The University of Washington Men’s (17-7, 7-4 Pac-12) basketball team will look to rebound from Thursday night’s disappointing 65-40 loss to the Oregon Ducks (16-8, 6-5 ) in Eugene. While the loss was disappointing it was yet another lesson on winning for the Huskies. That is the Huskies are now learning that when you win games every team you play is going to give you their best shot and you need to be ready for the challenge each and every game.
The Huskies went into Thursday’s game on the heels of a four-game win streak three of which were at home and include back to wins over No.25 Arizona State and No. 9 Arizona. The Ducks, on the other hand, were coming to a 35 point loss at Stanford.
When the two rivals finished their usual Washington versus Oregon grudge match it was the Ducks who beat the Huskies at their own game.
“We took charges, we dove on the floor for loose balls — we were just a different team,” UO coach Dana Altman said after the game. “Now the challenge is, who are we? Are we the team that played Saturday, or the team that played tonight?”
The Ducks stifling defense held the Huskies to their lowest point outage in the rivalry since 1945.The Huskies were 0 of 7 from 3-point range in the second half and 3 of 17 overall. They went without a field goal for the final 6:22 of the game.
Noah Dickerson current Pac-12 player of the Week led the Huskies with 14 points. Troy Brown Jr. Scored 21 points and Kenny Wooten chipped in 12 points to go with seven blocks.
For Huskies head coach Mike Hopkins the game came down to the Huskies poor shooting. ” One of the keys, when you’re, on the road, is you got to keep scoring and we just couldn’t score enough points tonight”, Hopkins said after the game.
The Huskies will look to get back on the winning side when they take on the Oregon State Beavers ( 12-11, 4-7) Saturday night 7 p.m. in Corvallis.
GAME NOTES:
- The Beavers have defeated Washington two straight times at Gill Coliseum and hold a 97-49 all-time advantage in games played in Corvallis.
- Oregon State won the only meeting between the teams two years ago, 82-81, on Feb. 24, 2016, in Corvallis when Stephen Thompson Jr. made a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Thompson Jr. finished with a team-high 18 points, while Drew Eubanks had his first career double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
- The Beavers won 64-50 on Feb. 8, 2015, at Gill Coliseum when Gary Payton II led the way with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals.
- Washington won the only matchup last season, 87-61, on Jan. 7, 2017 in Seattle.
- The 299 meetings between the two schools are the third-most in NCAA history, trailing only Oregon State-Oregon (350) and Oregon-Washington (303).
