Pct. — 11th (66.2). 3-Pt FG Pct. — 2nd (42.4). Rebound Margin — 12th (-0.2). Blocked Shots — 10th (4.0). Assists — 11th (10.2). Steals — 12th (3.2). Turnover Margin — 8th (-1.00).
- C.J. Wilcox (19.5) ranks third in Pac-12 scoring and Abdul Gaddy is T10 at 14.8. Wilcox also makes 2.2 3-pointers per game, T6. Wilcox ranks fifth in 3-point percentage at 45.5.
- Senior Aziz N’Diaye ranks second in rebounding at 10.5 per game. N’Diaye, who also leads in offensive rebounds (3.5), is first in field-goal percentage (66.7) and ninth in blocked shots (1.5).
- Desmond Simmons ranks fourth in free-throw shooting at 88.2 percent.
UW HEAD COACH: Lorenzo Romar (315-204 overall, 222-116 UW) is coming off a year in which the Huskies won the Pac-12 regular-season title. Romar has taken the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament six times and won three Pac-10 Tournament titles (2005, 2010, 2011). Romar, who signed a 10-year contract extension in April 2011, won his his 200th game at Washington Dec. 16, 2011. He had his 300th career victory and his 100th as a conference coach on Jan. 21, 2012. Romar was selected the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the third time in his career.
Romar played for the Huskies under head coach Marv Harshman during the 1979-80 seasons (served as team captain his senior year), and had a five-year NBA career with Golden State (1981-84), Milwaukee (1984) and Detroit (1984-85). He became a college head coach at Pepperdine in 1997, where he coached for three seasons, then spent three years (1999-02) at St. Louis University before taking the Washington job in 2002-03.
2012-13 Washington Statistics
| Player | G | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.J. Wilcox | 6 | 52.3 | 45.5 | 83.3 | 3.7 | 1.0 | 19.5 |
| Abdul Gaddy | 6 | 47.8 | 43.5 | 65.2 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 14.8 |
| Aziz N’Diaye | 6 | 66.7 | 0.00 | 47.6 | 10.5 | 0.5 | 11.3 |
| Scott Suggs | 4 | 51.6 | 57.1 | 50.0 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 10.3 |
| Andrew Andrews | 6 | 22.2 | 16.7 | 73.3 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 6.0 |
| Desmond Simmons | 6 | 26.3 | 45.5 | 1.000 | 5.7 | 0.8 | 6.0 |
| Jernard Jarreau | 5 | 46.2 | 0.00 | 66.7 | 3.7 | 0.8 | 4.7 |
| Hikeem Stewart | 4 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.000 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Martin Breunig | 4 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 50.0 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Total | 6 | 48.3 | 42.4 | 66.2 | 32.5 | 10.2 | 69.7 |
| Opponents | 6 | 43.1 | 38.7 | 62.8 | 32.7 | 13.2 | 68.3 |
CAL STATE FULLERTON NOTES: The Titans defeated Southern Utah (112-69), Green Bay (93-82) and San Diego Christian (106-60) and lost to Stanford (81-68), Nevada (80-77) and Eastern Washington (79-75) . . . Fullerton’s 106 points against San Diego Christian College marked the second time this season that the Titans reached triple digits, and the fourth time in the last six seasons that they have accomplished that feat. Fullerton hadn’t scored 100 points in three games in a single season since the 2006-07 campaign when the Titans reached the century mark four times . . . In their win over Southern Utah, the Titans recorded 20 steals, most in a game since a 27-steal night against Lamar Nov. 24, 1989.
CAL STATE FULLERTON COACH: Andy Newman is in his first year as interim head coach of the Titans. Newman spent the past five seasons as associate head coach and has been with the school for nine years. Newman graduated from Azusa Pacific in 1998. Newman played for Azusa Pacific and for Southern Utah State.
COMING UP: The Huskies play the next two, including the University of Nevada next Saturday, at Alaska Airlines Arena before meeting Seattle University at KeyArena Dec. 13.
University of Washington 2012-13 Schedule
(Rankings From Associated Press)
| Date | Opponent | UW Rnk | Opp Rnk | W/L | Score | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/11/12 | @vs. W. Washington | — | — | W | 88-78 | 0-0 |
| 11/11/12 | *vs. Loyola-MD. | — | — | W | 85-63 | 1-0 |
| 11/13/12 | *vs. Albany | — | — | L | 63-62 | 1-1 |
| 11/17/12 | *vs. Seton Hall | — | — | W | 84-73 | 2-1 |
| 11/18/12 | *vs. Ohio St. | — | 4 | L | 77-66 | 2-2 |
| 11/24/12 | vs. Colo. St. | — | — | L | 73-55 | 2-3 |
| 11/28/12 | vs. Saint Louis | — | — | W | 66-61 | 3-3 |
| 12/2/12 | vs. Cal-Fuller. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/8/12 | vs. Nevada | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/13/12 | at Seattle U. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/15/12 | vs. Jackson St. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/20/12 | vs. Cal Poly | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/22/12 | vs. N. Illinois | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/29/12 | at Connecticut | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/5/13 | at WSU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/9/13 | at California | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/16/13 | vs. Colorado | — | 19 | — | — | — |
| 1/19/13 | vs. Utah | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/23/13 | at Oregon St. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/26/13 | at Oregon | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/31/13 | vs. Arizona | — | 9 | — | — | — |
| 2/2/13 | vs. ASU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/7/13 | at UCLA | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/10/13 | at USC | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/13/13 | vs. Oregon | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/16/13 | vs. Oregon St. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/20/13 | at Arizona | — | 9 | — | — | — |
| 2/23/13 | at ASU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/3/13 | vs. WSU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/6/13 | vs. USC | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/9/13 | vs. UCLA | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/13/13 | ^First Round | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/14/13 | ^Quarterfinal | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/15/13 | ^Semifinal | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/16/13 | ^Championship | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/19/13 | #1st Four | — | — | — | — | |
| 3/21/13 | #2nd-3rd Rnds. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/28/13 | #Regionals | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4/6/13 | #Final 4 Semi | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4/8/13 | #Final 4 Champ. | — | — | — | — | — |
@=Exhibition; *=Hall of Fame Classic; ^=Pac-12 Tournament; #=NCAA Tournament