GAME: Washington State (11-17 overall, 2-13 Pac-12) at Washington (15-13 overall, 7-8, Pac-12). WHEN: Sunday, 12:30 p.m., Alaska Airlines Arena. TYPE: Conference. MEETING: 276th (Washington leads 175-100). STREAKS: UW W 1; Washington State L 8. RANKINGS: Neither school ranked. COACHES: Ken Bone, WSU; Lorenzo Romar. TV: Root Sports. RADIO: KJR 950 AM
Sunday’s 276th meeting between Washington and Washington State will showcase — or further expose — two of the most disappointing teams in the Pac-12 Conference. The Huskies haven’t won back-to-back games since mid-January and are, at best, an NIT bubble team. The Cougars have dropped eight in a row and are 2-13 in conference play, placing head coach Ken Bone’s job in some jeopardy.
Washington’s main problem recently has been its inability to convert 3-point shots. In their last eight contests, the Huskies are 21-for-102 (.206 percent). Leading scorer C.J. Wilcox, who normally thrives on the 3-pointer, is 8-for-43 (.186) while Andrew Andrews is 1-for-19 (.053) over that stretch.
Washington State, in the midst of its longest losing streak since 2002-03 when the Cougars dropped 14 in a row, is not as terrible as its record suggests. Nine of the Cougars’ 17 losses have come by seven points or less, including a two-point setback to then-No. 10 Gonzaga (Dec. 5) and a two-point overtime loss to then-No. 23 Oregon (Feb. 16). In addition, five of the losses have come by two points or less, including a pair of overtime defeats.
“When you look at their games,” Husky head coach Lorenzo Romar said, “they’re up in the second half and poised to win, but they just haven’t been able to finish. We lost seven of eight at one point (Jan. 19-Feb. 13) so I can certainly identify with them.”
Key matchup Sunday figures to be Washington’s Desmond Simmons vs. WSU’s Brock Motum, who leads the Cougars with 17.9 points per game and 6.2 rebounds. Motum has scored at least 11 points in all 28 games and is averaging 16.3 points in conference games.
The last time Motum saw Simmons, Motum had a hard time getting untracked offensively as Simmons denied him the ball. Motum scored just four points in the first half and 15 for the game. Motum’s lack of production enabled the Huskies to blow out to a 17-point lead.
“We’ll be more prepared this time if they are denying him the ball,” said Bone.
Washington State likely will be without the services of Mike Ladd, the team’s second-leading scorer at 11.4 points per game. Ladd, who scored 16 points against the Huskies Jan. 5, has missed the last four games with a knee injury. Bone lists Ladd as “extremely doubtful.”
Bone, a former Romar assistant, hasn’t had much luck against the Huskies. He’s just 2-9 overall and 2-6 vs. Washington as WSU’s head coach.
“Right now, any win would help salvage our season, anything right now would be sweet,” said Bone. “Playing at Washington is always a great environment and at times can be pretty hostile. But it’s always a competitive battle. Washington is coming off a great win at Arizona State and is playing good basketball right now. The UW offense is very versatile.”
Washington is 6-9 against the RPI Top 100, but 2-8 against the RPI Top 50 and 0-5 against AP ranked teams (WSU is ranked 181st in RPI). While the Huskies have two quality wins against RPI No. 22 Colorado and No. 45 Saint Louis, they also have four bad losses to RPI 166 Oregon State, 161 Utah, 125 Nevada, and 178 Albany.
Stat Sheet.com now ranks the Huskies as an NIT bubble team.
SERIES: Dates to Feb. 16, 1910, when Washington defeated Washington State 13-9 in Seattle. Washington is 100-35 at home against WSU, 73-62 away and 2-3 at neutral sites. The Huskies have won eight of the last 10 meetings, including four in a row. In the last meeting, Jan. 5, Andrew Andrews sank four consecutive free throws in the final 30 seconds as the Huskies recovered from blowing a 17-point lead for a 68-63 win. C.J. Wilcox led Washington with 18 points while Mike Ladd had 16 and Brock Motum 15 for the Cougars.
UW STATS / NOTES
- SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 15-13. Home: 9-6. Road: 5-6. Neutral: 1-1. Vs. Pac-12: 7-8. Vs. Pac-12 North: 4-3. Vs. Pac-12 South: 3-5. Vs. Non-Conference: 8-5. Points: 1898 (67.8). Field Goal Pct.: 43.5. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 33.0. Free Throw Pct.: 68.4. Rebounds: 1023 (36.5). Assists: 330 (11.8). Turnovers: 369 (13.2). Steals: 140 (5.0). Blocks: 114 (4.1). Points Against: 1867 (66.7). Opp. FG Pct.: 43.2. Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 33.8. Opp FT Pct.: 66.0. Opp. Rebounds: 911 (32.5). Opp. Assists: 345 (12.3). Opp. Turnovers: 343 (12.3). Opp. Steals: 171 (6.1). Opp. Blocks: 86 (3.1). Ratings Percentage Index (RPI): Ranked 76th (87th last week).
- PAC-12 RANKINGS: Scoring Offense — 8th (67.8). Scoring Defense — 9th (66.7). Scoring Margin — 10th (+1.1). FG Pct. — 9th (43.5). FT Pct. — 8th (68.4). 3-Pt FG Pct. — 10th (33.0). Rebound Margin — 4th (+4.0). Blocked Shots — 5th (4.1). Assists — 10th (11.8). Steals — 11th (5.0). Turnover Margin — 8th (-0.93).
- C.J. Wilcox (17.1) ranks 6th in Pac-12 scoring, Abdul Gaddy (11.3) 27th and Scott Suggs 30th at 11.0. Wilcox is T2 with 2.2 3-pointers per game 14th in 3-point percentage at 36.0.
- Wilcox is the 37th player in UW history to score 1,000 career points.
- Wilcox, who has scored 20+ points 12 times this season, was named Pac-12 Player of the Week Jan. 14 after scoring 19 and 27 points, respectively, in road wins over California and Stanford.
- Senior Aziz N’Diaye ranks 5th in rebounding at 9.5 per game. N’Diaye also ranks 1st in offensive rebounds (3.6) and 2nd (59.7) in field goal percentage. He leads the Pac-12 with 11 double-doubles.
- Washington’s 14-point halftime rally vs. Cal-State Fullerton was the team’s largest comeback at the half since Dec. 29, 2007 at LSU. The Huskies trailed 41-27 and won 74-66.
- Ex-Huskies have won four of the past eight NBA Slam Dunk titles. Terrence Ross won the 2013 event. Nate Robinson, the only three-time winner, won in 2006, 2009 and 2010.
UW HEAD COACH: Lorenzo Romar (326-213 overall, 233-123 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 | 28 | 42.7 | 36.0 | 79.1 | 4.4 | 2.0 | 17.1 |
| Abdul Gaddy | 28 | 44.6 | 34.4 | 65.9 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 11.3 |
| Scott Suggs | 25 | 39.4 | 36.2 | 88.0 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 11.2 |
| Aziz N’Diaye | 28 | 59.7 | 0.00 | 43.1 | 9.5 | 0.3 | 9.8 |
| Andrew Andrews | 25 | 35.2 | 20.3 | 76.7 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 7.9 |
| Shawn Kemp | 21 | 49.5 | 0.00 | 61.8 | 2.9 | 0.1 | 6.0 |
| Desmond Simmons | 28 | 37.3 | 40.0 | 73.8 | 6.7 | 1.0 | 5.1 |
| Jenard Jarreau | 25 | 41.8 | 0.00 | 72.0 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 3.0 |
| D. Overstreet | 3 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Hikeem Stewart | 16 | 23.1 | 0.00 | 66.7 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Martin Breunig | 9 | 2.50 | 0.00 | 50.0 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Q. Sterling | 3 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Total | 28 | 43.5 | 33.0 | 68.4 | 36.5 | 11.8 | 67.8 |
| Opponents | 28 | 43.2 | 33.8 | 66.0 | 32.5 | 12.3 | 66.7 |
WSU NOTES: Washington State ranks 12th in the conference in scoring offense (63.6), 4th in scoring defense (63.1), 11th in scoring margin (+0.5), 11th in field goal percentage (42.2), 10th in free throw percentage (67.0), 6th in 3-point percentage (34.5), 12th in rebounds (33.2), 12th in blocked shots (2.5) and 12th in steals (4.4) . . . Washington State, losers of eight straight, is coming off a 73-56 loss to Arizona. Brock Motum scored 20 points but missed six free throws . . . Motum moved into seventh place on WSU’s all-time career scoring list, passing Bennie Seltzer (1990-93). Motum has 1,433 career points and is 25 points away from Marcus Moore in sixth.
WSU HEAD COACH: After two straight postseason appearances, including the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 2010-11 and the championship round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) in 2011-12, Ken Bone is in his fourth season as head coach of the Cougars. Bone was named the 17th head coach in Cougar basketball history April 6, 2009. He spent the previous four years resurrecting the program at Portland State where he led the Vikings to NCAA Tournament appearances his final two seasons. Bone served as head coach at Seattle Pacific from 1990-02 and worked as a UW assistant from 2002-05.
COMING UP: The Huskies close out the regular season with games against USC Wednesday and UCLA Saturday. The Pac-12 tournament starts March 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
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. | — | — | W | 74-72 | 4-3 |
| 12/8/12 | vs. Nevada | — | — | L | 76-73 | 4-4 |
| 12/13/12 | at Seattle U. | — | — | W | 87-74 | 5-4 |
| 12/15/12 | vs. Jackson St. | — | — | W | 75-67 | 6-4 |
| 12/20/12 | vs. Cal Poly | — | — | W | 75-62 | 7-4 |
| 12/22/12 | vs. N. Illinois | — | — | W | 67-57 | 8-4 |
| 12/29/12 | at Connecticut | — | — | L | 61-53 | 8-5 |
| 1/5/13 | at WSU | — | — | W | 68-63 | 9-5 |
| 1/9/13 | at California | — | — | W | 62-47 | 10-5 |
| 1/12/13 | at Stanford | — | — | W | 65-60 | 11-5 |
| 1/16/13 | vs. Colorado | — | — | W | 65-54 | 12-5 |
| 1/19/13 | vs. Utah | — | — | L | 74-65 | 12-6 |
| 1/23/13 | at Oregon St. | — | — | L | 74-66 | 12-7 |
| 1/26/13 | at Oregon | — | 16 | L | 81-76 | 12-8 |
| 1/31/13 | vs. Arizona | — | 8 | L | 57-53 | 12-9 |
| 2/2/13 | vs. ASU | — | — | W | 96-92 | 13-9 |
| 2/7/13 | at UCLA | — | — | L | 59-57 | 13-10 |
| 2/10/13 | at USC | — | — | L | 71-60 | 13-11 |
| 2/13/13 | vs. Oregon | — | 23 | L | 65-52 | 13-12 |
| 2/16/13 | vs. Oregon St. | — | — | W | 72-62 | 14-12 |
| 2/20/13 | at Arizona | — | 12 | L | 70-52 | 14-13 |
| 2/23/13 | at ASU | — | — | W | 68-59 | 15-13 |
| 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
