By Andrew Bailie Posted on

Washington men’s basketball crushed 90-73 by Wisconsin

After beating Rutgers on Tuesday to end their two-game East Coast road trip, the Huskies were looking to build more momentum going into March. The Washington Huskies (14-14, 6-11 in conference) hosted the Wisconsin Badgers (19-9, 11-6 in conference) on Saturday at Alaska Airlines Arena.

STEINBACH KEY TO A HUSKIES BEING COMPETITVE

To earn a win against Wisconsin, Washington was looking for continued stellar play from Hannes Steinbach. In Tuesday’s win over the Scarlet Knights, Steinbach had an impressive double-double performance. The freshman phenom scored 24 points and pulled in 16 rebounds in the Huskies’ 79-72 victory.

Washington has relied on Steinbach to carry the load while injuries have continued to plague them. On Saturday, the Huskies were playing with just seven scholarship players, as three active players were listed as out. Jacob Ognacevic went down with a foot injury before the game. Franck Kepnang missed his second game in a row, dealing with a fibular tibia injury. Bryson Tucker was out with what coach Danny Sprinkle described as an undisclosed personal issue.

To win a second consecutive game, the Huskies would need to play exceptional defense. The Badgers boasted the second-best three-point shooting team in the Big Ten, averaging 11 threes per game. Another challenge for Washington would be stopping Nick Boyd. The Badgers’ star guard came into the game averaging 20 points and four assists per game.

Washington’s woeful offensive first half puts them behind early

The Huskies were unable to find a rhythm and looked sluggish on offense early in the game. Washington committed three turnovers seven minutes into the contest and went one of seven from the field. Wisconsin took advantage of Washington’s early struggles, jumped out to a 17-4 lead, and never looked back.

“Our first half, you know, I thought that was our most selfish first half. And anybody that was in the building saw it. Offensively, we were very, very poor. We took very poor shots, very poor decisions. And you can’t do that against a team like Wisconsin. You can’t do it against any team. And that was the most disappointing. I didn’t think our competitive spirit and our togetherness, like playing for one another in that first half, it wasn’t present. And, you know, we got smacked”, said Sprinkle

The Huskies made 7 of 28 shots from the field in the first 20 minutes of the game. Wesley Yates was a big reason why Washington struggled, as he had an uncharacteristically bad shooting day. The Huskies’ third-leading scorer shot just 1 of 10 from the field and one of five from three in the first half. Danny Sprinkle spoke after the game about Yates’ problems shooting the ball:

“A lot of bad shots in the first half. Like, just forcing it, you know, and there’s times where he (Yates) forces it and good things happen, but tonight out of his 17 shots, probably two of them were good shots. You know, and it just kind of, he kept putting more pressure on himself, but he’s got to trust his teammates to be able to get him shots, because it’s not good offense when he does that,” said Sprinkle.

In addition to Yates, Zoom Diallo also had a rough half, shooting just two of seven, scoring just five first-half points. Steinbach was Washington’s most productive player and did what he could to keep his team in the game as the Huskies played from behind. He led the Dawgs with eight first-half points, while going two of five from the field, and grabbed seven rebounds.

Badgers take a double-digit lead into the half with a balanced scoring attack

A big factor in the Badgers’ big first-half lead of 36-21 , was their proficient three-point shooting. The Badgers made 6 of 19 shots from beyond the arc, while the Huskies made just 2 of 10. Braeden Carrington led all Wisconsin shooters with three three-pointers, Nolan Winter made two, and Aleksas Bieliauskas had one. Boyd helped diversify the Badgers’ offense, scoring a team-high 14 points.

Washington honors Husky legend Detlef Schrempf at halftime by retiring his jersey number

During halftime, former Washington Husky and Seattle SuperSonics player Detlef Schrempf had his number 22 retired. Schrempf played four seasons for the Huskies from 1981-1985, scoring 1449 career points and earning two Pac-10 first-team honors. He used his speech during the retirement ceremony to thank his former coaches, teammates, and supporting staff while he was at Washington. After having his jersey retirement at halftime, Schrempf spoke with the media. In his press briefing, he talked about what he wants his legacy to be remembered for:

“You know, I am grateful for, you know, everything, because when you think about it, I was supposed to go to a different high school in California somewhere and it didn’t work out. And I ended up in Centralia. And I was supposed to go to two different colleges that recruited me, and then the last second, you know, I got an offer at UW, and I went to UW. All those things that, you know, you make one different step, and your life could be totally different. So I consider myself very fortunate that I am where I am, but also the journey I had. The friends I made along the way, you know, we have people here now, I played college with, but throughout the years, there are people now I work with for 20 years, 20-30 people that showed up. There are people, you know, from my golf club. There are people from our foundation staff this year you know. It’s just, you make friends that last a lifetime, and it’s not just because of basketball”, said Schrempf.

Schrempf was appreciative of everything that the University of Washington did for him. He was also happy with how his life turned out because he got the opportunity to play for the Huskies. With his number 22 now retired, Schrempf’s jersey will be in the rafters of Alaska Airlines Arena forever. His jersey now hangs next to the jerseys of Isaiah Thomas, Brandon Roy, Bob Houbregs, and fellow teammate Christian Welp.

DIALLO AND STEINBACH LEAD HUSKIES SECOND HALF CHARGE

The second half started with a determined effort from the Huskies which was led by Diallo and Steinbach.

Diallo looked focused and determined, scoring a team-high 16 points while going 7-for-8 from the field. Steinbach shot a perfect six of six, scored 14 points, and pulled down four rebounds. He finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, collecting his 18th double-double of the season. Courtland Muldrew and Lathan Sommerville also chipped in seven points apiece. While the Huskies played a better second half offensively, they were unable to climb out of the hole they dug in the first half.

Wisconsin continues to beat Washington from three-point range

The Huskies could not stop the Badgers from beyond the arc in the second half. Carrington, who had three three-pointers in the first half, continued to stay hot. He made six of the Badgers’ 11 second-half threes, scoring 23 points. Following the game, coach Sprinkle talked about Washington’s struggles defending the perimeter:

“Give Wisconsin credit, like they, they made 17 threes. Even if you’re open, like you still got to make 17 threes. And, you know, I thought some were contested. You know, Carrington was obviously terrific. You know, I mean, he had some deep ones, but that’s what he does. You know, we got him going in the first half. We screwed up a defensive assignment where our guard didn’t go over the top, went under. He banged a three, and that’s what he does…And you know, they’re a tough matchup for us. You know, they shoot the ball at an extremely high level. Their bigs can really stretch it”, said Sprinkle.

Five other Badgers made threes in the game’s final 20 minutes besides Carrington. Bieliauskas, Winter, John Blackwell, Andrew Rohde, and Austin Rapp each made one. Wisconsin expanded its advantage over Washington from beyond the arc. The Badgers outshot the Huskies 11-2 from three-point range in the second half. At one point, Wisconsin led by as many as 28 before coach Greg Gard pulled his starters in the last minutes of the contest. The final score looked much closer than the game appeared, as the Badgers won 90-73.

What’s next for Washington

The Huskies’ loss to Wisconsin drops them to (14-15 and 6-12 in conference). Washington is now in 13th place in the Big Ten with two games left in the season. The Huskies’ next game will be against the USC Trojans (18-11, 7-11 in conference) at Alaska Airlines Arena for their home finale.

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