The Husky hoops team is off to a nice 6-2 start. However, if you dig a little deeper some concerns start to show up. This team has showed a lack of putting away teams. The offense can go ice cold at any time and, despite the zone, defense somehow always seems to be in foul trouble early in the first half. The recruiting class has contributed just SIX points in 43 minutes of play.
That being said, a 6-2 start is about where you would have expected them to be in the preseason. This week they have the chance to make a big statement as they take on #1 Gonzaga in Spokane on Wednesday.
This team is 3-1 in games decided by 4 points or less which shows a great ability to win games down the stretch. Unfortunately, the teams they have played to those scores have been San Diego, Santa Barbara, Minnesota, and Texas A&M. The lone loss came to Minnesota in a game that was an epitome of this team’s struggles. Despite holding the Gophers to long stretches without a field goal, the Husky offense just couldn’t pull away.
The game ended on a contested three pointer that gave Minnesota the lead after Jaylen Nowell was called for an offensive foul trying to finish the game. So despite leading for nearly the entire contest, UW was saddled with their second loss. The first being the beat down handed to them by Auburn who is still ranked in the top 10.
The offense is the biggest concern for this team. Defensively they have harassed teams and made them earn all their points. Holding every opponent, except Auburn, under 70 points. With the scoring of Noah Dickerson and Nowell combining to average 35 points per game, the rest of the team only needs to match them. Unfortunately, Matisse Thybulle has averaged just under 7ppg and is shooting 38% from the field. This team desperately needs him to get going offensively. There is some positive signs.
Before fouling out (remember I mentioned foul trouble) against Santa Barbara with four minutes left to play he scored a season high 13 points and has hit 5 three pointers the last two games. Despite seeing plenty of good looks, the Huskies as a team are shooting 31% from behind the arc. The only two players shooting over 30% are Nowell and Dominic Green. Green got red hot against Eastern Washington bringing his season average closer to his career numbers at 39%. Sam Timmons has been non-existent as a scoring threat and the starting lineup has been getting switched around trying to find an offensive combination.
Eight games into the season this Husky team is yet to put it all together. A tough road test against Gonzaga probably won’t be the answer to the scoring woes but will show how committed this group is to defense after being embarrassed at home a year ago. Preseason hype was high for this group and so far, they have underachieved.
Good news is that they have been winning poor performances and kept their resume clean to this point. There is a lot of season to go and this team still has plenty of potential to turn into a force by conference play. This team feels a lot like the football team where you hope they can play good enough defense for the offense to get in rhythm; it got the football team to the “Granddaddy of them All” and hopefully this team finds its way back to March Madness.
