Washington Men’s Basketball (7-4) hosted the San Diego Toreros (5-6) Monday night at Alaska Airlines Arena. San Diego entered the game on a two-game winning streak with victories over UC San Diego, 82-80, and Northern Arizona, 78-69.The Toreros’ offensive success has come from their three-point shooting, with an average of 10 made threes a game while shooting 36% from beyond the arc. Washington has been effective at defending the three, holding opponents to just 26% from over the last three games. Where the Huskies have struggled defensively is on the interior. Washington has allowed an average of 33 points in the paint to USC, Southern Utah, and Seattle U. The Huskies lost on Friday to Seattle U because they were unable to stop the Redhawks inside the paint (allowing 38 points in the paint). On Monday, the Dawgs’ defense stiffened inside and shut down the Toreros’ offense to earn the win.
Washington pulls ahead early.
The Huskies were in command throughout the first half due to a balanced attack. Washington connected on 4/13 shots from beyond the arc, four different players made threes (Nikola Dzepina, Quimari Peterson, Hannes Steinbach, and Desmond Claude each made one). The Huskies also worked the ball inside effectively, using their size advantage in the key. The Dawgs scored 22 points in the paint against an over-matched Torero’s defense. Steinbach dominated inside for Washington with 15 points.
Huskies’ defense shows might in the first 20 minutes
Washington’s interior defense improved dramatically against San Diego. The Toreros scored just four points in the paint in the entire first half. The Huskies dominated the defensive glass with 20 rebounds, compared to San Diego’s two offensive rebounds. The Dawgs’ strength inside held the Toreros to 29% shooting and 26 points. Washington asserted their presence on the interior at both ends of the floor to take a 46-26 lead into halftime.
Washington stays in control and finishes strong
The Huskies continued their inside the paint dominance of the Torres with 22 second-half pointsWashington also continued its strong defensive rebounding with 13 rebounds, while limiting San Diego to just four second-chance points in the last 20 minutes of the contest.
Huskies’ Hannes Steinbach leads the way on the interior
Hannes Steinbach completed another double-double by collecting five rebounds in the second half. He led the team in scoring and rebounds with 21 points and 14 rebounds for the game to earn his seventh double-double of the season. In his post-game press conference, coach Danny Sprinkle talked about the impressive consistency of his freshman forward:
“Yeah, you know, he’s, like, the way he plays, like, he has a motor, you know, like, he gets double-doubles because he goes and rebounds. He doesn’t, like, wait for the rebound. Like, he goes every time, like makes the effort. You know, where some guys don’t have the motor to go every time. He does. And he just has a knack to kind of know where the ball is going and really use his body as leverage, and he’s got great hands”, said Sprinkle.
Steinbach has continued to be a player Washington can count on to deliver when called upon. The 6’11 German National has been a constant force and double-double machine, leading the Dawgs to wins. Steinbach is the Huskies’ biggest presence inside, and he has answered the call when tasked with facing the strongest opponents. The expectations for him will only continue to grow as the Huskies face stiffer competition in conference play, with three top ten opponents (Purdue, Michigan, and Michigan State) on their schedule in January.
What Washington needs to improve going forward
The Huskies must improve their three-point shooting after finishing 5/21 from deep. In the last two games, Washington has been awful from three, averaging 17% from long range, making 6/36 three-point attempts. Turnovers have also been a problem for the Huskies, with 28 turnovers in the last two games. Expect Washington to use the next two weeks to focus on offensive execution while emphasizing better decision-making with the ball before conference play reopens. The Huskies will close out non-conference play against Utah next Monday at Alaska Airlines Arena.
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