On the night Isaiah Thomas got his No. 2 jersey retired, on the court it looked like the Husky teams that I.T. led to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Washington opened the second half on a 21-6 run, giving the Huskies a 60-40 lead. That was too much for the struggling Colorado Buffaloes to overcome as the Huskies cruised to an 82-59 victory.
“The way the ball was moving and being shared, was a lot of fun,” Coach Mike Hopkins said after the win.”To be able to do that at home with our fans that was really special.”
After having an awful offensive performance in a loss against Utah, the Huskies looked like a new team. Washington shot 47.6 percent from the field and made 9-21 3-point attempts.
Defensively, the Huskies looked back to normal as they forced 18 Colorado turnovers. UW had 12 steals and seven blocks on the night. Colorado managed to shoot just 40.0% from the field.
Leading the way for the Huskies was junior Matisse Thybulle, scoring a career-high 26 points.
Noah Dickerson bounced back from his 3-point performance against Utah, to score 14 points and added 10 rebounds.
The Huskies improve to 18-9 on the season and 8-6 in conference play. Colorado falls to 15-12 on the season and 7-8 in conference play.
Washington’s 18 wins doubles their nine win season from a year ago.
But the night belong to Husky legend Isaiah Thomas who had his No. 2 jersey retired. Thomas’ big night brought out the likes of Lorenzo Romar, Jamal Crawford, Quincy Pondexter, Jon Brockman, Markelle Fultz, Marquese Chris, and more to celebrate the Tacoma native.
“My best years of my basketball career and most fun time of my life was at the University of Washington,” Isaiah Thomas said during his pregame press conference. “For my number to be retired, it’s a lot. I’m appreciative, I’m thankful, and everything.”
Over Isaiah Thomas’ three years at the University of Washington from 2008-2011, Thomas led the Huskies to 74-30 record, three NCAA tournament appearances, a Sweet Sixteen, two Pac-10 tournament championships, and one conference championship.
Washington is at Stanford next Thursday.
