David Crisp scored 17 points, Matisse Thybulle added 15 and Washington remained undefeated in Pac-12 play with a 67-60 win over Arizona on Thursday night.
The Huskies (19-4, 10-0 Pac-12) had another impressive defensive night, forcing 20 turnovers while holding Arizona to 37 percent shooting in moving a step closer to clinching the Pac-12 regular-season title.
Washington is off to its best conference start since going 14-0 in 1952-53 and has won 12 straight games, all while holding opponents to 70 points or less.
The Huskies’ latest win came with big man Noah Dickerson limited due to a sprained right ankle suffered Saturday against UCLA. They made up for it by harassing the Wildcats with their 2-3 zone, jumping into passing lanes and contesting shots along the 3-point arc.
Thybulle blocked five shots and had five steals.
Arizona (14-9, 5-5), coming off an overtime loss to rival Arizona State, played without freshman guard Brandon Williams due to a lingering knee injury and could have used his perimeter shot, finishing 4 for 18 from 3-point range.
The Huskies arrived in the desert as the class of the down Pac-12.
Washington went through the nonconference schedule 9-4 and rolled through the Pac-12 the first half of the conference season. The Huskies’ three-game lead at the midpoint of the Pac-12 season was the second-largest since 1978-79, when the conference went to the 18-game schedule.
They’ve done it behind their defense, holding teams to 28 percent shooting from behind the 3-point arc and 61 points during their streak.
Arizona held its own against the Huskies in the first half, hitting just enough shots to overcome 11 turnovers to trail 29-28.
The shooting luck didn’t continue in the second half, thanks to the swarming Huskies.
With Washington contesting every pass and shot, Arizona opened the half 0 for 11 as the Huskies stretched the lead to nine points. The Wildcats managed to hang around for a little while until Washington made six straight shots, going up 59-47 on Thybulle’s corner 3-pointer that forced Arizona coach Sean Miller to call timeout.
BIG PICTURE
Washington’s defense has been dominant and complemented it by shooting 51 percent. Win against Arizona State on Saturday and the Huskies will all but clinch the Pac-12 title and earn a spot in the AP Top 25.
Arizona had trouble against Washington’s pressure defense and struggled to get perimeter shots to lose for the fourth time in five games.
UP NEXT
Washington plays at Arizona State on Saturday.
— AP
** Release courtesy of UW Athletic Communications
