Matisse Thybulle continued to state his case for National Defensive Player of the Year while also showing off some scoring prowess with 17 points to lead Washington (22-5, 13-1) to a 64-55 win over Colorado (16-11, 7-8).
Washington was short-handed with Hameir Wright missing the game due to a family emergency. Mike Hopkins turned to senior Dominic Green to take his place in the starting lineup and Green responded.
After Colorado opened the scoring, Green took a confident three from the wing and was fouled on his follow-thru by CU’s Tyler Bey. The ball swished into the net and Green converted the rare four point play.
The Buffs made a concerted effort to take advantage of Washington’s small lineup by pounding the ball inside to 6’8”, 264 Forward Tyler Battey. Battey picked up his 2nd foul though just over three minutes into the game.
Naz Carter came off the bench and shot the ball confidently for Washington. His 1st 3-pointer broke an 11 all tie, and then he hit another on Washington’s next possession to push the lead to 17-13.
Washington would take a 35-27 lead into the break and then opened the 2nd half with a 7-0 run capped by a three from Thybulle.
Moments later Thybulle deflected a pass from Bey to McKinley Wright IV, tipping the ball from the top of the key past Wright. Thybulle then outran Wright to the bouncing ball, picked it up at the top of the key and went up for a two-hand flush.
Washington would push their lead to as much as 18 in the 2nd half but the Buffs kept chipping away eventually cutting the lead to 9.
How did Washington respond? Shut-down defense. After Bey grabbed an offensive-rebound with 4:40 to go, Thybulle stripped him of the ball and the ball rolled off Bey’s leg for a turnover. Colorado had scored their 50th point at the 7:09 mark but actually wouldn’t score again until Thybulle fouled out with 1:24 to go.
Keys to the Game
Thybulle is the Best Defensive Player in the Nation
Everyone wants to talk about Duke’s Zion Williamson’s injury but Thybulle simply does it better on the defensive end. He finished with 6 steals and 5 blocks and created so many fast break opportunities for himself.
Thybulle’s 300th career steal may have been the sneakiest. after a made Husky basket, Bey made a nonchalant pass to the Wright IV and didn’t see Thybulle lurking. Thybulle jumped into the passing lane and was fouled by Bey on his way up for a dunk. Bey laid on the ground in pain as Thybulle literally took the will out of the Buffaloes.
Washington Stopped Giving up Offensive Rebounds
Washington did an abysmal job boxing out in the first half surrendering 10 offensive rebounds. Overall they were outrebounded 24-14 at intermission. Adjustments were made and despite their size disadvantage Washington was only outrebounded by one in the second half.
Defensive Dominance the final 7 minutes.
Washington’s offense went cold in the 2nd half and Colorado quickly cut an 18 point deficit in half. Washington would answer though holding Colorado to just five points the final seven minutes. Bey led the Buffs 20 points and 11 rebounds but he turned the ball over 6 times as Washington did a nice job crowding him in the high-post.
Note: Among those in the sell-out crowd were UW alums Detlef Schrempf and Spencer Hawes.
Outlook: With the win Washington is assured at least a tie of the Pac-12 regular season title. They can lock up the conference title with a win on Thursday in Berkley against 0-14 Cal. Thybulle landed on 301 steals, he is now 20 from tying Gary Payton for the all-time Pac-12 record. On to the player grades…
Thybulle – 10 – Let me just get that one out of the way. It says a lot about Thybulle’s defense that his 17 points were more surprising than his 5 blocks and 6 steals. Totally dominated the game and he isn’t out of the Pac-12 Player of the Year conversation yet.
Green – 7 – Green continues to struggle from the field (1 for 6) but he played big grabbing 6 rebounds and blocking a shot without a single turnover.
Dickerson – 7 – Dickerson struggled to get shots off (6 points, 3 of 7 from the field) and turned the ball over twice when he didn’t see the double-team coming but he was productive in other with 5 rebounds, 3 assist and 3 steals.
Crisp – 8 – Crisp had a really solid game, he was clearly looking to set his teammates up (3 assist) and made good decisions from beyond the arc (2 of 3). He finished with 10 points including a highlight where he took a dangerous pass from Timmins between two defenders, ripped the ball away and banked it off the glass while spinning away from the hoop.
Nowell – 6 – Nowell played a solid game with 12 points but he’s in a bit of a cold streak from beyond the arc (0 for 3) and shot under 50% from the field for the 3rd time in four games. Nowell had 4 of the Huskies 11 turnovers.
Bey – 7 – “The other” Bey was one of the beneficiaries of Wright’s absence playing a conference-play high 14 minutes. He hit his first career 3-pointer and finished with 5 points in his 2nd matchup against his cousin Tyler. Jamal had scored 9 points all season prior to this game.
Carter – 6 – Carter made back to back 3’s in the first-half but was 0 for 4 on other shots. He finished with 7 points and 2 turnovers.
Timmins – 7 – Timmins played 18 minutes and made his presence felt inside with 3 rebounds, 2 assist and 2 blocks.
