The No. 25 ranked Washington Huskies knocked off preseason Conference USA favorites Western Kentucky, 73-55, in Seattle on Tuesday night.
The win would not go as planned at least early on. Noah Dickerson would be the story of the game after getting in early foul trouble. Dickerson picked up two fouls less than three minutes into the game. After sitting much of the first half, the senior came back in and quickly picked up his third foul. Before you could blink, Western Kentucky. went on a 20-2 run to take a 36-27 lead to the half. The Huskies were ice cold, shooting 2-18 from 3-point range and 11-37 from the field heading to the locker room. Noah Dickerson played just six minutes in the half.
Things would change quickly in the second half for a UW team that is expected to end their school’s long tournament drought. The Huskies went on a 13-0 run to start the half and took a quick 39-36 lead. WKU kept it close for awhile until Noah Dickerson took over the game offensively and Matisse Thybulle dominated the defensive end.
Dickerson finished with 18 points after scoring just two in the first half. On the other side of the ball, Matisse Thybulle had six blocks while helping hold WKU to just 19 points in the second half. Jaylen Nowell also added 17 points.
Season openers are always tough but the Huskies were able to overcome a poor shooting performance. Washington shot 26-65 from the field and just 5-25 from 3-point range. Although UW shot poorly they were still able to score 73 points because of their great defense in the second half. The Huskies outscored WKU 46-19 in an impressive second half.
The Big Takeaway
For a UW team to beat Western Kentucky by 18 points despite shooting 40 percent from the field, 20 percent from 3-point range, being in foul trouble, and being down nine at halftime, this was a very impressive performance. This team has so much room for growth. They have a great coaching staff and a veteran team that experienced a lot of highs and lows last year. Overall, a great win and if this team is making outside shots, they will be extremely hard to beat going forward.
A look ahead
The Huskies will travel to face No. 11 Auburn this Friday night. Auburn opened up their season with a 101-58 victory over South Alabama. You can catch the game on the SEC Network at 6:30 p.m.
