After upsetting No. 2 Kansas on Wednesday, the Washington Huskies could not find that same magic against the No.12 Gonzaga Bulldogs Sunday night. In front of the 9,749 in attendance at Alaska Airlines Arena, UW struggled to get stops, which led to their 97-70 defeat.
“You got to give them a lot of credit,” Washington head coach Mike Hopkins said about Gonzaga after the game.”They made it hard for us on the defensive end in the first half and they shot the ball extremely well in the second half. And 26 second chance points, not going to win a lot of games with those numbers.”
The Huskies got into an early hole, trailing 23-11, after not scoring a field goal in over four minutes. UW’s scoring drought was a large factor in their, 47-33, halftime deficit.
The second half got worse. Gonzaga opened the half with three early 3-pointers and quickly extended their lead, 59-40. After that the game was on ice, as UW trailed by as much as 28 points at one point. Gonzaga made 7-of-15 three-pointers on their way to a 50-point second half.
The Huskies had no answer for 6-foot-9, 228-pound, Johnathan Williams, who finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
UW was also out-muscled on the glass, getting out-rebounded, 40-27 – including 13 offensive rebounds for Gonzaga.
Offensively, the Huskies could not find their rhythm, missing a lot of point blank shots. UW’s 47.3% shooting from the field was very misleading.
“It was hard, we took some quick shots, we weren’t as patient and poised as we’ve been in the past,” Coach Hopkins said about their offensive struggles.”And you know, that’s what we’ve got to learn.”
Washington was led by Noah Dickerson’s 18 points. David Crisp added 16 points, while Jaylen Nowell finished with 11.
Despite the disappointing loss, coach Mike Hopkins still remains pleased with the results of the season through 10 games.
“To be 7-3… you know, I look at blocks of 10 (games) and moving forward with the rest of our non league schedule ahead of us – I’m proud of them. Not happy. No one should be happy about a loss but I’m proud of them. We’ve been able to play some great programs. Some of the great programs in college basketball. NCAA Tournament teams, teams that have gone to the National Championship and won, teams that have been to the Final Four. So it gives you, this is what it looks like, this is what it feels like. And the only way you can get that is through experience. But with that being said, believing with our plan that we can do this.”
Washington next hosts Loyola Marymount on Dec. 17 at 3 p.m. The game airs on the Pac-12 Network.
