After the longest road trip of the season, this Wednesday sees the Huskies return to Alaska Airlines Arena where they are a perfect 12-0. Utah had won 3 in a row before losing to Arizona State on Saturday and are trying to climb back into 2nd place in the Pac-12.
Was anyone else disgusted to see the Huskies in another 8PM Wednesday night start? Yeah I know, we get to avoid Bill Walton but these games can do a number on your crowds. Then again the Huskies enjoyed solid support against USC (9,121 strong) but another sell-out like their win over UCLA might have to wait until Saturday.
Wednesday February 20th – Utah @ Washington @ Alaska Airlines Arena – 8 PM tip on FS1
Utah Notes:
Utah has played so poorly at home that coach Larry Krystkowiak had his team sleep in a hotel the night before Saturday’s game against Arizona State, they even wore their road uniforms against the Sun Devils… It didn’t work, the Utes still gave up 98 points and lost by 11.
On the road the Utes have shown well, their 5-1 road record is second only to Washington’s 6-1 mark. Their one loss coming to Arizona by 3 in OT the very first game of Pac-12 play.
Utah is led by senior guard Sedrick Barefield who is averaging 16.2 ppg and 4.0 apg. Jayce Johnson, a 7 footer is the Utes leading rebounder at 7.2 rebounds per game.
Coming on of late is guard Parker Van Dyke, if you haven’t seen his buzzer beater against UCLA, it was the most cold-blooded shot I’ve seen since well… Isaiah Thomas’ dagger against Arizona.
Van Dyke had 15 points in the 1st half against Arizona State but just 2 in the second frame. Van Dyke averages 8.1 points per game and is 4th in the Pac-12 in 3-point percentage at 42.7%.
The Last Time: January 10th, 2019, UW 69 Utah 53
Washington forced Utah into a miserable offensive performance as the Utes shot just 33% from the floor and 20% (6 of 30) from beyond the arc.
Barefield had a particularly bad game that night going 2 for 10 from the field scoring just 6 points in 30 minutes. Johnson led the Utes with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Some of the Husky starters struggled in Salt Lake City, specifically Jaylen Nowell who went 3 for 14 from the field and Hameir Wright who went 2 for 10 but Naz Carter (18 points) and Sam Timmins (4 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks) made huge contributions off the bench.
Injury Update:
Both teams are about as healthy as you can be this late in the season. Mike Hopkins announced this week he wasn’t sure if Bryan Penn-Johnson would return to the court at all this season. Of the 8 players in Utah’s rotation, 7 of them have played in all 25 contest. The 8th, freshman Both Gach has only missed a single game which begs the question, what is in the water in Salt Lake and can I get some?
Matchups to Watch
Can UW Put a Stranglehold on Utah’s Offense Twice?
As bad as the Utes shot in Salt Lake, that may have been an aberration. They are the Pac-12’s second highest scoring team at just under 80 points a game. They aren’t just jacking up shots either, they are efficient making 48.4% of their field goals (best in the conference) and a Pac-12 best 10.2 treys per game.
UW’s Tempo vs. Utah’s Tempo
Washington had four consecutive games with 16 turnovers or more but had only 10 against Washington State on Saturday. A lot of that had to do with Washington controlling the tempo after letting Washington State bait the Huskies into a track meet in the 1st half. Utah is last in the Pac-12 forcing just over 10 turnovers per game so the Huskies probably won’t see too much pressure. I anticipate the Utes will push the ball on missed shots in order to prevent the Huskies from settling into their 2-3 zone.
Will Washington Find Their Shooting Touch?
Whether it’s regression to the mean, or legs tiring from an exhausting season, Washington has been mired in a bit of a shooting slump. The Huskies shot over 50% in 5 of their first 7 Pac-12 games and were over 40% from beyond the arc in 5 as well. The last 5 games they’ve only been over 50% once and have only shot higher than 40% from beyond the arc once. Based on the personnel they have Washington, is not true 3-point shooting team but they can make them in bunches. When they’re shots aren’t falling it’s been helpful to have Noah Dickerson be as productive as he was against Washington State going 7 of 8 from the field.
Prediction: Utah has an impressive road resume having swept the Oregon schools, beating ASU by 10 in Tempe and going into halftime down just 1 point against then and current #6 Nevada. However, the Huskies are an elite defensive team that hasn’t really been challenged at home yet in conference play. I can kind of sense this being a break-out game for Washington, they had a convincing loss followed by a close win but didn’t feel particularly great about either game. Enter a Utah team that is well coached but has been prone to lay eggs on occasion. I think Washington rolls but how much better would the Huskies feel if David Crisp and/or Dominic Green broke out of their slumps?
Final: Washington 78 Utah 62
Last Game’s Prediction
Washington 75, Washington State 67
Actual: Washington 72, Washington State 70
