GAME: Connecticut (9-1 overall, 0-0 American Athletic) at Washington (6-4 overall, 0-0 Pac-12). WHEN: Sunday, 12:30 p.m., Alaska Airlines Arena. TYPE: Non-conference. MEETING: 4th (UConn leads 3-0). RANKINGS: UConn 10 AP, 10 USA Today/Coaches. COACHES: Kevin Ollie, Connecticut; Lorenzo Romar, Washington. TV: ESPNU. RADIO: KJR 950 AM
The Washington Huskies play the marquee game on their non-conference schedule Sunday when they entertain the No. 10 Connecticut Huskies at Alaska Airlines Arena. Unfortunately for them, the game coincides with the Seahawks game, which will be no help in drawing fans, who have been relatively scarce at Hec Ed this season.
UConn, one of college basketball’s great programs over the past two decades, makes its first appearance in Seattle and fourth overall against Washington.The UW Huskies are coming off a 73-62 victory over Tulane in New Orleans and have played their best basketball of the season over their last three outings, allowing 70 or fewer points in each after yielding an average of 84 in their first seven.
But San Diego State, Idaho State and Tulane are hardly in the same class as UConn, which has an RPI of 24 to Washington’s 198.
Connecticut won its first nine contests before dropping a 53-51 decision to Stanford Wednesday in Hartford, CT. DeAndre Daniels had 15 points for UConn, which went 6-for-10 behind the arc in the first half and 0-for-12 in the second half.
Shabazz Napier leads Connecticut with a 15.0 scoring average while Daniels is at 13.9 and Ryan Boatright at 11.5. Napier also leads in rebounding at 6.8 per game.
Connecticut is 17-3 against Pac-12 teams and won 13 in a row (before losing to Stanford) since falling to UCLA in the 1995 NCAA West Regional championship game.
The Eastern Huskies are coached by Kevin Ollie, who appeared in 29 games for the Seattle SuperSonics after they acquired him in a 2003 trade that sent Gary Payton to the Milwaukee Bucks. Ollie, a UConn graduate, succeeded Jim Calhoun as coach of the Huskies prior to the 2012 season.
SERIES: Dates to March 19, 1998, when UConn defeated Washington 75-74 at the NCAA East Regionals in Greensboro, NC. Connecticut, then ranked No. 1, also defeated Washington 69-48 Dec. 1, 1998 at the Great Eight in Chicago. The teams last met March 24, 2006 in the Sweet Sixteen at Washington D.C., UConn winning 98-92 in overtime. Jamaal Williams came off the bench for Washington to score 27 points, but UW couldn’t hold a 10-point lead with 15 minutes to play.
UW STATS / NOTES
- REGULAR-SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 6-4. Home: 5-1. Road: 1-1. Neutral: 0-2. Vs. Pac-12: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 North: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 South: 0-0. Vs. Non-Conference: 6-4. Points: 810 (81.0). Field Goal Pct.: 44.2. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 38.0. Free Throw Pct.: 77.6. Rebounds: 368 (36.8). Assists: 138 (13.8). Turnovers: 110 (11.0). Steals: 56 (5.6). Blocks: 41 (4.1). Points Against: 801 (80.1). Opp. FG Pct.: 49.3. Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 33.7. Opp FT Pct.: 64.5. Opp. Rebounds: 335 (33.5). Opp. Assists: 138 (13.8). Opp. Turnovers: 114 (11.4). Opp. Steals: 47 (4.7). Opp. Blocks: 47 (4.7).
- PAC-12 RANKINGS: Scoring Offense — 5th (81.0). Scoring Defense — 12th (80.1). Scoring Margin — 12th (+0.9). FG Pct. — 11th (44.2). FT Pct. — 1st (77.6). 3-Pt FG Pct. — 5th (38.0). Rebound Margin — 9th (+3.3). Blocked Shots — 8th (4.1). Assists — 10th (13.8). Steals — 8th (5.6). Turnover Margin — 6th (+0.4).
- RATINGS PERCENTAGE INDEX: Nov. 11 — 99; Nov. 18 — 96; Nov. 25 — 150; Dec. 2 — 218; Dec. 9 — 198; Dec. 15 — 198.
- Washington is shooting 77.6 percent from the line, best under Lorenzo Romar through the first 10 games.
- In Washington’s 73-62 victory over Tulane, C.J. Wilcox scored 15 points to become the fourth player under Lorenzo Romar to exceed 1,500 career points. Wilcox now has 1,502, two behind Louie Nelson (1971-73) for 10th all-time in UW annals.
- Wilcox ranks third in the conference in scoring at 20.9, second in free throw percentage at 88.2 and second in 3-pointers made per game at 3.2.
- Huskies are 6-5 against top-10 opponents under Romar and hold a 30-49 all-time mark against top-10 teams.
- Nigel Williams-Goss has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.3, second best in the Pac-12 by a freshman.
- At least four Huskies have scored in double figures in seven of Washington’s 10 games.
UW HEAD COACH: Lorenzo Romar (336-221 overall, 243-133 UW) is coming off a year in which the Huskies finished 18-16 and ended with a loss to Brigham Young in the National Invitation Tournament. Romar has taken the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament six times and won three Pac-10 Tournament titles (2005, 2010, 2011).
2012-13 Washington Regular-Season Statistics
| Player | G | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.J. Wilcox | 10 | .446 | .427 | .882 | 4.1 | 2.8 | 20.9 |
| N.W.-Goss | 10 | .454 | .368 | .706 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 12.9 |
| P. Blackwell | 9 | .549 | .000 | .722 | 8.0 | 0.6 | 12.9 |
| A. Andrews | 10 | .376 | .371 | .750 | 4.4 | 2.5 | 12.5 |
| M. Anderson | 10 | .521 | .500 | .750 | 7.1 | 2.1 | 9.2 |
| D. Johnson | 10 | .333 | .233 | .875 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 8.5 |
| Shawn Kemp | 10 | .533 | .000 | .600 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 3.8 |
| J. Taylor | 6 | .429 | .667 | 1.000 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.7 |
| H. Stewart | 5 | .333 | .200 | .000 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| J. Jarreau | 1 | .000 | .000 | .500 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Q. Sterling | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| C. Smith | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| G. Dierckx | 8 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Total | 10 | .442 | .380 | .776 | 36.8 | 13.8 | 81.0 |
| Opponents | 10 | .493 | .337 | .645 | 33.5 | 13.8 | 80.1 |
University of Washington 2013-14 Schedule
| Date | Opponent | UW Rnk | Opp Rnk | W/L | Score | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/6/13 | @vs. Cent. Wash | — | — | W | 95-65 | 0-0 |
| 11/10/13 | vs. Seattle U. | — | — | W | 88-78 | 1-0 |
| 11/14/13 | vs. UC Irvine | — | — | L | 86-72 | 1-1 |
| 11/17/13 | vs. E. Wash | — | — | W | 92-80 | 2-1 |
| 11/21/13 | *vs. Indiana | — | — | L | 102-84 | 2-2 |
| 11/22/13 | *vs. Boston Co | — | 18 | L | 89-78 | 2-3 |
| 11/26/13 | vs. Montana | — | — | W | 83-79 | 3-3 |
| 12/30/13 | vs. L. Beach St. | — | — | W | 92-89 | 4-3 |
| 12/8/13 | vs. SD State | — | 24 | L | 70-63 | 4-4 |
| 12/14/13 | vs. Idaho St. | — | — | W | 85-66 | 5-4 |
| 12/17/13 | at Tulane | — | — | W | 73-62 | 6-4 |
| 12/22/13 | vs. UConn | — | 10 | — | —– | — |
| 12/27/13 | vs. Miss. Valley | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 12/29/13 | vs. Hartford | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/2/14 | at ASU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/4/14 | at Arizona | — | 1 | — | —– | — |
| 1/8/14 | vs. Utah | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/12/14 | vs. Colorado | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/15/14 | at Cal | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/18/13 | at Stanford | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/23/14 | vs. Oregon | — | 19 | — | —– | — |
| 1/25/14 | at OSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/1/14 | at WSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/6/14 | at Utah | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/9/14 | at Colorado | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/12/14 | vs. Stanford | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/15/14 | vs. Cal | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/19/14 | at Oregon | — | 17 | — | —– | — |
| 2/22/14 | at OSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/28/14 | vs. WSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/6/14 | vs. UCLA | — | 22 | — | —– | — |
| 3/8/14 | vs. USC | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/12/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/13/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/14/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/15/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/18-19/14 | NCAA 1st 4 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/20-23/14 | NCAA 2nd, 3rd | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/27-30/14 | NCAA Reg. | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 4/5/14 | NCAA Semis | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 4/7/14 | NCAA Final | — | — | — | —– | — |
@=Exhibition; *=2K Sports Classic; ^=Pac-12 Tournament
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="2173318 https://sportspressnw.wpengine.com/?p=2173318">1 Comment
UConn was 20-11 last season under 1st year coach Kevin Ollie. They’re coming off their first loss of the season to Stanford but have won this season against Boston College, Indiana and Florida among others. I think UConn’s early ranking might have been a bit generous but so far they’re earning it.
I remember when Ollie was a Sonic. He played good defense and ran the offense well. Reminded me a bit of Kevin Williams. Ray played well with him but unfortunately Ollie left for the Sixers when he became a free agent.