Washington will travel to Pullman to take on Washington State in the Apple Cup of hoops at Beasley Coliseum on Friday. Ahead of the game, Huskies’ head coach Danny Sprinkle answered questions from the media on Wednesday. Sprinkle provided an injury update, discussed his team’s last road trip, and talked about the team’s preparations for the upcoming cross-state contest with the Cougars.Here are the main takeaways from the media briefing.
Washington adds forward Bryson Tucker to the injured list
The Huskies lost another key player on Sunday against Baylor. Forward Bryson Tucker rolled his ankle and has been ruled out for this Friday’s game and will likely be out two to three weeks:
“Yeah, Bryson rolled his ankle pretty good. You know, definitely, he won’t be available for Friday’s game. The rest of the guys are pretty healthy. You know, Des is progressing. You know, still no contact stuff. So that’ll be a game-time deal. And even if he is, he’s not going to be in game shape. But the rest of the guys are pretty good,” said Sprinkle.
Tucker had a double-double against Arkansas Pine-Bluff and scored in double figures in Washington’s first two games. The Huskies will miss his ability to stretch the floor as a three-point shooter. He has made five threes and shot (41.7 %) from beyond the arc this year. Without Tucker, the Dawgs will need other players to knock down shots from three.
Desmond Claude is still recovering from an ankle injury
Washington’s guard Desmond Claude has missed the first three games of the season with a bad ankle. The transfer guard from USC averaged 15.8 points a game last season. The Huskies have been working Claude back slowly and limited him in practice this week. There is a chance he will make his first in-game appearance on Friday at Washington State.
Washington learns lessons in early-season loss to Baylor
The Huskies fought hard for two halves, but came up short on the road, losing 78-69 to Baylor. After watching the film, these were the main takeaways from Sunday’s loss:
“Yeah, you know, I mean disappointed. We just, you know, like I said, credit to Baylor. You know, they did what they had to do to win the game. You know, we just, we got great looks offensively. We just didn’t make them. You know, we had 25 points from wide open shots, whether it was free throws, wide open layups that we missed and wide open threes. You know, there was 25 points there for the taking, and then total, 45 points. You know, even when it’s one-on-one, like you got to be to score at the rim. You know, we missed shots that they made. And to win on the road against a program like Baylor, you can’t let them off the hook like that. You know, we can’t go three for 20 when you’re getting great looks from three. Like we have to knock those down and free throws”, said Sprinkle.
Washington had opportunities to score, but struggled to make open shots. They finished shooting 15% from three (missing 17 threes) and 67% from the free-throw line (missing five free throws). In a game decided by nine points, those missed shots were the difference in the game.
Washington’s rebounding provides a silver lining
Although the Dawgs shot poorly against Baylor, they did a fantastic job of crashing the glass. The Huskies out-rebounded Baylor 42-33, as their rebounding continued to stand out early this season:
“Yeah, we were really good this summer. Really emphasizing it. And kind of got away from it. We didn’t get away from it, but our team, we weren’t hearing the message. And then the last two weeks, I had to jump in and take over on it because we have no chance if we don’t defend and rebound. And that was one of our biggest concerns going into that Baylor game, because they fly to the glass and they’re super athletic and aggressive. And we have to continue to box out. I’m proud of our guards. You know, I thought Zoom, Quimari, J.J., did a really good job, you know, in the last three weeks of having awareness. If there are guys going and if he’s not going, then you can go in to rebound. But if he is going, you got to make contact and then you got to beat him to the basketball. Like you got to box him out, then you got to beat Baylor to the basketball. And its going to be the same thing with Washington State”, said Sprinkle.
Washington’s toughness and physicality rose to the challenge against Baylor last Sunday. The Huskies have now out-rebounded each of their first three opponents. Their ability to rebound the ball, along with their size and strength, will be a critical part of the team’s success as the season goes on.
What to know before the Huskies take on the Cougars
This is the first time Washington has played at Beasley Coliseum since March 7th, 2024. In that game, the Huskies upset the 18th-ranked Cougars 74-68. The trip to Pullman will also be a homecoming of sorts for head coach Danny Sprinkle:
“I mean, yeah, no, I was born in that hospital right there on campus. Yeah, no, it’ll be great. You know, I mean, it’s a rivalry game. It’ll be fun. Like their fans, their fans are great. Like they’ll, you know, they obviously don’t like the Huskies. We don’t like them. But, like, that’s what makes rivalry’s fun. It’ll be a great environment”, said Sprinkle.
The Apple Cup of hoops has delivered fantastic matchups in recent years. These two teams have split the six games in this rivalry evenly since 2022. Last season, Washington defeated Washington State 89-73 at Alaska Airlines Arena.
The Huskies face a new Cougars team
Washington State has 10 new transfer players on its roster this season. Washington will be facing an entirely different-looking team than the one it faced last year, with a familiar offense:
“Same thing. You know, they run a motion offense. A lot of staggers, like they do a tremendous job, like skipping the ball, like reading different staggers, curling, flaring, like, whatever you do, they adjust to it…You know, they’re probably a better shooting team than they’ve shown this year. You know, I think last game they made 10. But previously, like they’d struggled from the three-point line, but like they got, they got capable shooters…We have to guard the three-point line and keep them from rebounding the ball offensively”, said Sprinkle.
To guard the Cougars’ motion offense, the Huskies must do a better job of rotating defensively. Washington was late rotating at times against Baylor, and the Bears made them pay from beyond the arc. Washington State was 10/26 from three against the St. Thomas-Minnesota Tommies and had eight offensive rebounds. The Huskies cannot allow the Cougars to have open looks from deep, and they need to box out to deny them second-chance points off misses.
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