It was an opportunity to make a statement, Washington was up to the challenge. The Huskies (17-4, 8-0) never trailed and cruised to a 75-62 victory over USC (12-9, 5-3) for their 10th consecutive victory.
Noah Dickerson was too much down low for the Trojans scoring 21 points to go with 14 rebounds, both season highs during Pac-12 play. In one second-half sequence Dickerson ripped the ball from Shaquaan Aaron while fighting for an offensive rebound, backed down Nick Rakocevic and then laid the ball in uncontested. Dickerson flexed his arms to the Washington bench, proud to give his team a 38-27 lead.
USC would answer going on an 8-0 run to cut Washington’s lead to 3. As has been the case all year, the Huskies didn’t panic. Dominic Green missed an open 3, but Jaylen Nowell grabbed the offensive rebound. He calmly found Mattise Thybulle who had spotted up beyond the arc and he put the Huskies back up 6 at 41-35.
Nowell was held scoreless the first 12 minutes of the 2nd half but he made his first points count nailing a triple to put Washington up 60-49 with 8 minutes to go. Washington took their biggest lead of the night of 15 when David Crisp nailed a dagger from downtown with 2 minutes to go.
Washington used a 15-2 run near the end of the first-half to take a 16 point lead following a back and forth start. They led 36-25 lead at the break.
Outlook: Washington beating USC gives every team besides UW and Utah at least three losses in Pac-12 play. Washington also holds the tie-breaker over USC since there is no return trip to LA this year. Washington will host UCLA on Saturday for a chance to go 9-0 in conference play. The Bruins beat Washington State by 20 on Wednesday Night.
Keys to the Game
Washington made the hustle plays
There were spurts where USC possessed the ball with the carefulness of a High School JV team. Washington had a season-high 14 steals with Thybulle leading the way with 7. For the season the Huskies have actually been out rebounded by their opponents. They dominated the glass Wednesday night outrebounded the Trojans 40 to 28. Washington was particularly active on the offensive glass where they turned 17 offensive rebounds into a season-high 24 second-chance points.
Nowell vs. Rakocevic
While these two didn’t guard each other much they are two of the three front-runners for Pac-12 Player of the Year with OSU’s Tre Tinkle. Nowell has won Pac-12 Player of the Week three times (including this past week), Rakocevic has won it twice, no other player has won it more than once. While neither player was at their best it was Nowell who did the little things to guide his team to victory. Rakocevic scored 16 points and 10 rebounds but he also turned the ball over 4 times and fouled out. Nowell was careless with the ball too tying a career-high with 7 turnovers but he was an efficient 5 of 8 from the field and filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assist and 4 steals.
Home Cooking
Washington had over 9,000 in attendance and “The Dawgpack” was rocking. When the Huskies needed stops, the crowd gave them a boost. Washington came into the game 11-0 at home, while the Trojans came in 0-4 on the road, some would say the game was a foregone conclusion. Side rant: While it’s great this game was a National Broadcast on FS1, shame on the Pac-12 for allowing it to fall into at 8PM time slot on a Wednesday night when the rest of the nation is sound asleep. On to the ratings…
Dickerson – 10 – Dickerson didn’t just dominate statistically, he made his presence known with his physicality. Whether it was the 360 spin move on Rakocevic that earned him an and-one at the line and brought the crowd to their feet or him muscling defenders under the hoops for layups he was by far the best player on the court. The Trojans decided to guard Dickerson 1 on 1 for the most part and he made them pay.
Wright – 5 – Wright was in foul trouble picking up 4 in 13 minutes but he made his only rebound of the game count. In the second-half he fought for a long offensive rebound and had the wherewithal to find Nowell for an open 3 that pushed the Huskies lead to double digits.
Thybulle – 9 – Thybulle’s defense is such a crowd-pleaser. The deflections and steals start fast-breaks that often lead to dunks. He filled the stat sheet with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals. Only knock on the 6’5 wing tonight was his 5 turnovers.
Crisp – 6.5 – Crisp had been shooting 55% from beyond the arc in Pac-12 play after shooting just 29% during non-conference play so some regression to the mean was expected. He went 5-14 from the field and 2 for 6 from 3. Crisp finished with a solid 14 points. Disappointing that he had twice as many turnovers (4) as assist (2).
Nowell – 7 – As mentioned above, Nowell was very careless with his passing but he also arguably played his best defensive game of the season. Like a true player of the year candidate, even on his off-nights he makes contributions and I don’t think this one will hurt his candidacy one bit.
Carter – 7 – Carter officially scored just 5 points on 2 of 7 shooting in 19 minutes but the stats don’t tell the whole story. He had a dunk in the first-half to bring the crowd to their feet and later hit a 3 to cap a 15-2 run. He grabbed 3 offensive rebounds and showed off his electric athleticism on several occasions.
Green – 6 – Green had 3 points and 4 rebounds, a steal and a block in 23 minutes. His shot wasn’t there (1 for 5 from the field) but his composure (0 turnovers) was needed in such a sloppy game. His one make started a run when USC had just cut Washington’s lead to 5 at 54-49.
Timmins – NR – With Dickerson playing so well, Timmins played just 2 minutes.
Bey – NR – Bey made his usual cameo playing 4 minutes. He missed a 3-pointer which was actually his first shot attempt in six games. His last attempt was January 12th against Colorado. In 98 minutes Bey has only taken 8 shots this season making 2.
