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In a surprising trip to Arizona, Washington recovered some of its hoops dignity. In the Pac-12 home opener Wednesday, Utah brings in a 12-2 record.
Desmond Simmons and the Washington Huskies (9-6, 1-1) host 12-2 Utah at 8 p.m. Wednesday. / Drew McKenzie, Sportspress Northwest
GAME: Utah (12-2 overall, 1-1 Pac-12) at Washington (9-6 overall, 1-1 Pac-12). WHEN: Wednesday, 8 p.m., Alaska Airlines Arena. TYPE: Conference. MEETING: 14th (UW leads 7-6). RANKINGS: Neither school ranked. COACHES: Larry Krystkowiak, Utah; Lorenzo Romar, Washington; TV: Pac-12 Networks. RADIO: KJR 950 AM
After stumbling through a tepid (8-5) non-conference schedule that included no quality wins and two or three pratfalls, the Washington Huskies executed a reversal of form when they launched Pac-12 play the past weekend in Arizona. Playing its best game, Washington upended Arizona State 76-65, and then stayed with No. 1 Arizona for 37 minutes before losing 71-62.
The Huskies Pac-12 home opener is against a Utah team that started fast, and a year ago defeated Washington emphatically in the building.
“We have a lot of respect for this team,” coach Lorenzo Romar said of the Utes. “They came into our building last year and earned that respect.”
Utah has won by a double-digit margin 11 times, although that’s somewhat deceiving. The Utes have fattened their record and stats against the likes of Evergreen State (128-44), Grand Canyon (79-54) and St. Katherine (124-51) while their two losses were administered at Boise State (69-67) and to Oregon (70-68) in Salt Lake City.
Still ranked 12th in conference stats, Washington played much better defensively in Arizona, but Utah’s numbers are gaudy: 53.2 shooting percentage while holding opponents to 37.9, and a 9.5 average edge in rebounding. Utah scores 85.5 points per game and allows 61.2.
Jordan Loveridge leads the Utes with a 17.0 average while Delon Wright contributes 14.8 and Brandon Taylor 11.7. Loveridge tops the Utes in rebounding at 8.7.
Utah is coming off an 80-69 win over Oregon State. Taylor scored 23 points on 7-for-9 shooting and dished out eight assists. Wright added 14 points and six assists.
After the Arizona trip, Washington’s RPI rose from 180 to 127. Due largely to a soft schedule, Utah’s is 150.
SERIES: Dates to Nov. 30, 1951, when Utah won 62-61 in Salt Lake City. Bob Houbregs scored 21 points for the Huskies. In the most recent meeting, Jan. 19, 2012, Utah won 74-65 win at Alaska Airlines Arena. Andrew Andrews tallied 17 for Washington and C.J. Wilcox finished with 14.
UW STATS / NOTES
- REGULAR-SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 9-6. Home: 7-2. Road: 2-2. Neutral: 0-2. Vs. Pac-12: 1-1. Vs. Pac-12 North: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 South: 1-1. Vs. Non-Conference: 8-5. Points: 1186 (79.1). Field Goal Pct.: 44.9. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 35.2. Free Throw Pct.: 77.1. Rebounds: 543 (36.2). Assists: 204 (13.6). Turnovers: 177 (11.8). Steals: 86 (5.7). Blocks: 52 (3.5). Points Against: 1166 (77.7). Opp. FG Pct.: 48.4. Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 33.2. Opp FT Pct.: 67.2. Opp. Rebounds: 488 (32.5). Opp. Assists: 194 (12.9). Opp. Turnovers: 176 (11.7). Opp. Steals: 85 (5.7). Opp. Blocks: 67 (4.5).
- PAC-12 RANKINGS: Scoring Offense — 4th (79.1). Scoring Defense — 12th (77.7). Scoring Margin — 12th (+1.3). FG Pct. — 11th (44.9). FT Pct. — 1st (77.1). 3-Pt FG Pct. — 8th (35.2). Rebound Margin — 7th (+3.7). Blocked Shots — 9th (3.4). Assists — 9th (13.6). Steals — T7 (5.7). Turnover Margin — 8th (+0.43).
- RATINGS PERCENTAGE INDEX: Nov. 11 — 99; Nov. 18 — 96; Nov. 25 — 150; Dec. 2 — 218; Dec. 9 — 198; Dec. 15 — 198; Dec. 23 — 170; Dec. 30 — 180; Jan. 6 — 127.
- 7-4 in Pac-12 home openers under Romar and have won five in a row.
- Shooting 77.1 percent from the line, best under Romar through the first 15 games of a season; ranks fifth in NCAA.
- Senior C.J. Wilcox ranks eighth all-time in UW scoring with 1,596 points and is ninth in Pac-12 career 3-pointers with 256.
- Wilcox has scored at least 15 points in 17 consecutive games, a feat no other player under Romar has accomplished.
- Wilcox ranks second in the conference in scoring at 20.2, second in free throw percentage at 88.6 and second in 3-pointers made per game at 3.00.
- 6-6 against top-10 opponents under Romar and hold a 30-50 all-time mark against top 10 teams.
- Nigel Williams-Goss has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.6, second best in the Pac-12 by a freshman.
- Sophomore Andrew Andrews is averaging 14.5 points over his past four while making 79.3 percent of his free throws.
- Huskies have had four players in double figures in 10 of 15 games.
- The Huskies will wear patches on the uniforms for the remainder of the season in recognition of Marv Harshman, head coach from 1972-85, who passed away April 12. Harshman had a 246-146 record at Washington and won back-to-back Pac-10 championships in 1984 and 1985.
- Preseason Pac-12 media poll — 1. Arizona (21, 273). 2. UCLA (2, 212). 3. Colorado ((1, 211), 4. Oregon (196). 5. Cal (194). 6. Stanford (166). 7. Arizona State (159). 8. Washington (121). 9. Utah (68). 10. Oregon State (67). 11. USC (63). 12. Washington State (39).
UW HEAD COACH: Lorenzo Romar (339-222 overall, 246-134 UW) is coming off a year in which the Huskies finished 18-16 and ended with a loss to Brigham Young in the National Invitation Tournament. Romar took the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament six times and won three Pac-10 Tournament titles (2005, 2010, 2011).
2012-13 Washington Regular-Season Statistics
| Player | G | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.J. Wilcox | 15 | .445 | .405 | .886 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 20.2 |
| A. Andrews | 15 | .380 | .320 | .763 | 3.9 | 2.6 | 12.7 |
| N.W.-Goss | 15 | .444 | .300 | .650 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 12.3 |
| P. Blackwell | 14 | .586 | .000 | .706 | 7.6 | 0.7 | 11.9 |
| D. Johnson | 15 | .364 | .235 | .881 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 7.8 |
| M. Anderson | 15 | .500 | .400 | .746 | 6.6 | 2.1 | 7.5 |
| D. Simmons | 5 | .364 | .500 | .833 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 4.8 |
| Shawn Kemp | 15 | .595 | .000 | .571 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 3.9 |
| J. Taylor | 10 | .385 | .400 | .750 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.5 |
| G. Dierckx | 10 | .000 | .000 | .500 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Total | 15 | .449 | .352 | .771 | 36.2 | 13.6 | 79.1 |
| Opponents | 15 | .484 | .332 | .672 | 32.5 | 12.9 | 77.7 |
University of Washington 2013-14 Schedule
| Date | Opponent | UW Rnk | Opp Rnk | W/L | Score | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/6/13 | @vs. Cent. Wash | — | — | W | 95-65 | 0-0 |
| 11/10/13 | vs. Seattle U. | — | — | W | 88-78 | 1-0 |
| 11/14/13 | vs. UC Irvine | — | — | L | 86-72 | 1-1 |
| 11/17/13 | vs. E. Wash | — | — | W | 92-80 | 2-1 |
| 11/21/13 | *vs. Indiana | — | — | L | 102-84 | 2-2 |
| 11/22/13 | *vs. Boston Co | — | 18 | L | 89-78 | 2-3 |
| 11/26/13 | vs. Montana | — | — | W | 83-79 | 3-3 |
| 12/30/13 | vs. L. Beach St. | — | — | W | 92-89 | 4-3 |
| 12/8/13 | vs. SD State | — | 24 | L | 70-63 | 4-4 |
| 12/14/13 | vs. Idaho St. | — | — | W | 85-66 | 5-4 |
| 12/17/13 | at Tulane | — | — | W | 73-62 | 6-4 |
| 12/22/13 | vs. UConn | — | 10 | L | 82-70 | 6-5 |
| 12/27/13 | vs. Miss. Valley | — | — | W | 95-80 | 7-5 |
| 12/29/13 | vs. Hartford | — | — | W | 73-67 | 8-5 |
| 1/2/14 | at ASU | — | — | W | 76-65 | 9-5 |
| 1/4/14 | at Arizona | — | 1 | L | 71-62 | 9-6 |
| 1/8/14 | vs. Utah | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/12/14 | vs. Colorado | — | 15 | — | —– | — |
| 1/15/14 | at Cal | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/18/13 | at Stanford | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/23/14 | vs. Oregon | — | 17 | — | —– | — |
| 1/25/14 | vs. OSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/1/14 | at WSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/6/14 | at Utah | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/9/14 | at Colorado | — | 15 | — | —– | — |
| 2/12/14 | vs. Stanford | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/15/14 | vs. Cal | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/19/14 | at Oregon | — | 17 | — | —– | — |
| 2/22/14 | at OSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/28/14 | vs. WSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/6/14 | vs. UCLA | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/8/14 | vs. USC | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/12/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/13/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/14/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/15/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/18-19/14 | NCAA 1st 4 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/20-23/14 | NCAA 2nd, 3rd | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/27-30/14 | NCAA Reg. | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 4/5/14 | NCAA Semis | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 4/7/14 | NCAA Final | — | — | — | —– | — |
@=Exhibition; *=2K Sports Classic; ^=Pac-12 Tournament
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