GAME: Washington (13-9 overall, 5-4 Pac-12) at Utah (14-7 overall, 3-6 Pac-12). WHEN: Thursday, 6 p.m., Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City. TYPE: Conference. MEETING: 15th (UW leads 8-6). RANKINGS: Neither school ranked. COACHES: Lorenzo Romar, Washington; Larry Krystkowiak, Utah. TV: Pac-12 Networks. RADIO: KJR 950 AM
Lorenzo Romar’s Washington Huskies launch the second half of their Pac-12 schedule with a rematch against the Utah Utes, a team UW barely defeated (59-57) at Alaska Airlines Arena a month ago. In fact, it took a superb effort by Andrew Andrews — 12 points in the final nine minutes — and a missed 3-pointer by Utah’s Delon Wright at the buzzer for Washington to escape with a victory.
Although 14-7 overall, Utah has struggled since losing to the Huskies, dropping four of six, including a 79-75 overtime decision at Colorado last Saturday. On the positive side, the Utes have won 18 of their last 20 at the Huntsman Center, and their seven losses have been by a combined margin of 26 points, all of the defeats coming in road games.
Utah does two things exceptionally well. The Utes shoot 50.0 percent from the floor, which ranks fifth in the nation, and they lead the Pac-12 and rank 18th nationally in defending the 3-point shot, a Washington specialty, limiting opponents to 29.2 percent.
Wright is Utah’s top player. He leads the league in steals with 3.1 per contest and also ranks among the top 15 in minutes played (1st), assists (3rd), field goal percentage (4th), assist/turnover ratio (4th), scoring (6th), free-throw percentage (6th), blocks (7th) and rebounds (12th). When Washington and Utah met Jan. 8 in Seattle, Wright led the Utes with a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds.
The Utes have won 12 of their 14 games this season by double figures and rank sixth in the nation in scoring margin (+16.2). They also rank in the top-20 nationally in free throw percentage (12th – 75.7), assists per game (13th – 16.4), assist turnover ratio (15th – 1.50), fouls per game (17th – 16.3) and three point field goal defense (18th – 29.2).
SERIES: Dates to Nov. 30, 1951, when Utah won 62-61 in Salt Lake City. Bob Houbregs scored 21 points for the Huskies. In the most recent meeting, Jan. 9, Andrew Andrews scored 12 of his 19 points in the final nine minutes and Washington held on for a 59-57 victory.
UW STATS / NOTES
- REGULAR-SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 13-9. Home: 11-2. Road: 2-5. Neutral: 0-2. Vs. Pac-12: 5-4. Vs. Pac-12 North: 2-3. Vs. Pac-12 South: 3-1. Vs. Non-Conference: 8-5. Points: 1673 (76.0). Field Goal Pct.: 44.0. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 35.3. Free Throw Pct.: 75.7. Rebounds: 761 (34.6). Assists: 291 (13.2). Turnovers: 247 (11.2). Steals: 112 (5.3). Blocks: 70 (3.3). Points Against: 1667 (75.8). Opp. FG Pct.: 47.5. Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 32.1. Opp FT Pct.: 68.9. Opp. Rebounds: 732 (33.3). Opp. Assists: 268 (12.2). Opp. Turnovers: 244 (11.1). Opp. Steals: 113 (5.1). Opp. Blocks: 97 (4.4).
- PAC-12 RANKINGS: Scoring Offense — 6th (76.0). Scoring Defense — 12th (75.8). Scoring Margin — 10th (+0.3). FG Pct. — 9th (44.9). FT Pct. — 2nd (75.7). 3-Pt FG Pct. — 7th (35.3). Rebound Margin — 9th (+1.3). Blocked Shots –9th (3.2). Assists — 10th (13.2). Steals — 10th (5.2). Turnover Margin — 7th (-0.14).
- RATINGS PERCENTAGE INDEX: Nov. 11 — 99; Nov. 18 — 96; Nov. 25 — 150; Dec. 2 — 218; Dec. 9 — 198; Dec. 15 — 198; Dec. 23 — 170; Dec. 30 — 180; Jan. 6 — 127; Jan 13 — 82; Jan. 20 — 83; Jan. 27 — 71; Feb. 3 — 81.
- Washington’s victory over Oregon State marked Lorenzo Romar’s 250th victory at Washington.
- By scoring 24 points at Washington State, C.J. Wilcox moved into sixth place on Washington’s career scoring list with 1,729 points. Wilcox passed Isaiah Thomas, who scored 1,721.
- Wilcox has scored 20 or more points in a game 32 times during his Husky career.
- After starting the season 6-5, Washington has gone 7-4, which includes a win over then-No. 15 Colorado.
- Nigel Williams-Goss leads all Pac-12 freshmen with a 12.9 scoring average. He’s also first in assists (4.1) and steals (1.2).
- Senior Perris Blackwell has posted five double-doubles this season.
- The Huskies are wearing patches on the uniforms in recognition of Marv Harshman, head coach from 1972-85, who passed away April 12. Harshman had a 246-146 record at Washington and won back-to-back Pac-10 championships in 1984 and 1985.
- Preseason Pac-12 media poll — 1. Arizona (21, 273). 2. UCLA (2, 212). 3. Colorado (1, 211), 4. Oregon (196). 5. Cal (194). 6. Stanford (166). 7. Arizona State (159). 8. Washington (121). 9. Utah (68). 10. Oregon State (67). 11. USC (63). 12. Washington State (39).
UW HEAD COACH: Lorenzo Romar (343-224 overall, 250-136 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 took 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 | 22 | .475 | .428 | .864 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 19.8 |
| N.W.-Goss | 22 | .467 | .346 | .689 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 12.9 |
| A. Andrews | 22 | .377 | .280 | .778 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 12.6 |
| P. Blackwell | 21 | .515 | .000 | .658 | 6.8 | 1.0 | 10.6 |
| M. Anderson | 22 | .451 | .320 | .747 | 6.5 | 2.0 | 6.3 |
| D. Johnson | 22 | .362 | .237 | .852 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 6.7 |
| Shawn Kemp | 22 | .568 | .000 | .556 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 4.3 |
| D. Simmons | 12 | .370 | .200 | .786 | 3.5 | 0.2 | 3.6 |
| J. Taylor | 13 | .385 | .400 | .750 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.2 |
| G. Dierckx | 11 | .143 | .000 | .500 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Total | 22 | .449 | .353 | .757 | 34.6 | 13.2 | 76.0 |
| Opponents | 22 | .475 | .321 | .689 | 33.3 | 12.1 | 75.8 |
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 | L | 82-70 | 6-5 |
| 12/27/13 | vs. Miss. Valley | — | — | W | 95-80 | 7-5 |
| 12/29/13 | vs. Hartford | — | — | W | 73-67 | 8-5 |
| 1/2/14 | at ASU | — | — | W | 76-65 | 9-5 |
| 1/4/14 | at Arizona | — | 1 | L | 71-62 | 9-6 |
| 1/8/14 | vs. Utah | — | — | W | 59-57 | 10-6 |
| 1/12/14 | vs. Colorado | — | 15 | W | 71-54 | 11-6 |
| 1/15/14 | at Cal | — | — | L | 82-56 | 11-7 |
| 1/18/13 | at Stanford | — | — | L | 79-67 | 11-8 |
| 1/23/14 | vs. Oregon | — | — | W | 80-76 | 12-8 |
| 1/25/14 | vs. OSU | — | — | W | 87-81 | 13-8 |
| 2/1/14 | at WSU | — | — | L | 72-67 | 13-9 |
| 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 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/22/14 | at OSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/28/14 | vs. WSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/6/14 | vs. UCLA | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 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
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