The Washington Huskies ( 18-9 overall, 8-6 Pac-12) take on the Stanford Cardinal (14-13, 8-6) in a vital game for that will have major regular-season ramifications and more importantly, the upcoming Pac-12 Tournament March 7-10 at T-mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Teams that finish in the top four positions during the Pac-12 regular season get a first-round bye in the Conference tournament.
The Huskies and Cardinal are one game behind the Utah Utes ( 17-9, 9-6) who are in fourth place. The Huskies were swept by Utah and will be looking to make sure that will not happen against Stanford who beat the Huskies 64-73 on January 13th at Alaska Airlines Arena.
After Utah beat the Huskies 70-58 on February 15 to sweep the season series, the Dawgs did some soul searching and put together their best game of the season two nights later with 82 to 59 win over Colorado on former player Isaiah Thomas jersey retirement night.
The question for the Huskies is can they use that emotional win to propel themselves to a strong season finish with just four Conference games left. Husky head coach Mike Hopkins knows Thursday’s game against the Cardinal will be a tough battle between two teams who have improved since they last met.
GAME NOTES:
Seattle native Daejon Davis recorded his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Stanford to a 73-64 victory at Washington Jan. 13. Reid Travis finished with 16 points as Stanford completed its first two-game road sweep in conference play in eight years.
Stanford leads the all-time series against Washington, 76-71. The Cardinal has won three straight and five of the last seven in the series. Stanford has won the last three games played between the two teams at Maples Pavilion.
